Of the Body Prone

AMG Review of Of the Body Prone

Sean Westergaard
All Music Guide

Despite switching drummers, Ahleuchatistas continue to refine and develop their sound on Of the Body Prone. They offer up hyper-complex, turn-on-a-dime compositions that range from crushingly heavy to quite pretty. This is music that demands attention; it is decidedly not background music. In the past, tracks were generally on the short side, almost as though there wasn't the stamina for the tracks to be longer. That's not the case here, where only a few tracks are under three minutes long, and the opener and closer push nine and ten minutes, respectively (apparently the album was recorded after some intense touring). The heavy opener gives way to the tender and almost-jazzy "Owls." "Why Can't We Be in Jamaica?" has a nice Beefhearty flavor, while "Dancing with the Star" is spacy with nice guitar effects. Guitarist Shane Perlowin will sometimes step back and create soundscapes with delays and layering, while Derek Poteat takes the lead on bass. New drummer Ryan Oslance is absolutely unbelievable, moving from jazz to thrash to blastbeats at the drop of a hat (think Tatsuya Yoshida, perhaps with another set of arms). This music is clearly not for everyone, but those who make the commitment will be richly rewarded. It's the new post-everything instrumental onslaught. Impressive stuff.