Fall to the Floor for Body Type

Immie convinces you to listen to Body Type

It is a truth universally acknowledged that everyone needs more female-led punk rock in their lives. Luckily for us all, Body Type exists.

My introduction to Body Type was through their opening set at the Pixies in December 2022 as I walked into the Opera House Forecourt to the captivating ridiculousness of “Buoyancy” blasting from the speakers. There was an uncompromising charm inherent to each member of the band as they played back to back, effortlessly commanding attention away from the sun setting over the Harbour Bridge and onto the dynamic four women imprinting themselves into the iconic Australian scene. As the lead vocalist energetically jumped on top of the bass drum, daring the audience to edge a little closer, I remember being struck by the significance of the vision before me. 

The perfectly balanced quartet has struggled to release anything less than boisterously magnificent since their formation in 2016. With Sophie McComish and Annabel Blackman on vocals and guitar, Georgia Wilkinson-Derums on bass, and Cecil Coleman on drums, the band traverses genres of post-punk and garage rock with a sound both nostalgic and refreshingly distinctive. Their dreamy and daring discography hooks its claws into you from the first listen. 

Songs such as “Buoyancy” and “Miss The World” display Body Type’s engaging and unserious nature – even the band’s merch is tongue-in-cheek, with “TODY BYPE” printed onto their t-shirts. Yet, they’ve also managed to construct a creative output which balances this essence of fun with poignant lyricism. Evident from the release of their first single “Ludlow” (2016) to more recent “Tread Overhead” (2023), the band showcases their ability to construct tender landscapes of reflection. Where tenderness is present, wit is never far away, with lines that claim “I stole a pen from the Chateau Marmount” in “Flight Path” and “Self-respect like Bertolt Brecht It’s called the distancing effect” in “The Charm”. Another signifier of Body Type’s early talent is in the earworm-anthem opener to EP2 (2019), “Stingray”. It’s an appeal to the indecisive, giving us the valiant reminder that “this is the hand that you’ve been dealt with, cast your doubts aside” as heavy drums beat to a euphoric resolve.

This undercurrent of freedom and mischievous awareness is even more satisfying to experience live. The visceral lyrics “Spit dripping, ego tripping, oily hair and signet ring” of “Flight Path” and “I feel you in the spaces between my ribs You squeezed yourself right in” of “Weekend” form a complete frenetic object when viciously spat out into a dangling microphone. You find yourself rooted to the centre of the present moment, held by the compelling melody of the lead guitar and supported by the weight of drums and basslines which embed themselves into you. And in such moments, as McComish commands “Fall to the floor, for the hell of it”, there is no doubt in your mind that that is exactly what you must do.

Most emphatically, Body Type’s music manages to capture and pin down the nuanced essence of the feminine experience and its complexities. In a world which forces women to be either “mother or muse”, a concept explored in “Creation of Man”, Body Type persistently reject the binaries that construct our world. “Miss The World” sees them proclaim they are their own self-declared “oxymoronic protagonist”. 

Body Type is like a stranger who quickly becomes a friend you can’t imagine life without. They construct empowerment through their unflinching acknowledgement of the intricacies that make up ourselves and our experiences. They are a band that must be listened to at full volume and on repeat.