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This is ultimately an album that is catnip to those favoring a general sound and approach and otherwise will pass the time for most anyone else--no bad thing, yet nothing remarkable either.
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I think one can get a much better grasp on the band’s music by seeing the songs as long, somewhat-complex pop songs--ones derived from much different circumstances than The Decemberists’ boring narratives--rather than grand, theatrical gospels
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For their first official release on Secretly Canadian, Bodies of Water sound concise, powerful and eclectic.
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While Bodies of Water are always noted for their vocal prowess, those guitar parts, like the fuzzy garage-rock figure that drives 'Under the Pines' alongside a psychedelic organ vamp, showcase a newfound muscularity to David's playing and riff writing.
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As all over the map as A Certain Feeling is, it’s much more concise than the band’s 13-track debut, "Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink." There’s not much extraneous fluff here.
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Certain Feeling might be a little strange, and sometimes even seemingly meaningless, but it's also singular, rich and vast.
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Beneath such a surface, a band needs to keep screwing with the formula to hold interest. Bodies Of Water gets around to that often enough on its second album, A Certain Feeling, but lets the clever bits sit naked for too long.
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It’s refreshing to hear such heavyweight harmonies being shipped out by a modern act, especially when relatively crunchy guitars and urgent drums act as the styrofoam packing peanuts, ensuring things never get too messy or convoluted.