Localized My Body Sings Electric

Remember that dude in the dorm who’d skip class all day to smoke up and play guitar? The one who could play a brief part of every song ever written, but never had interest to learn the whole thing? The one who thought shredding was an Olympic sport? Well he—or someone just like him—has a band now.

On They Don’t Want Music, My Body Sings Electric jams up a storm, and it doesn’t do much else. Channeling the spirit of post-hardcore and its progressive, free-form songwriting, the five-piece wanders through a set that feels like its only purpose is to string a bunch of riffs and solos together. Forgoing any cohesion or structure, the band fashions itself as something of a free spirit, but never proves its ability to color outside the lines. Songs meander through an aimless rotation of big, ballsy riffs, spaced-out noodling, and those overly technical guitar solos usually best kept to the gods of metal. It’s never quite herky-jerky enough to approximate the spastic freak-outs of The Blood Brothers, My Body’s most obvious antecedent, nor does it have the staggering sonic depth of a Mars Volta flashback. Without the spasms or heavy-handed devotion to prog-rock artistry, They Don’t Want Music comes off as a bag of riffs just begging to be put to good use.

The track “Fly, Like Peter Pan” swings between abstract guitar leads and raucous hardcore breakdowns—complete with screamed vocals—as drum fills come in at the most inopportune times. “Hold My Hands Up” taps into the grandiose ambition of The Mars Volta’s most epic tunes, but instead of arena-worthy arrangements, it’s more suited for a garage. “Monster” is much the same, as My Body works through another purposeless arrangement that takes itself far too seriously.

Nobody would have ever thought the guitar-playing stoner from freshman year would have the gumption to form a band. Well, they’re still half-right: My Body Sings Electric is just as undisciplined and masturbatory as those residence-hall practice sessions. 

A.V. Club Grade: C-