Staff Reviews

Shopping - The Official Body

Review by Adam Turner-Heffer

The sound of a band pushing themselves forward towards a wider scope of themselves»

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Their first release since 2015's Why Choose and their second album to be released on FatCat Records, Post-Punk trio Shopping return with an album that fans of their earlier records will undoubtedly find satisfying. Recorded over 10 days by Edwyn Collins, the latest album stays true to the minimal dance-punk ethos of Shopping’s previous efforts, but seeks to"amp up the party vibe".

Coming off the back of an unrelenting cycle of touring, having made their way across the UK, Europe, and the US, the band found themselves without a natural home as the band’s London rehearsal and writing space closed down. Then their drummer, Andrew Milk, relocated to Glasgow, and the band could suddenly no longer spontaneously get together to practice or write. The distance added an element of pressure: “As a band that only ever writes collaboratively, it’s essential for us to actually be together in the room before any songs start to formulate. It can be a little daunting when we all turn up, and we only have an afternoon to pull a song out of thin air”. Add to that a sprinkling of Brexit, Trump, a principally imploding world, and you’ve got yourself The Official Body— Shopping’s second album to be released on FatCat Records.description from www.roughtrade.com