Beautiful and atmospheric are two words that easily describe the bands sound, as evident right from opening track "Time-Lapse." A deep dream like state is introduced right off the bat with ethereal melodies and lush vocals that leave you drifting. "Elephants and Whales" comes crashing in behind it with the same gorgeous vocals from singer/bassist Josh Korody and singer/guitarist Mike McGean, this time with a heavy dosing of double tracking. The guitars and bass are heavy, but not in the metal sense of the word, but the emotional heaviness of early Dredg, Wintersleep, or Shun. Heavy distortion added to tight drumming mixes to create a beautiful thunderstorm of sound. Be warned though, the song does end rather abruptly.
"Counting Sheep" follows with more of the great bubbling atmospherics and reverb soaked guitars. The vocals begin to soar more on this track, as the emotion shifts through varying degrees of comfortable chaos. A strong space rock vibe can be felt throughout this track with a heavy emphasis on the slow drag of Korody's bass line. Waterbodies create a near perfect mix of art, shoegaze, indie, and space rock for an incredible and unique sound. "Quiet, Silent, Grey," begins with a great contribution from drummer Shane Turner. This song acts as a welcome change of pace, as it is the first that has an up-beat tempo. Don't worry though, the mood and atmosphere isn't lost, as there are still giant crashing waves of distortion, shifting rhythms, and sparkling harmonies. The walls of McGean's guitar have an enormous hypnotic feel while the song eventually fades away in a dream-state haze.
The intensity is quickly raised on "Wooden Teeth," a song more in tune with the heavy indie feel of the always phenomenal, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead. Sharp, angular guitars pierce through with a sub-sonic bass groove to accompany the marching drums. Both intricate and reflective, I think this may very well be my favorite track on the EP. "No Words" sinks in with beautiful lyrics and vocal harmonies over a simple atmospheric backdrop. Just after a minute the music thrashes out the gate with a raw punchy charge. Sadly, the song ends after a fairly short time for this style of rock. There are so many hypnotic sections on this album that one would love to get lost in for minutes at a time, but Waterbodies keep their songs strictly on the shorter side. I suppose it's a great problem to have, a listener eager from more, and hopefully as their catalog grows, so will their willingness to expand their songs. Either way, there is no questioning the artistic nature of this band and their sound.
"Kaleidoscope" closes out the EP with another beautiful atmosphere, and a nice glockenspiel contribution from Turner. Their rages of inspired distortion fueled melodies are a great addition to any shoegaze or space rock fan's collection, as this EP vastly proves this band's promising future. When it finishes I feel left wanting more, but I could easily just start it over again. Here's to the hope we can get a full length album soon!
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