Bodies Of Water

Bodies of Water, an indie pop ensemble based in Los Angeles, chase the opulent scale of Polyphonic Spree and Arcade Fire by fusing American traditional folk, theatrical elements, and a deep regard for gospel. The group eventually grew to eleven members, yet its founding core comprised Meredith Metcalf on organ, her husband David Metcalf on guitar, Kyle Gladden on bass, and Jessie Conklin on drums, with the four dividing vocal parts among themselves. After an initial EP, the band issued its debut album Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink through its own Thousand Tongues imprint in July 2007. Spin magazine hailed the record as "sparkling and expansive," and the resulting acclaim prompted Secretly Canadian to sign Bodies of Water in November; the label then gave Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink a worldwide release the next January in 2008. A Certain Feeling followed later that year. By mid-2011, when the third album Twist Again appeared, Laura Steenberge and Noah Smith had replaced Gladden and Conklin on bass and drums. The band remained largely out of view for several ensuing years while its members performed with Music Go Music, the Confessions, and the Coast and kept writing and recording material that stayed unreleased. That stockpile eventually yielded Spear in the City, which Secretly Canadian issued in summer 2017.