Body Drama – Out of My Way (2021)
Body Drama grips you with cinematic atmospheres and immersive sounds in their debut EPP Out of My Way. With each track creating an unforgettable moment in time, the EP draws you in with evocative sounds and sensory overload. Moving from haunting to dreamy with a combination of dream-pop, electro and trip-hop, the EP is more than just a listening experience.
Drawing on their backgrounds in film composition and art, John Osment and Sydney Amanuel combine their shared experience for a textured sound. With stunning pacing and flair for dramatics, the EP rushes through your senses and takes you on a journey that cannot be denied. The epic feeling of the music makes you want to listen to each song again and again.
The EP comes to life with the sounds of ‘May Queen’ that draw you into the expansive feeling of the EP. There is a slow build to the track as the vocals call to you with poetic lyricism before the soundscape washes over your senses. It is a rather intense listening experience that engages all your senses and sends you into a swirl of colours and imagery. There is a perfect meeting of cinematic atmospherics and tender melodics. The change in the instrumentation brings changes and a new arc to the story of the track in a masterful manner. Over this rests the vocals that shimmer and shine.
‘Sick Crack’ has a softer feeling to the opening as it slowly reaches out into the soundscape. This turns into a rainy feeling like the world awakening to the gentle patter of rain and mist. While this track continues the expansive feeling of the last, there is an almost otherworldly feeling to the movement. The vocals dance like fairy lights leading you into the swirling pastel-coloured mists of the melody. Through all of this is a rather dramatic vibrating tone that feels like it is breathing against your skin.
The tenderness of the last track continues in the opening of ‘Never Learn a Lesson’. While tender, there is an almost earthy feeling to the drawing sounds of the opening. All of this wraps around the gentle glow of the instrumentation and angelic vocals. The vocals have a sigh to them as they delicately pluck at your emotions. There is a musing to the lyrics that enhances the delicacy of the vocals in the best possible way. While not as atmospheric or expansive as the last tracks, this one immerses you in the soft tones rather effortlessly.
The EP comes to a close with ‘Heat Haze’ which brings a touch of darkness after the lightness of the last track. There is a touch of darkwave to the track that swirls around your ankles with threads of shadowy tendrils. The vocals are haunting as they pull you further into the shadowy energy of the track. There is a swell of instrumentation at times before a burst of new yet equally dark energy surges through the soundscape. It is an interesting track that really showcases everything the band has to offer from borderline industrial tones to haunting vocals and dark-pop sensibilities.
Body Drama weaves its expansive way into your senses with the atmospheric, cinematic and haunting tones of Out of My Way. Each track brings a very different edge to the EP that comes together for an extravaganza of undeniable sonic waves. The vocals range from delicate to haunting while the melodies move through shadowy undergrowth to a misty morning.
Find out more about Body Drama on their Instagram and Spotify.
