“Will you cry for me?“
It’s been almost ten years since I Shall Die Here, the collaboration between noise project The Body and electronic The Haxan Cloak. An agonising union of rock-band and synth-sequencer, it was one of many records I brought for a nauseating trip across the Atlantic ocean. The boat’s constant roil and bulkhead-claustrophobia enhanced the record’s own atmosphere, perhaps too much, as I never conquered it in the intervening years. I Shall Die Here found more success on land, where it has become a highly respected release – possibly the most significant in both of their busy discographies.
Perhaps by chance, The Body return ten years later with another collaboration with electronic inclinations. Dis Fig is Felicia Chen, who brings her experience as a DJ and post-industrial musician to the record. Her own solo work has merged no-rules music with her expressive vocals. As such, Orchards of a Futile Heaven moves more like an electronic record than a rock one. Beats are sparse, unconventional, and unhinged. At the distant end of the effect chain, one can only imagine the soundscapes were once guitar, drums, or heavy machinery. Bassy fuzz shakes angrily, restrained to the low end to allow space for Dis Fig’s vocals.
The goal of each track on Orchards of a Futile Heaven is to develop toward an unholy summit, through somewhat-verses and exchanges between different sounds, all bristling with hostility. These seven tracks are very deliberate and orchestrated, and are far from the result of a rushed jam session. “Eternal Hours” is our overture, offering a tasting board of the disgust the record is about to throw down. Chen’s whisper and shout vocals that churn, trapped in delay loops, while The Body unleash their touchstone ‘yowl’ at select moments; a scream so piercing you’ll either scramble to turn if off or lean in for more.
“To Walk a Higher Path” is the record’s tightest track, grooving on a sample reminiscent of The Body’s classic “Empty Hearth”. It’s still amorphous, but each of its units fits together, as if it was heavily deconstructed from something someone might once have called a “song”. “Dissent, Shame” is almost danceable, containing Chen’s softest takes and rhythmic bleeps that found an undistorted path through the mixing desk. The title track tears the semblance of peace away with brazen bit-crushed sounds and The Body taking lead vocals. “Holy Lance” takes the dynamics even further, making good on the threatening aura of its first half with its agonal second.
Side two of the record is dominated by “Coils of Kaa”, an indulgent nine minute epic that crowns the record, building its layers gradually. At three and a half minutes, a stabbing snare begins to rise with a weighty bass. At five minutes, Chen has become increasingly deranged, almost a parody of rock and roll crooning as she repeats “Will you cry for me? Tell me why?”. When the ending hits, The Body suddenly switch into a doom band, slugging the simplest riff that has been clipped to hell and back. I’m hopeful that the collaboration will find a way to perform this live. The closer “Back to the Water” has a tough act to follow, playing out like a shrill, slow tempo hangover. A sublime moment comes when Chen’s vocals seem to merge with The Body’s horrific scream technique, as if they’ve progressively been stitched together and can now shamble as one.
Whilst The Body’s name comes first, Orchards of a Futile Heaven takes after collaborator Dis Fig more strongly. As the production was in Chen’s hands (plus the trusted skills of Seth Manchester), the freedom in track structure and motion of the instrumentals is straight out of Dis Fig’s PURGE from 2019. Of course, The Body provide much more than their household name to the project, as this should stand out as a classic record within their discography, warranting my comparison to I Shall Die Here in more ways than one.
8.5/10
Orchards of a Futile Heaven releases through Thrill Jockey on the 23rd of February and can be pre-ordered here (UK/EU, US).