[CD REVIEW] 白目樂隊 (The White Eyes) – Get My Body if You Want It (2008)

There’s the saying “What comes around goes around” –– all things old or new always have a chance to return to it’s place in the spotlight.  This may be applicable to Taiwan garage rock revivalist’s 白目樂隊 (The White Eyes), who act as if the 70’s never left and set to reclaim some well deserving glory for the said musical style.  Equipped with spunky vocals, fuzzy guitars and booming bass and drums, hearken to a time when bands like the Stooges and MC5 were at the heart and soul of the American rock underground.

Not unlike other revivalist bands like the Strokes or the Hives, the band knows how to have fun –– sticking to fuzzy guitar distortions and pulsing disco beats, the tracks here are surprisingly danceable and playful.  On the first track “No No No”, things open with a weird guitar riff that is accompanied by a no frills 4/4 drum beat.  The beat is so simple, yet so infectious that it reminds me of the strange danceable nature of tracks such as “Psycho Killer” by The Talking Heads.  The same case goes for the second track “自戀人格異常” (“Narcissistic Personality Disorder”), which in addition to laying down a wonderful groove is further heightened by the staccato guitar riffs from guitarist 鐵樂貓 (Telecat).

Things start to slow down with the third track and “All the Things” ends the album on a soulful note, courtesy of lead singer 高小糕’s (Gao Xiao Gao) versatile voice –– which can go from being rough and irregular to being absolutely sweet and poignant.

The EP is a short one, not counting the 5th bonus track, runs at barely over 15 minutes.  Yet strangely enough, with all the busy music ideas dispersed between the 4 tracks, the short run-time actually works to the band’s advantage.

The term, “short but sweet” really hits home with Get My Body if You Want It.

Recommended tracks: All

Track Listing:
01. No No No
02. 自戀人格異常 (Narcissistic Personality Disorder)
03. 多美好的人生 (A More Beautiful Life)
04. All the Things
05. 自戀人格異常 Remix (Narcissistic Personality Disorder Remix)

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lojun

I like to spend my time on the internet searching for the meaning of life. When I am not doing this you can find me listening to music or playing the bass…or stuffing myself silly on Burritos.

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