Lifer

Baltimore-based quartet Dope Body eventually took their brooding, muscular blasts of noise rock from scuzzy basement shows to the world at large, slowly gaining international renown for their messy riffs, barely hanging together rhythms, and aggressive live shows. 2012’s Natural History was the band’s second album and first for indie mainstay Drag City. Third album Lifer continues that album’s gnarled tendencies, offering up blurry washes of ghastly rock that have more in common with '90s metal-leaning grunge acts than the sometimes artsy punk undercurrents that wander in and out of Dope Body's sound. While hints of Bad Seeds-era Nick Cave come through in vocalist Andrew Laumann's tormented howls, the band’s early fascination with '90s radio rockers like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine has turned somewhat toward a more Alice in Chains feeling on tunes like “Hired Gun” or the Soundgarden-esque downtuned riffery on “Nu Sensation.” There’s still a little bit of Anthony Kiedis-like vocal stylizations peeking through, however, especially on slower, swaggering tunes like the blues rock of “Echo.”