Based in New York City, BODY STUFF is the duo of Curran Reynolds and Ryan Jones. The sound combines industrial-metal power, heart-on-sleeve ’80s rock vibes, and some haunting ambience and lyrics; reviews have drawn comparisons to Godflesh, Billy Idol, The Replacements, and more. Body Stuff 3, released in January 2020, is the third in a trilogy of EPs. Reynolds and Jones are both ex-members of Today Is The Day, who played on 2011’s Pain Is A Warning album and toured with world in support of it. The band just released their new song & video “Spies”, coming from their new EP “Body Stuff 3” created by Curran Reynolds and Brandon Gallagher. It stars dancer Lily Stephania.
Reynolds says:
“The song is about the outsider, the outcast, the wanderer, the spy. And how such a person can move from a state of isolation to a state of connection. Finding home in transience, finding peace amongst strangers. Falling in love with the world.”
“I made the video with these ideas in mind. Watching it back now, I can say it’s full of little references to movies I love, like ‘Wings of Desire’ and ‘Permanent Vacation.’ These influences revealed themselves after the fact.”
“My collaborator was Brandon Gallagher, who made the ‘New York in the Rain’ video with me too. It’s Brandon’s skills that brought these videos to life.”
Body Stuff 3 is the third in a trilogy of EPs: the self-titled Body Stuff (2013), Body Stuff 2 (2016), and Body Stuff 3 (2020). Body Stuff 3 is released by The Chain, the multi-faceted company founded in 2016 by Reynolds, Three One G Records owner Justin Pearson, and graphic designer Brandon Gallagher.
Reviews of the first two EPs singled out a few aspects of the Body Stuff sound. On the surface, there were crooning vocals, simple hooks, and an earnest spirit, nodding to the rousing rock songs that filled late-‘80s FM radio dials – U2, Billy Idol, et al. Underneath, something heavier: programmed drums and thick guitars conjured industrial-metal power in the vein of Godflesh or Killing Joke. And deeper in the mix was a dreamlike ambience that evoked the places the music was conceived – namely, the streets of New York City (the debut EP) and a lake in rural Maine (Body Stuff 2).
Of the lyrics, a review on Stereogum stated,
“Reynolds’ lyrics are a focal point and tell snippets of stories in a hundred words or less that are as haunting as they are evocative.” Reflecting on memories of violence, death, poverty, and heartbreak, Reynolds sought to make sense of the past, while finding his place in the present. His lyrics depicted a protagonist who identified as an outsider to society, yet pointed toward a sense of oneness in all things.
Scheduled to be one of the very first releases of the new decade, Body Stuff 3 promises to expand on the musical and lyrical themes set forth on the first two EPs. Opening with these lines – “I can never go home, or so I’ve been told / Well, I am the world, the glance of every guy and girl” – Body Stuff 3 sees Reynolds continue to navigate the lines between individual and collective, isolation and connection. Featuring the most highly developed music the duo has created so far, the EP consists of five, intense, radiant anthems that take the Body Stuff style to the next level.
Some new elements in the mix include: the prominent use of synth on multiple songs; a guitar solo by KMFDM guitarist Andee Blacksugar; acoustic guitar; and Jones’ death metal vocals (which fans of his other band Mutilation Rites will recognize).
Body Stuff 3 was recorded and mixed by Jones and Reynolds at Jones’ studio, Growlhouse, in Queens, NY. The EP was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Torche, Full of Hell).
“They spiral through Damned/Misfits/Cult-style goth punk, Replacements-ish doomed romanticism and dissolute synth-assisted stadium rock, abetted by a drum machine whose brutally basic patterns echo the mechanical pound of Big Black, Godflesh and early Sisters of Mercy… It’s hugely evocative stuff.” –The Wire
“It’s like an ‘80s FM radio signal was beamed into space, bounced back to Earth, and fried the pirate radio tower owned by metalheads on an industrial bender.” –Stereogum
“If Godflesh ever teamed up with Billy Idol, they’d still be trying to collect the formula that makes Body Stuff infectiously entertaining.” –Metal Injection
“It’s music you can dance to, and music you can slam to, and music you can head bang to. You choose your adventure when you throw on a Body Stuff record.” –CVLT Nation
