The Switch, by Body/Head

The Switch

by Body/Head

supported by

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$9.99 USD or more

1.	Last Time 07:52	buy track
2.	You Don't Need 05:26	buy track
3.	In The Dark Room 04:38	buy track
4.	Change My Brain 10:41	buy track
5.	Reverse Hard 10:05	buy track

about

Creative alchemy doesn’t just happen in the studio or in the practice space; so much of it is the product of solo time with one’s instrument, learning how body and wood and electronics fuse, and of subconscious processes as one lives one’s daily life—picking up the ambient noise of the world outside, listening to others’ work, talking through ideas with friends. For Kim Gordon and Bill Nace, time together these days is limited to live performances and recording, so they’ve got to bring all their magic to every encounter. Lucky for us, these are two experimental sorcerers of significant renown.

Their debut album together as Body/Head, Coming Apart, from 2013, was more of a rock record—heavy, emotional, cathartic, spellwork in shades of black and grey. The Switch is their second studio full-length, and it finds the duo working with a more subtle palette, refining their ideas and identity. Some of it was sketched out live (if you’ve not had the fortune of seeing them in that natural environment yet, see 2016’s improvisational document No Waves), but much of it happened purely in the moment. Working in the same studio and with the same producer as Coming Apart, here Body/Head stretch out, making spacious pieces that build shivering drones, dissonant interplay, Gordon’s manipulated vocals, and scraping, haunting textures into something that feels both delicate and dangerous. Less discrete songs than one composition broken up into thematic movements, a slow-moving narrative that requires as much attention and care from the listener as it did from everyone involved in its creation, it is a record that sticks around after it’s done playing.

This is Nace’s favorite of Gordon’s guitar work; she’s truly come into her own as a guitarist, having built up her confidence through solo shows. The way the duo work together, you’d never know they spend so much time apart; on The Switch, their vision and focus feel truly unified. If Coming Apart was dark magic, The Switch works with light, though it never forgets that these approaches are two sides of the same coin, and that binaries—black/white, near/far, emotion/analysis, body/head—are made to be broken open, and that the truth of things is in the energy between.

-Jes Skolnik, May 2018

credits

released July 13, 2018

Vocals – Kim Gordon
Guitars – Kim Gordon, Bill Nace

All songs by Body/Head
Published by Forgetful Songs (BMI) and Onenote Music (BMI)
Recorded July 2017 at Sonelab Studios in Western, MA
Engineered by Justin Pizzoferrato
Mixed by Body/Head and Justin Pizzoferrato
Mastered by John Golden
Photos by Vice Cooler
Art Direction by Mike Zimmerman

license

about

Body/Head Northampton, Massachusetts

contact / help

Contact Body/Head

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Body/Head, you may also like:

Life Metal
by SUNN O)))

supported by 23 fans who also own “The Switch”

It's already a classic this is a second album I've heard of theirs the other the one they did with Scott walker both amazing albums jonteader
go to album
Double Negative
by Low

supported by 23 fans who also own “The Switch”

Hard to pick a favorite track as the album should be listened to as a whole. Beautifully distorted vocal harmonies. Their live set at NOX ORAE 2019 is a must see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-QXr41WFgA Ryan Evans HTX
go to album
We Have Amnesia Sometimes
by Yo La Tengo

supported by 20 fans who also own “The Switch”

Much love to you all! joseph lucca
go to album
Broken Mirrors
by Kinjac

The latest from North Carolina artist Kinjac combines woozy psychedelia with grinding guitars and an all-consuming atmosphere of darkness. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 5, 2016
go to album
_...-``-..._
by MOON RELAY

This conceptual album incorporates post-punk, noise rock, jazz, funk, and experimental sounds to create a singular listening experience. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 20, 2020
go to album
No Base Trio
by No Base Trio

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jul 14, 2020
go to album
Everywhere at the end of time
by The Caretaker

supported by 20 fans who also own “The Switch”

There really is nothing else that sounds quite like this project. The hypnotic soundscapes capture me enough for the whole 6+ hours to feel like no time has passed at all. Oh also it sounds phenomenal, this is like a 9 or a 10. meademan
go to album