Dope Body is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, United States. They formed in 2008 by vocalist Andrew Laumann, guitarist/bassist Zachary Utz, and drummer David Jacober. They released four albums in addition to a

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

and two

split record Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

s. They expanded to a quartet, adding bassist Jesse Lyell in 2011, who was replaced by John Jones, late of local contemporaries

Roomrunner Roomrunner was a noise rock group from Baltimore, Maryland, fronted by Denny Bowen, formerly of Double Dagger (band), Double Dagger, Yukon (band), Yukon, and Dan Deacon, The Dan Deacon Ensemble. The group also included prominent Baltimore record ...

, the next year.

History

All natives of the Baltimore area, Dope Body, named for a quote from an online video the band enjoyed, originally came together in 2008 for a one-off show at Baltimore's Natural History museum space, while Andrew Laumann was located in San Francisco. The show was very successful, and the band continued, with Laumann soon moving back to Baltimore and the group releasing the ''Twenty Pound Brick'' cassette the next year. More live dates with the likes of

Double Dagger A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descenda ...

soon followed, as well as a split LP with Brooklyn duo Orphan. 2011 was an especially productive year for Dope Body, with their debut full length ''Nupping'' coming out on Hoss Records, followed by a split record with Detroit's

Child Bite Child Bite is an American punk/metal band formed in 2005 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's core members are founding vocalist Shawn Knight and longtime bassist Sean Clancy. Child Bite's sound has been described as "enormous and predatory, from th ...

. The group expanded its lineup in 2011, adding Jesse Lyell, who had played with Baltimore punk band Sick Weapons, as a full-time bassist. 2012 saw Lyell leaving the group with John Jones, formerly of

taking his place, and the release of ''Natural History'' on Drag City records, which was recorded with

J. Robbins James Robbins (best known as J. Robbins) is an American rock musician. Career Robbins began his career as a bassist for Government Issue, and has also led five of his own bands: Jawbox, Rollkicker Laydown, Burning Airlines, Channels, and Off ...

Jawbox Jawbox is an American alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in 1989 by J. Robbins (vocals/guitar), Kim Coletta (bass), and Adam Wade (drums). After the trio released the album ''Grippe'' in 1991, Bill Barbot (guitar/vocals) join ...

fame. Dope Body also toured Europe in 2012, released their Saturday EP in 2013 and released their album ''LIFER'' in 2014. Dope Body decided to call it quits in 2016. They played two final shows in May; one at Metro Gallery and one at Floristree. All members are planning to stay active in the Baltimore arts and music scene; Utz and Jacober play with Lexie Mountain in the band Scroll Downers, John makes music as Nerftoss, and Andrew is keeping busy with the Baltimore visual arts scene as a member of Jackson’s House Collective. Dope Body reformed in 2020; releasing their album ''Home Body'' in May. The band entered an “indefinite hiatus” the following year.

Sound and style

Dope Body has been described as "a speedball of dirty noise rock and radio friendly alt. rock" and compared to

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

and

Brainiac Brainiac is a colloquial adjective used to describe exceptionally intelligent people. It may also refer to: Culture Fictional entities * Brainiac (character), a fictional supervillain in DC Comics, and an enemy of Superman * Brainiac (story arc), ...

. The bands sound and style has been largely described as

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

garage punk A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: * Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehic ...

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavi ...

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and even

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

, however the band have also experimented with genres like

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and even with more recent projects

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

music and

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

. The band have also mentioned in interviews that they are influenced by hip hop and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

music in terms of groves and rhythm.

Discography

Albums

*''Nupping'', Hoss, 2011 *''Natural History'', Drag City, 2012 *''Lifer'', Drag City, 2014 *''Kunk'', Drag City, 2015 *''Home Body'', Drag City, 2020 *''Crack A Light'', Drag City, 2020

Split Albums and EPs

*''Self Entitled'' (split with Orphan), Black Tent Press, 2010 *''Split with

'', Forge Again, 2011

Mixtapes and Cassettes

*''Twenty Pound Brick'', Watercolor, 2009 *''Home Body'', Drag City, 2020

Singles and EPs

*''Saturday'', Drag City, 2013

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Baltimore American noise rock music groups Musical groups established in 2008 Rock music groups from Maryland Drag City (record label) artists