Bodies Of Water: A Certain Feeling

Even with the niftiest ingredients, the pie isn't

going to cook itself. Los Angeles band Bodies Of Water commands frolicking

melodies and the interplay of male and female voices, often with the

flirtatious drama of an endearingly bad musical. Beneath such a surface, a band

needs to keep screwing with the formula to hold interest. Bodies Of Water gets

around to that often enough on its second album, A Certain Feeling, but lets the clever bits

sit naked for too long. The album-opener, "Gold, Tan, Peach, And Grey," becomes

a far more exciting song at the bridge, as joyous call-and-response vocals

shake off the coy romantic drift of the first three minutes. "If I Were A Bell"

drops little hints of suspense, only to deflate with repetition. Bodies Of Water

has all the makings of a distinct, thrilling sound, and A Certain Feeling finds it inching toward

maturity. If it'd only burn off some of that arty hesitation, it might get more

focused barbs like "Under The Pines" and "Darling, Be Here," and fewer frustrating

detours like "Even In A Cave."