Fighting off an illness this past week, I didn’t get a chance to hop in my blogger’s chair and post as frequently as I would have liked. More specifically, I missed out on joining the welcoming rally for A Certain Feeling, the new album by Bodies of Water, which came out last Tuesday. As I previously mentioned, the band still had me hooked from SXSW when they practically brought the Mohawk down under a hail of howling guitars and back-breaking vocal harmonies. They were by far one of the most impressive acts of the festival, so it’s no surprise then that A Certain Feeling is as impressive as any album released this year.

Compared to their previous release, Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink, the new album is a much more focused endeavor, expanding on the things that the band does best. What the band does best, of course, is conjuring up a (forgive the water imagery) sea of energy to power their huge epic sound. Tip-toeing into existence, the album begins with the soft and chilling multi-part harmonies of “Gold, Tan, Peach and Grey” before ripping through a crescendo into the song’s more “explosive” sections. With horns blaring in the background, floor toms pounding and Meredith Metcalf’s vocals scrambling to be heard, it’s easy to say, “Sure, this band has energy”; along with “Under The Pines,” the second song, that fact becomes quite clear. And the energetic parts are some of the best on the album, but it’s the subdued songs that push the album to the next level.

On Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink, many softer sections suffered from a seeming lack of direction, but songs on the new album like “Only You” and “Water Here” hold up against their beefier counterparts as slower, but equally energetic songs. Instead of expressing energy via blaring horns and raging guitars, it’s syncopation and, most of the time, haunted organ sounds. And each song sees the band sounding as in control and focused as they do on the louder sections. Between the two varieties, there’s hardly a dull moment on the album.

The back half of the album only gets better, spinning out more of the same intriguing music the band creates in the first half. The only drawback may be that certain songs, like “Keep Me On” and “If I Were A Bell,” drag out past the six minute mark. That’s not to say the songs get dull, in fact, most songs explore a good deal of musical territory, revolving through a number of manifestations before their end.

All in all, A Certain Feeling is everything I wanted to hear from Bodies of Water, as if they knew and took to heart all my suggestions about their last album, and then surpassed all my expectations. The album’s out now on Secretly Canadian. Don’t miss it.

I can’t post my favorite track, “Darling, Be Here,” because of various “legal” issues, so enjoy “Under The Pines” instead, along with a few tracks off Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink for comparison.

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I remember back during SXSW this past year, rumors were everywhere of Daytrotter recording this act or that act; one of those groups was Bodies of Water, and as of today it’s no rumor. The band’s new album A Certain Feeling (which we’ll have a review of soon) is out July 22nd on Secretly Canadian. By the way, it’s really good. Check out their Daytrotter session, which features a couple of tracks from the new album, here.

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Bodies of Water are by far one of the most interesting bands I saw at SXSW this year. Even from two venues away, I could hear the shrill strains of their three and four part vocals pounding out “These are the eyes!” Nothing wakes you up at 1 am after 14 hours of music like Bodies of Water.

Now the band is planning to release their new album, A Certain Feeling, this August on Secretly Canadian. From the sound of this first song, “Under The Pines,” it’s business as usual for Bodies of Water, at least when your business is making each song totally unique from the next. You still get the same grandiose guitar arrangements set to odd time signatures, but it all sounds very raw and unpolished (after all it was recorded in a house), like a prog-rock band practicing in a garage.

We’ll keep you updated on the album, but for now, check out “Under The Pines” after the jump.

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