Whilst we obviously write about mainly new releases, we occasionally like to feature older tracks and albums we simply may have missed at the time. Das Body played 'Know my name' at the By: Larm festival back in February, and although they were included in the NMR review at the time, it was a reminder they're a band we've never featured in their own right.
Knowing her name is what 6ft blonde vocalist Ellie Linden is all about. She swaggers, she poses, she intimidates. The band name started off as the Norwegian ‘Kroppen’, which was translated into English (The Body) and then retranslated partly to German. Apart from having a body, she can sing.
Das Body are from the 'wrong side' of the Oslo tracks, the poorer eastern part of town (yes, there is one) and proud of it. ‘Know my name’ is a perfect riposte to those who think everything that happens there is on the fancy north and west sides only, or the la-di-dah downtown ‘Barcode’ district. It has an immigrant underbelly, many of whom have gone on to make some pretty good music in their new country, alongside their new indigenous compatriots.
You can almost imagine this half love story being played out amongst the grey apartment blocks that they hail from, while the lyrics, which invoke Jesus Christ and in the next line the notion of smoking to lose weight, are perfect for their down at heel locale.
What I will say about Das Body is that they find a tune, every time. Melody often appears to be the hardest thing to nail for some bands these days but they go about it unerringly. In this instance it isn’t just the main hook (to the lyric “don’t you want to know my name, too?”) but also the harmonies and the synth player, who picks out simple but devastatingly effective note combinations relentlessly.
And any song which appears to start with the exact same beat as Rilo Kiley’s ’Silver Lining’ is never going to disappoint me. Ellie Linden has the potential to be every bit as enigmatic as Jenny Lewis and while Das Body may not have a Blake Sennett on guitar, they have some handy musicians of their own. A band to watch.