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Jul 23, 2026 Web Exclusive By Andy Von Pip

Sydney’s Body Type—Sophie McComish, Annabel Blackman, Georgia Wilkinson-Derums, and Cecil Coleman—are a band who clearly don’t believe in hanging about. Two early EPs preceded their sparkling debut album, Everything Is Dangerous but Nothing’s Surprising, in May 2022, then, before anyone had quite caught their breath, Expired Candy turned up just over a year later in June 2023. Since then, though, the quartet have taken some time out, focusing on life and various side projects, which meant the wait for album number three, Tally, has stretched to a whole three years. By Body Type’s own hyperactive standards, that’s practically a My Bloody Valentine-sized gap.

But it’s been worth the wait. Tally is an album that fizzes with ideas, bristling with sly wit and, on occasion, even bongos and mellotron, while still retaining everything that made Body Type such an engaging prospect. This time around, production duties fall to Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, an artist who, by the band’s own admission, just intrinsically got their vibe and ethos. The result is a record built on irresistible melodies and plenty of attitude, as jagged riffs collide with post-punk snarl and ’60s pop sweetness.

“And What Else?” kicks things off—a bratty, bittersweet call-and-response anthem about the age-old problem of seeking validation and never quite trusting it when you get it. “Sick Bag” is the album’s most vulnerable moment; McComish reflects on negotiating the precipitous line between generosity, giving the benefit of the doubt, and letting yourself be walked over. It’s also the first Body Type track to feature a Mellotron. It’s a song of longing and making do, of love so intense it makes you feel sick; it manages to be tender and funny in equal measure.

Elsewhere, “Eye Is A Mouth Is A Face,” the first track the whole band wrote collaboratively, is a sly, subtle explosion of emotion and snakey guitar licks that nod to the agit-pop of The Au Pairs, while the driving “To Give a Rose” distils everything great about Body Type: thoughtful, melodic, witty, and incisive. “Planet 8” is possibly the album’s punkiest moment, a snarling, melodic, scuffed-up racket, all ragged edges and DIY spirit, reminiscent of the sort of track influential BBC DJ John Peel would have championed in his heyday. The album closes with the wistful “Everything All in a Row,” proof that despite slowing things right down, the band can still pack a huge emotional punch. It’s a poetic, heartbreakingly beautiful tune that highlights the depth and range that lies at the heart of Body Type.

It’s great to have them back. (www.bodytypemusic.bandcamp.com/album/tally)

Author rating: 8/10