The Official Body

The Official Body
Studio album by Shopping
Released	19 January 2018 (2018-01-19)
Genre	Post-punk[1] funk rock[1] new wave[2] post-rock[2] surf rock[3]
Length	40:54
Label	FatCat
Producer	Edwyn Collins
Shopping chronology
Why Choose (2015) The Official Body (2018) All or Nothing (2020)
Singles from The Official Body
"The Hype" Released: 25 September 2017[4][5]

The Official Body is the third studio album by British post-punk band Shopping. It was released on 19 January 2018 through FatCat Records.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.1/10[6]
Metacritic	76/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B+[8]
Clash	8/10[9]
Exclaim!	6/10[10]
NME	[11]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[1]
Record Collector	[12]
The Skinny	[13]
Uncut	7/10[14]
Vice (Expert Witness)	A−[15]

The Official Body was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 15 reviews.^[7] Tom Hull gave it an A-minus and said that the "songs are tight, clean, [and] have a rhythm and tone similar to that of such classic post-punk bands as Wire, Gang of Four, and Joy Division.^[16]

Track listing

All music is composed by Shopping

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Hype"	3:55
2.	"Wild Child"	2:22
3.	"Asking for a Friend"	2:42
4.	"Suddenly Gone"	2:38
5.	"Shave Your Head"	2:54
6.	"Discover"	3:01
7.	"Control Yourself"	4:12
8.	"My Dad's a Dancer"	2:14
9.	"New Values"	3:43
10.	"Overtime"	3:53
Total length:		31:31

Personnel

The following individuals were credited with the album's production and artwork.^[17]

• Edwyn Collins — Producer
• DLT Design — Layout
• Billy Easter — Cover Photo
• Shopping — Design, Layout, Primary Artist
• Matthew Williams — Inside Photo

References

1. Moreland, Quinn (19 January 2018). "Shopping: The Official Body". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
2. Phares, Heather. "The Official Body – Shopping". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
3. "Review: Shopping - The Official Body". SLUG Magazine. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
4. Rettig, James (25 September 2017). "Shopping – "The Hype"". Stereogum. Bauer Media. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
5. Thompson, Paul (27 September 2017). ""The Hype" by Shopping Review". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
6. "The Official Body by Shopping reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
7. "The Official Body by Shopping Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
8. O'Neal, Sean (19 January 2018). "Shopping, The Official Body". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
9. Murray, Robin (15 January 2018). "SHOPPING – The Official Body". Clash. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
10. Blenkarn, Matthew (15 January 2018). "Shopping: The Official Body". Exclaim!. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
11. Smith, Thomas (16 January 2018). "Shopping – 'The Official Body' Album Review". NME. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
12. Pearlman, Mischa (January 2018). "Shopping – The Official Body". Record Collector (475). Retrieved 9 January 2019.
13. Scott, Hayley (17 January 2018). "Shopping – The Official Body". The Skinny. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
14. Pattison, Louis (February 2018). "Shopping: The Official Body". Uncut (249): 32.
15. Christgau, Robert (24 February 2018). "Robert Christgau on Fever Ray's 'Plunge' Into the Beyond". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
16. Hull, Tom (28 February 2018). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
17. "The Official Body - Shopping Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

External links

• The Official Body on Bandcamp
• The Official Body at FatCat Records