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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Simultaneously of its time while managing to sound like a classic, The Official Body is a healing experience; there is light in the darkness. Shopping teach us that, even when we’re dealing with the imploding world around us, it’s still OK to dance.
90
In the hands of queer artists of color like Shopping, post-punk's outsider status is much more than an aesthetic choice, and The Official Body is a frequently dazzling example of how resistance can be fortifying and even fun.
89
The ten tracks on Body are audacious, funky, and have that element of outsider-cool left over from the heyday of influences like Delta 5, Gang Of Four and ESG.
83
There’s a directness to its pleasures that’s unflagging for all 10 tracks here, which find the band—after two records of interrogating power dynamics, personal and political—“amping up the party vibe,” or so they say.
81
The Official Body creates upbeat, transformative moments that strike a balance between a call to action and the thrill of a humid mosh pit.
80
Tightly compressed and structurally flab-free, these ten songs flirt with a hip twitching form of primitive disco.
80
An itchy, infectious return, ‘The Official Body’ presents puzzles without solutions, a never-ending maze that pulls you sharply around it each corner. A dazzlingly creative effort, it might well be SHOPPING’s most complete, concise, and fascinating release yet.
80
Overall, another great album from one of the UK’s best underground talents who may not remain so underground for long.
70
The UK’s Shopping have been offering up compelling shows and songs for the past while, and their latest release definitely captures their energy well. Due to their fairly inconsistent writing however, there are too many moments where songs feel less cooked than others.
70
It's a record that finds Shopping transcending a difficult set of circumstances to create a standout album.
64
For the most part, ‘The Official Body’ is simply a continuation of ‘Why Choose’, at its worst turning the band’s gobby London punk from a portrait to a caricature, at its best continuously proving how fiery and determined Shopping really are.
60
As it stands ... Shopping's constraints still define them on The Official Body. Economy can be great, but it's starting to limit this band.
60
This is a record to dance to, but it’s also a record to help you question the world around you.
60
The Official Body is pretty timeless in its feel – it would be hard to pin it down to a year or even era if listened to in isolation – many of its lyrics would have been just as fitting against the politically dark times of the mid-80s as the troubled times we live in today.
60
You can’t listen to the music found here without dancing, which is a blessing and a curse. It’s fun at first, but eventually you’ll need a breather.
50
This party feels less exciting than the night before.
40
For fans, The Official Body is worth surviving the sullenness for the respites. For newcomers, stick to their old stuff, and let Shopping sell you on their next record. Hopefully, they'll approach the project rejuvenated and well-rested.
those guys ripped off Gang of Four's Entertainment! in not a very good way. Anyway, the second part (songs 6 to 10), is quite enjoyable.
"Discover", "New Values", "Overtime"
"Discover", "New Values", "Overtime"
I gotta say, this is a really cool projects with some pretty deep influences, however, it does lack personality for me. It's only around 30 minutes and it kinda plays like background music. However, the sound was pretty consistent and cohesive and it is a very thorough listen, just kinda lacks a degree of attentiveness that I would like from a post-punk band.
An album that will likely fly under the radar entirely, which is quite the shame. It's pretty groovy.
Favorite track: Wild Child
Favorite track: Wild Child
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MISC LISTS
| / | Pitchfork (Rock) |
Track List
- The Hype
- Wild Child
- Asking for a Friend
- Suddenly Gone
- Shave Your Head
- Discover
- Control Yourself
- My Dad's a Dancer
- New Values
- Overtime
In Library (48)
Added on: October 25, 2017
