Living Body - I Do
Living Body is a project featuring Leeds based Chicagoan Jeff T. Smith (f.k.a. Juffage) and longtime collaborators Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin, Sleater-Kinney, Courtney Barnett, Wild Beasts), Tom Evans (Vessels), Alice Rowan (Mayshe-Mayshe), and Sarah Statham (Crake, Fig by Four, Esper Scout).
Following the success of their debut LP Body Is Working, recent crowd-favourite single C.R.E.A.M. and some jaw-dropping double-drumming live shows in the glory days of pre-COVID summer of 2019, Living Body are back and released a new single, I Do as part of a 7" single on the Kingfisher Bluez Compilation 'Short Songs, Vol. 2' for Record Store Day 2020 on Friday 28 August 2020.
Smith states the inspiration for the track comes from humanity’s inability to grapple with the control large tech companies such as Amazon, Spotify, Google and Facebook hold over our lives:
While these corporations appear to make our lives easier, we are in no way fully aware how they are manipulating our psyches, preying on our insecurities and monitoring our every move to fatten their pockets. Amazon specifically can understand a person so well based on their online history that they actually have products picked out in warehouses ready to ship before they are even ordered. This is called ‘anticipatory shipping’, where in the not-so-distant future we will be billed and sent products we never actively ordered because an algorithm decided we need them. As humans, we crave ease, so we have a tendency to normalize this questionable corporate behavior for the sake of simplicity, especially as society becomes increasingly overwhelmed with distractions, which are often only exacerbated by these very tech companies. Though this song was written in late 2019, it is clear that through the current pandemic, we are more reliant on these corporations than ever before.
I Do is a short melodic blast of indie pop lasting less than a minute, as do the majority of the songs on the 7” compilation of short songs. Size does matter when it comes to loading tracks on vinyl.
But it is a minute of pure joy, the melody is catchy and it is very much a sugarcoated critique of convenience capitalism punctuated by the gorgeous doubled vocals from Smith and Rowan.
It takes aim in the main at Amazons Jeff Bezos, who despite being in a global pandemic has increased his personal wealth by seventy six billion dollars.
If I Do is your first introduction to Living Body, I would suggest that you check them out, these guys know their way around an indie pop tune, writing some great melodies and ear worm lyrics.
Give I Do a listen now:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4x7BjkpQm3cWuPOSIey1v9?si=SWUdc-_YS1aj0KOPlQQVuw
The RSD 7” single, featuring multiple artists, can be purchased on Bandcamp:
Living Body can be followed on Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify pages:
https://www.facebook.com/livingbodylife/
https://instagram.com/livingbodylife?igshid=1rndgqnzicd6c
https://twitter.com/livingbodylife?s=21
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Di4GL49iHNrKwVjKz0UGq?si=RE-1IFM-Q2mo6gH7fvf0zg
Photo Credit - Shaun Pugh