Shopping's brand of post-punk has only grown more potent with each album, and
The Official Body is no exception.
Rachel Aggs,
Billy Easter, and
Andrew Milk sound more assured than ever, and more danceable, too. Working with producer
Edwyn Collins, they slow their often frantic pace down just enough to show off the formidable grooves on songs like "The Hype." A perfect example of
Shopping at their finest, it pits the rhythm section's slinky foundation against
Aggs' needling guitar lines while chants of "procrastination" and "last chance" wage war with each other. However, the need to seize the moment wins out on
The Official Body, particularly on "Wild Child," where there's more than a hint of
the B-52s in the interplay of
Aggs' pretty but tough vocals and
Milk and
Easter's shouts, and shades of
ESG,
Tom Tom Club, and
Collins' legendary
Orange Juice in the track's spiky joyousness.