Bodycatchers – Mosey (2021)
Bodycatchers are merging metaphors with history, electronic sounds, funk, post-punk and much more with their EP Mosey. Loosely themes around the doomed shuttle launch of Soyuz 1, this moment in history is projected onto the backdrop of human tragedy which we are all familiar with. With music born during social distancing and the pandemic, there is a touch of love and promises for the future resting below the surface.
This one-man band is the new project from James Selidoras who brings innovation to old-school sounds. Blending emotions with robotic dance tones and an exploration of the world at large, he has abandoned his guitar-driven punk and takes on synth technology. If you are in the mood for an EP that twists pop and electronic themes we all know into something completely new, this is the one for you.
The EP opens with ‘Contact’ which uses a steady isolated beat to grab your attention. This beat pounds against your ears and leads you to the electronic-tinged vocals. There is an interesting movement to the song that is almost stop-start. The beat keeps pushing you down the soundscape while the vocals add a touch of melodic arrangement to the track. There are some electronic notes that lightly dust the soundscape over the beat that rise in prominence as the track continues. The electronic flows of the track adds to the spacy vibe of the EP. While the music and vocals bring a touch of spacy and futurism, the lyrics have a very emotionally grounded tale to tell making them well worth a good listen.
‘Many Words In-ter-pre-ta-tion’ has a livelier opening with pulses of electronic tones that tap endlessly against your ears. There is a touch of familiarity to the sound but this is warped into something unique as the track continues. You can almost feel the retro vibes of the music tapping against you before the deeper vocals make an appearance. The almost robotic tones of the vocals continue the futuristic feeling of the opening track. However, this is merged with a catchy movement in the music that gets your body moving to the sound. There is a chilled sort of dance vibe to the track that is a lot of fun to listen to.
The dance edge of the EP continues with ‘Modern Miserable’ that makes you think of pulsing lights on the dancefloor. There is an irresistible tone in the low levels that merges with the electronic high levels to send moving vibrations through your body. The vocals are earthier without the heavy electronic touch to them. This offers a touch of humanity in the overall electronic and robotic tones of the EP. Combined with the synth tones of the melody and the keys, the vocals bring a new poignancy to the EP. The electronic vocals later in the track are a contrast to the opening line which brings another dimension to the messaging of the track.
‘Nobody’ brings back some of the heavier electronic pulses in the opening. The pulses of the melody grab you and pull you into the soundscape while the vocals slowly and rather softly call to you from the great beyond. The interplay between the music and vocals is interesting as it brings a new understanding to the track. It is like the music represents everything in the world that we allow to overwhelm us while the vocals are what we are really feeling. There is also a feeling is disembodiment throughout the song that enhances the overall theme of the EP.
The EP comes to an end with ‘Are Your Sleeping?’ which has a rather flowing opening made up of layers of electronic waves. There is a softness to this opening that has you floating on the waves of sound and easily relaxing into it. This is until the darker edges in the background start to make themselves known and scratch at the back of your brain. While there is an overall easy feeling to the track, there is a really creepy darkness that has the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. The easy flow makes this feeling more intense creating a very interesting end to the EP.
Bodycatchers brings electronic flows to emotive movement, dark moments and futuristic feelings in the tracks of Mosey. Each track has a very unique feeling but there are threads woven throughout the EP holding them together. While unique, each track does showcase the electronic prowess of Selidoras and the versatility of this sound.
Find out more about Bodycatchers on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
