In this AFI Bodies review, I look at how the 2021 album moves away from the band’s hardcore punk roots and into a darker, synth-heavy alternative rock sound. AFI is not the band that you remember from their hardcore punk days. If “Bodies” is your first introduction to their current body of work, you’ll be sour fast. This record is nothing like the fast-paced, frenetic punk rockers that broke the mold previously. What you are left with now is a more brooding, Cure meets Adam Ant meets Misfits with a little polish. The themes are ever there, loss, life, love, death, and the like, but you’ll find the music to be a little less hardcore than previous releases.
That is not to say that “Bodies” is a bad record. On the contrary, it’s an eclectic record that mixes rock and much more. This is especially heard on tracks with heavy synth elements, like “Escape From Los Angeles”, and on bass lines that come through nicely, like those of “Dulceria” and “Begging For Trouble”. There’s not a lot of screaming, there’s not a lot of gusto on this record, but it’s not bad by any means.
AFI manages to create a record that bridges the gap between their previous recordings and offers an interesting mix of sounds. It’s not hardcore, it’s not too heavy, it’s as though the Cure had a brother that got into keyboards. That’s about as good as I can describe the music. It’s not quite punk, it’s not quite alternative, it’s not goth, it’s just AFI. It has some great notes, catchy rhythms, and, well, it works. “Bodies” works on a level that I didn’t think it would, and has me hooked. It’ll catch you off guard, and will no doubt be a record you spin many times over.
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