need new body // where’s black ben?

Need New Body
Where’s Black Ben?
5 Rue Christine

I was excited, so goddamn excited for the Need New Body/Sun Ra Arkestra show in Philly last month. Like many Philly kids, and many others as well, I love Need New Body. The first time I ever saw them was on the back of a truck, banging and strumming their way on an oddball assortment of makeshift instruments through a crowded old city Friday night.

And that spirit of spontaneity, of dedication to creating unusual, thoughtful yet lighthearted music (not to mention unabashed joy) has remained with them, introduced on their first, self-titled release and honed to something damn near like perfection on their last album, UFO (partly due to the addition of the fabulous Jeff, who can chiefly be recognized for his banjo and vocals – occasionally also his very cute daughter). Expecting nothing less at that concert, then, I was mostly just confused when I didn’t quite receive it. What’s missing in this new incarnation of Need New Body that was previously so integral?

The first track, “Bright the Day,” is an irrepressible celebration, perfectly coordinated with the colorful, goofy cover art. It holds the promise of a beautiful summer day of an album, preferably one spent swimming in a fountain downtown, but this is not quite what is delivered. The dance numbers here can’t quite match up to the rock’n roll spasms of yesteralbum, like “Show Me Your Heart” or “Pen.” The instrumental tracks are interesting, but pale a bit next to their UFO counterparts (try “Ox”). The band seems to have lost some of the glowing intentionality that made them worthy of playing a gig with the Arkestra in the first place.

Perhaps the best song on the album is the banjo-and-sentiment-heavy “Poppa B,” in which Jeff proclaims that, whatever may have happened, “I still got my dancing shoes.” Being slightly spare in that trademark NNB way, the song avoids being cloying, and instead just seems, well, true. It also contains just the slightest hint of graceful aging as a band, which, being totally absent from the rest of the album, is almost bewildering. But nice. Taken as a complement to – not a replacement of – the general craziness, “Poppa B” indicates that the whole NNB thing doesn’t need to get old, not if they don’t want it to.

There’s other highlights, too. “Outerspace,” the band’s tribute to Sun Ra, is a pretty, dreamy song, and a few other more clearly jazz-derived tracks catch the listener’s attention. Fuzzy production detracts from these songs, though, which is especially annoying since – again – the production seemed just about right on UFO.

Despite what many critics may say about Need New Body, they are not solely a joke band, surviving on gimmicks and their own insanity. Good, thoughtful, original music, and lots of it, is needed to keep that persistent humor from wearing thin. Ironically, it’s taken a release that’s slightly disappointing in that department to prove this.