A Certain Feeling

Album review

If Bodies of Water are going to suffer inevitable comparisons to groups like the Arcade Fire and, to an extent, Akron/Family and other similarly minded call-and-response singalong-grandly indie rock types, then that's the nature of the business and the context they're in -- the solution is to keep at it as best as they can. Which they do -- if A Certain Feeling is primed and set for certain listening expectations, they're still fulfilled enjoyably enough. The lead vocals of husband-and-wife team David and Meredith Metcalf perhaps even more inevitably call the Arcade Fire to mind, but their singing is less mega-theatrical and more cabaret dramatic in a sly sense; set against moments like the shuddering lounge groove on the verses of "Under the Pines," the effect can be very enjoyable. Meanwhile, the hyperactive arrangements often show an appreciation for late-'60s pop ("Even in a Cave" is a fine example) rather than epic post-punk, with groovy horn charts and the like giving a more playful edge to the proceedings. Still, this is ultimately an album that is catnip to those favoring a general sound and approach and otherwise will pass the time for most anyone else -- no bad thing, yet nothing remarkable either.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo