Extended Play EP - Busy Bodies
As most of you know, Juniper is an avid supporter of local bands. Chicago has such an insanely talented community of musicians and anyone would be crazy to pass up an opportunity to see a show, listen to a new album, or discover a band.
With that being said, now is the perfect time to tell you about a new EP being released by the Chicago indie band Busy Bodies. Busy Bodies is made up of five members, Ben, Mike, John, True, and Matt; all four of them vibe so well together in their music that it’s hard to believe they’re all different people and not one weird group of five cloned individuals. On the other hand, their music wouldn’t feel nearly as complete if it weren’t these five unique guys working together. Their new EP, titled Extended Play, will be released on June 7th with a show on June 8th at Moe’s Tavern.
I got to get an early listen to the new EP and I’ll admit that it won me over after only the first listen. Extended Play has six tracks and each one perfectly flows with the next to create an album full of groovy instrumentals and simple yet complex lyrics. It’s hard to explain the feelings that come with this album, but as someone who learns a lot through visuals, I’ll say that this album feels like how you feel if you close your eyes and allow your brain to draw colorful squiggly lines onto a black background. Does that make any sense? Probably not. But it somehow makes sense in my mind and once the world gets to hear these six awesome songs, I’m sure they’ll see it too.
One of my favorite moments in the album is the guitar-centric intro to Sweet Marie that is joined by the soft beat of the drums and the deep, symmetric notes of the bass. I’ve found myself perfectly content while I lay in bed and immerse myself in this song.
The song Simon starts out with the lyrics, “well, you were the sweetest bird that I’d ever known, but you just had to fly out the window” and for some reason, this song makes me feel so many things! I blame the acoustic guitar paired with the beautiful, soulful vocals that bring me on a reminiscent journey to my past. Towards the latter half of the song, the emotions in the vocals become even more prominent as I daydream about a bird named Simon.
My favorite song off the album, and one that I’m sure will be a crowd favorite, is Sunday. It makes me want to drunkenly slow dance through my apartment, feeling every beat and word of the song as I do.
Whether you’re lying in bed on a rainy day or driving in your car with all of your windows down, Extended Play will be the perfect soundtrack to play in these moments. I will gladly continue to listen to this EP and suggest you all do the same (June 7th, y’all!) and continue to look out for new announcements from Busy Bodies in the future.
Check out an early release of one song from the EP here.