Since 2008, Dope Body have been refining and redefining their own kind of hard rock music, a sound that has many tributaries flowing into it, but one that is definitely coming through a group that could only happen in the post — ALL the shit mashup of 21st century schizo, man!
Kunk is essential, coming from the marrow of Dope Body. While laying tracks for LIFER, they were prepared, ready to go, with the material in their grip, under their hands. Tense, with the anxiety that comes from the rendering process: you gotta get that flesh stripped off, so try and clear your mind and get it done. But in between takes, they relaxed, let their animal selves out, blew steam. Creativity sparked and new music flew. Catharsis was in the house. Something at work here! LIFER got done, but nobody could get over those moments, and at a certain remove, they went back and said, man — are these the next songs? They were — and the songs were already written and recorded. Fuckin’ A! Just a little finishing — put ’em in a frame, and Kunk— there you go.
Dope Body are in a four-way conversation here, with drums, guitar, bass and vocals all pushing it around. Leaning into the future, mindlessly, just reacting, the jams of Kunk are shimmering, alive with a simmering sizzle. Swirling jams that pound and float, cloud-like, associating segmentally like a naturally growing train of thought. Kunk rolls forth with funk and flutter, plenty of riffs, stuttering and structure gleaming in the air. It’s a juggling act, and no balls hit the ground. In the parade of sounds on display, the crunch of LIFER’s straight-rock sound comes and goes, as does the impressionism of Nupping and the thick grind of Natural History.
While getting outside the straight-jacket of songs, Dope Body still have an inherent way of ordering their chaos. They’re the smart animal in the room, pitting the primal against the tactile, and Kunk finds them way out in their group brain, extemporizing and making something solid and song-like too. The thought of no thought! This is as Dope Body as it gets — the boys are deep inside themselves here, just being. Free to be Dope Body.
