Recorded in May of 2018 at two different venues in the United Kingdom, BODEGA’s first live album, Witness Scroll, is a great capture of their apparently wild shows…which I still haven’t seen, much to my dismay.
Opening with a quirky mix of samples and computer sounds, the bass-heavy “Name Escape,” kicks the album off to a funky start as the band complains and pokes fun at not being able to remember people you see at the same clubs and coffee shops every day. The stabbing guitar chords of “Bookmarks,” (an all-too-true song about becoming a slave to modern technology) remind one of early B-52’s records.
The live version of “Can’t Knock the Hustle” is downright dangerous with it’s hard-hitting guitar chords and thudding beats. Lead singer Ben Hozie describes the previously unreleased song “New Vanguard Revival” as “a genre exercise.” I think he means an exercise in post-punk, because the jagged tempo of it is pure post-punk. “Margot” leads into “Stain Glaze” – a Husker Du-loving tune from Ben Kozie and co-vocalist Nikki Belfiglio‘s first band, Bodega Bay. Next up is the self-pleasure anthem “Gyrate,” which ramps up the guitar fuzz live compared to the album version on their excellent debut Endless Scroll from last year.
It’s no surprise that the album version of “Jack in Titanic” tore up the BBC radio airwaves after this tour because it and this live version are so damn catchy (and witty) you can’t ignore them. The album ends with a nearly ten-minute version of “Truth Is Not Punishment” – a vicious track with some surf touches that slowly builds to a frantic pace and urgency.
If this album doesn’t make you want to see BODEGA live, I’m not sure if anything will. Something might be wrong with you. You might be too deep in your Twitter or Instagram feeds and missing an amazing band.
Keep your mind open.
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