The world is a dark place, and lately, it seems to be getting darker. On Alice, the ever-encroaching darkness can be heard, seething and crawling, covering the album with fuzz and haze, with only small glimpses of light. Meatbodies conjure up images of ghosts and monsters, dark magic and gory mischief.
Opening track "The Burning Fields" starts quiet and peaceful, with wind blowing and birds singing, only to have dank, distorted guitar riffs cover everything, like that oil monster from FernGully. That sludgy guitar gives way to an anxious, mechanical beat that's constantly tripping over itself as it bursts into the Kinks-esque "Kings," a fun pop tune coated in that trademark Meatbodies fuzzy, wobbly tone.
The standout track on Alice is "Creature Feature," a glammed up psych tune that cannot stop having fun. You're instantly hooked by its groovy bass line, which only gets groovier with the bouncing guitar and Chad Ubovich's gleefully mischievous vocals. Ironically, the following track, "Disciples," is my least favourite on Alice, mostly because the vocals go beyond weird and cool to annoying and kind of nasal.
The album ends strong with songs like the buzzing, pulsing Sabbath homage "Count Your Fears" and the ever-changing "Gyre," which swaps thrashing, slashing guitars for otherworldly synth before you can get comfortable. Despite its occasional low points, Meatbodies have created a wonderfully weird and spooky world with Alice, filled with monsters, magic and lots of fuzz.
