Philadelphia’s Fragile Body takes post-metal and does the unthinkable–rather than letting the music meander and grow slowly, their debut single “Anhedonia” takes the famously bloated style and compacts it, making it sleek and digestible. Ideal for multiple listens in one sitting rather than post-metal’s multi-session marathoning, “Anhedonia’”s sub-three-minute length captures the genre’s highlights–the build-ups, the post-rock tendencies, the sludge-informed heaviness, and the slow-burn intensity–without being overwrought, too long, or over-verbose. This is the next step in post-metal; those who have mastered the genre have made it lustrous again.
“Anhedonia” is a no-commitments, single-track release. Will we see an album from them? Only time will tell, but with a stellar lineup featuring current and former members of Cetus, Cleric, Wolvhammer, Sovereign (the Philadelphia one), Fragile Body’s promise is palpable, and this writer certainly hopes to hear more from them soon.
Follow Fragile Body on Bandcamp.
