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Mar 11, 2022 Issue #69 - 20th Anniversary Issue By Mark Moody

The artsy NYC ensemble BODEGA are back with their second long player. Broken Equipment’s predecessor, Endless Scroll, was a bracing kick in the teeth to the electronic age. And this album starts off gamely enough towards the same agenda, with second track “Doers” being the early disenchanted standout and sure-to-be live set highlight. Leader Ben Hozie (aka Bodega Ben) grouses on about a life spent in 10-minute tech-dominated intervals, and bites off the chorus’ mantra of “bitter, harder, fatter, stressed out,” to great effect.

Sadly though, much of the album is given over to high school level observations, like the shocker on “NYC (disambiguation)” that “New York City was founded by a corporation.” Or just simply uninspired tracks like the Nikki Belfiglio-led “Territorial Call of the Female,” that recalls the hollow tribal electro-rhythms of early-era MTV bands like Bow Wow Wow. Much better is her lead on “Statuette on the Console” or Hozie’s tale of misadventures in the film industry, “How Can I Help Ya?” Both songs are propelled by an affable, scruffy punk energy à la The Jam’s first few albums. More jubilant skewering of the anathema of TED Talks and the horrors of a misplaced dongle would have gone a long way to offset clunkier moments, like the indulgent virtual belt-notching of “All Past Lovers.” (www.bodegabk.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 6/10