The Body’s music is a remorseless, seemingly eternal trudge of numbing night that frequently contorts itself into a bizarre festering eclecticism, then returns to its fetid, featureless form. Formed in Providence, Rhode Island, the duo of drummer and programmer Lee Buford and guitarist and screamer Chip King (who also supplies electronic weirdness) have proved ominously reliable in their 24-year commitment to doom, drone, noise, and art-metal. Their albums, such as 2021’s I’ve Seen All I Need to See (Thrill Jockey), feel like watching great black turrets fall on you in slow motion while dirt-stained nanobots puncture your eardrums. Despite the Body’s antisocial sonic vibes, though, the duo are also inveterate collaborators who seek out sympathetic nihilists with whom to huddle down in despair.
The Body’s most recent alliance was with Los Angeles post-industrial techno producer OAA (aka AJ Wilson) on 2022’s Enemy of Love (Thrill Jockey), which joined hammering beat loops and heady fuzz to their sludge. They’ve also worked with Canadian avant-metal trio Big|Brave, British dark ambient producer Haxan Cloak, and Providence a cappella ensemble the Assembly of Light Choir, among many others, swallowing new sensations and modes into their monochromatic sound the way darkness swallows light. This live set will feature just Buford and King, so audiences will know what to expect—though weirdness always finds a way of seeping in around the edges of their music. When you listen to the Body, you stare so intently into an utterly blank abyss that you start to see all manner of unspeakable things. While the end is inevitable, it always comes as a surprise.
The Body Troller and Dead Times open. Mon 8/28, 8:30 PM, Sleeping Village, 3734 W. Belmont, $20.60, 21+
