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The Ugly Army is the fourth album released by Fresh Body Shop just last June. Heavy bass riffs and snappy drum beats dominate the seven tracks of this new album while the vocals are kept husky, even whispery, but not really to the point of being annoyingly distracting.

Guitar and piano leads are kept to a minimum but they're cleanly and precisely executed. As for lyrics, they aren't fussy or overly angsty - you'll notice that they're not really the objective of this collection. The real goal is to showcase the (both real and synthesized) instrument skills of the artist.

But who are the people behind Fresh Body Shop? It's hard to say! The band is a relatively unknown one-man band based in France. He often plays with two other musicians in live gigs but it seems that the production of his albums (Make This End, Tasteless, Orgamilk, The Ugly Army) is handled mostly by him. Even with the obscurity, Fresh Body Shop's music speaks for itself.

My favorite track has got to be "My Artificial Sun". It starts with all-out drums, solid bass lines and heavy electric guitar strumming.  "Never End Up Like This" is another favorite of mine. It is, for lack of a better word, funky. The opening bass notes will immediately catch your attention. A mix of electronic effects are thrown in the middle of the song, preventing it from being too bland.

Overall, The Ugly Army is definitely worth listening to. It's got an interesting layer of sounds from different genres but in the midst of all that, Fresh Body Shop has kept to its original industrial rock flavor.

Related Links:
Fresh Body Shop on MySpace
Fresh Body Shop on Jamendo
Fresh Body Shop review on Jamendo
Fresh Body Shop on Last.fm

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