• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Jul 11, 2023 By Andy Von Pip Photography by Andy Von Pip Web Exclusive

Being in a band must mess with your head, seriously. One minute you’re hunting for fish fingers in Aldi, and the next you’re playing the Sydney Opera House, supporting the Pixies. A few months later, you find yourself playing to a massive crowd at a handful of beautifully curated European festivals. Then you’re off to the UK to play at a basement venue in Manchester. It can certainly be a rollercoaster ride.

And Australian band Body Type certainly don’t let the size of the venue or the location dampen their fiery passion and unwavering commitment to their craft. They give it their all, no matter where they’re playing or who’s watching. (You can read some of the band’s wise words on keeping sane while touring via our interview HERE.)

When they hit the YES basement in Manchester, their only UK gig outside of London, they unleash a performance that oozes power and passion. Now, I won’t resort to the well-worn cliché and say they “blew the roof off” (it’s a basement, mate - it would be carnage! , but they definitely left no doubt in anyone’s mind about their electrifying talent.

While all the band members contribute vocals and harmonies, it’s the tousled-haired singer and guitarist, Sophie McComish, who grabs your attention and gives the less follicly endowed members of the audience some serious hair envy. Body Type are a whirlwind of fizzing energy, kicking off with the hypnotic “A Line” before unleashing a relentless trio of adrenaline-fueled tunes in the shape of “Holding On,” “The Brood,” and “Sex and Rage.” There’s a slight breather with “Couple Song” from their 2022 debut, Everything is Dangerous but Nothing’s Surprising illuminated by Annabel Blackman’s nimble guitar work and Georgia Wilkinson-Derums’ driving bass lines. It owes more to the hypnotic agit-pop of The Au Pairs than their current brilliantly idiosyncratic grunge pop found on their latest album, Expired Candy.

Their setlist is a well-crafted mix of new album tracks, and older tracks ensuring longtime fans have a chance to sway along to old favorites like their wonderful 2018 debut single, “Ludlow.” It’s an exhilarating, coruscating performance peppered with flashes of riot girl rage, wistful beauty, fierce intelligence, and acerbic good humor. If they had time for an encore featuring “Expired Candy,” “Free To Air,” “Shake Yer Memory,” and “Stingray,” it would have been absolute perfection. However, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find a better way to spend a Thursday evening than in the company of Body Type who are a must-see live band.