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Ashley Reaks — The Body Blow of Grief
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-01-14

The Body Blow of Grief Cover art

Ashley Reaks is back with another installment of his distinctive songcraft and worldview. As with Winter Crawls (2023), The Body Blow of Grief consists of songs that defy easy categorization, bringing together catchy but eccentric melodies, complex rhythms and structures, and a flair for unusual turns of phrase in the lyrics. The album kicks off with “Home Is Where the Hurt Is,” giving listeners a strong taste of all those qualities. There’s a vibe to the production that reminds me of 10cc’s Sheet Music and Godley & Creme’s L — something about the clean sound of the instruments, drums especially, has that same meticulous clarity of massive overdubs not trying to pass themselves off as live playing. And just as with those examples, the result is not lifeless. It doesn’t sound live, true, but it certainly sounds like humans playing everything. Other artists brought to mind include Regal Worm, Johnny Unicorn, and Brian Woodbury. Reeks is joined by a full band worth of collaborators: Nick Dunne (guitars), Joel Purnell (saxophones), Rob Hirons (drums), Dan Mizen (percussion), and Lucy Mizen (vocals). There are guest vocals and extra sax on one track as well. Reeks plays bass, guitar, and keyboards along with the lead vocals. The album is chock full of memorable moments, with clever arrangements and tasty changes in a constant flow. The saxes are especially well used, providing a brash counterpoint to the vocal parts. The main thing you won’t hear is backing instruments laying down chord progressions under vocal lines — that standard of nearly all music is replaced by instruments playing parts that together build up the harmonic structure. It’s not usually full-blown polyphony, but it’s headed that direction. The other thing it is, in spite of the dark lyrical subjects, is fun. I find it infectious and catchy to hear such cleverly put-together music, and The Body Blow of Grief gives me that feeling without fail.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Ashley Reaks

More info
http://ashleyreaks.bandcamp.com/album/the-body-blow-of-grief

 

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