Album Review

BODEGA - Our Brand Could Be Yr Life

Name: BODEGA - Our Brand Could Be Yr Life Review
Item: Our Brand Could Be Yr Life
Rating: 4
Author: Ciaran Picker

Musically exceptional, conceptually incredibly detailed, it's just another really, really good BODEGA album.

Label: Chrysalis Records

Released: 11th April 2024

Words: Ciaran Picker

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In years to come, in the post-apocalyptic age, when the aliens invade and we're looking for something to explain where it all went wrong, we should hand them this new BODEGA record. 'Our Brand Could Be Yr Life' is at once both a fuzzy, joyous soundscape and a scathing, incisive precis of the misgivings of modern-day consumerism.

An automated voiceover that introduces songs such as 'BODEGA Bait' and 'Stain Gaze' (amazing whammy guitar on this one, by the way) acts as a Big Brother-type character, adding a sinister dystopian element, speaking to a wider swipe at modern-day life, especially in BODEGA's native New York City.

Musically, it's pretty much what you would expect from a BODEGA record, just turned up a few notches. Switching between sub-genres with ease, the five-piece bring slacker rock in 'Cultural Consumer I', '80s post-punk amalgams in 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Drum', and fuzzy dance-rock in fantastic lead single 'Tarkovski'. Co-vocalist Nikki Belfiglio is a breath of fresh air, bringing a Siouxsie Sioux/Poly Styrene punk individuality to 'G.N.D Deity' and 'Webster Hall'.

There is clearly a lot of anger in the record, but it is still an amazingly controlled and concise record, even though there are 15 songs on this latest offering. The highlight of the record is also the most visceral moment, with the almost tribal drumming and gang vocal on middle track 'ATM' acting as a call to arms, and ensuring the audience sits up and keeps listening.

Musically exceptional, conceptually incredibly detailed, it's just another really, really good BODEGA album. Who'd have expected anything else?