Bodyrockers (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Dylan Burns (vocals); James Reynolds (keyboards); Peter Willmott (double bass); Karl Brazil (drums); Paul Turner (timpani); Yvonne John Lewis, Krysten Cummings (background vocals).

Additional personnel: Mike Keat (spoken vocals); Joanna Wesling (violin, viola); Dave Wesling (cello); Dave Mian (trumpet); James Reynolds (keyboards); Peter Willmot (double bass); Paul Turner, Yvonne John Lewis, Krysten Cummings, Karl Brazil.

Audio Mixers: Dylan Burns; Jon Gray.

Recording information: Crypt Studios, London, England.

Photographer: Morten Laursen.

For better or worse, Bodyrockers are the dance-rock equivalent of Jet: more savvy than original, they know how to use time-tested hooks and a dumbed-down mix of influences (in this case, Daft Punk and Primal Scream) to make music that gets the job done, even if it doesn't aim too high. At its best, Bodyrockers delivers an undeniable if somewhat guilty pop thrill, and as skin-thin as the music is, the duo is committed to it. On the single "I Like the Way," Dylan Burns snarls and sighs sweet nothings like "I like the way you daaaance" like he has everything invested in them. While nothing else on Bodyrockers clicks quite the way "I Like the Way" does, occasionally the album's collision of infectiously stupid hooks and clichéd lyrics reaches almost-inspired heights. "Round and Round"'s robotic guitar riff channel's ZZ Top's Eliminator, while "Keep Your Boots On" sounds like the next mutation of the Rolling Stones' "Rocks Off" and Primal Scream's "Rocks" (meanwhile, lyrics like "She was 17/I was on my knees/She was the best-looking woman that I've ever seen" trace over AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long"). Likewise, the instrumental "For One Night Only" is a Frankenstein of reanimated, stitched-together rock and electro. However, Bodyrockers fall short on this album not because they repeat what other bands have done before them, but because they repeat themselves too much. Songs like "You Got Me Singing" and "Dirty" are so tightly constructed that they sound like glorified loops, and the raging id of lyrics such as "New York City Girl"'s "Seen it/Done it/Need it/Love it" and "I Wanna Live"'s "Live! Feel! Love!" begins to ring a little hollow. True to form, they close the album with a piano-driven ballad, "Stuck in a Rut," lamenting the emptiness of the lifestyle they celebrated during the album's other 11 tracks. At its best, Bodyrockers' emptiness makes it a catchy backdrop for commercials, soundtracks, and other enjoyably superficial (and superficially enjoyable) situations. ~ Heather Phares minimize