Noble Bodies

NOBLE BODIES
IT’S OK IT’S HELL

Self-Released
Street: 11.27
Noble Bodies = Live + Catherine Wheel
Utah alternative rock band Noble Bodies formed when Bryce Taylor met bandmate Elaine Bradley in Germany while both were serving LDS missions in 2003. Initially forming under the moniker Another Statistic with third member Chris Bennett, the band expanded and contracted through several trials over the ensuing years, including breaking apart for no small duration to recently reform beneath their current moniker. It’s OK It’s Hell is their first EP, released earlier this month with single “What A World.” Seven tracks make up the collection, which opens boldly with Taylor and Bradley’s powerful two-prong vocals and expansive, echoey guitars. In fact, the ardent dual voices nearly become overwhelming and distracting at times when set alongside the simple guitar and drum combo. The sonic personality of the EP is grand and dramatic, as though the tracks were recorded in a large, marbled concert hall. “Foolish Virgins” leads the listener to some uncomfortably familiar messages about faith, religion, rebellion and identity struggle, set to moments of impassioned screams. “I’m a Rollercoaster” and “Nightingale” are reminiscent of Evanescence in the early 2000s era, displaying some percussive mastery with melancholy, pretty melody and ringing guitars. The overall tone of the EP is sad, occasionally angry and contemplative, with a dash of existential angst. Closing track “You Knew What I Was When You Picked Me Up” finishes the collection on a properly brooding note with heaps of Christian imagery, and remains true to the emotional thrust of its sibling songs. It’s OK It’s Hell is a worthy listen, especially for fans of the late ’90s, early ’00s alternative era. The music is familiar to the genre and decade yet chock full of contemporary millennial narratives, making it a solid conduit for the old and the new in amalgam. –Paige Zuckerman - Slug Magazine

If you love Elaine Bradley of the Provo-rooted rock group Neon Trees, then you'll definitely love checking out her new project, Noble Bodies. Comprised of the main members of 2004-2008 Provo rock staple Another Statistic, Noble Bodies is a new group with new great sounds that will be performing at The Urban Lounge (241 S. 500 E. in Salt Lake City) for a 21 and up show Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. with the Solarists and Widow Case. - The Daily Herald

Composed of Bryce Taylor, Chris Bennett, and Elaine Bradley, the trio came back together to make music after an earlier split in 2008. While they were all living their own lives, Elaine Bradley was a drummer for the well-known band Neon Trees and even sit in with Late Night with Seth Meyers 8G band for a week.

Now, 10 years later, the band is together once again (though under a different name), creating even better music, and living every day doing what they love. - Fox13 News

“The guided hand of providence,” as Elaine Bradley called it, moved she and her family from Provo to Germany this past summer. That same hand, it seems, is pulling Bradley in many different directions simultaneously.

Don’t worry, though. She’s flexible.

The musician, best known for her percussion work in Neon Trees, is staying busy in the States while her husband and three children are living more than 5,000 miles away. Neon Trees is ramping up again, and her other band, Noble Bodies, is making a new push after a 10-year hiatus. Bradley spoke with the Daily Herald recently from a hotel room in Los Angeles — she had just arrived for a Neon Trees show at the city’s famed Troubadour nightclub.

Indeed, she’s kicking things into high gear these days. Our conversation covered a range of topics — her move to Germany, reviving Noble Bodies, Neon Trees’ new music, Tyler Glenn’s surprising and divisive solo album — and Bradley seems excited but fairly at ease with most of it.

JUGGLING HER PASSIONS
First, Germany. Leaving Utah and relocating there had been an option for a while: Bradley served an LDS mission in Germany; her husband, Sebastian, is German; and their three kids, ages 5, 3 and 2, all have dual citizenship. Jumping through immigration hoops wasn’t an issue. The opportunity presented itself, and they took it.

“It’s been smooth, except for the inner turmoil,” Bradley said. “The logistics of it aren’t hard. I don’t mind flying. I feel like once you have children, and you know what it’s like to fly with children, if you fly alone again you never curse it. Like, ‘OK, there’s a delay. Well, at least I don’t have my children.’

“So it’s not like our family is in turmoil,” she continued. “It’s hard for me, and it’s hard for them to not have me there, but everything else is great.”

Noble Bodies, which formerly went by the name Another Statistic, garners a lot of Bradley’s excitement. The band was among Provo’s most influential acts a decade ago. And the project predated Neon Trees. While most folks associate Bradley with Neon Trees’ pop-centric sound, Noble Bodies showcases a much different side of her musicianship, and her personality. The songs are complex, dense and somewhat mysterious, channeling the 1990s harcore/indie-emo sound that Bradley has long treasured. And in Noble Bodies, as in everything she does, Bradley is all in.

“It’s not fun, to me at least, to play in a band, to practice, to put forth effort, doing something that doesn’t have a plan or is not going anywhere,” she said. “We’re older, wiser and we just don’t care as much about the stuff that doesn’t matter — and we totally, completely care more about the stuff that does matter. And music is one of those things that totally matters to all of us, so we’re just going for it.”

As for how Bradley juggles Noble Bodies and Neon Trees, it’s yet to be seen. Neon Trees took a break in 2015 after touring for its third album, 2014’s “Pop Psychology.” And it was a real break: Bradley said they stopped practicing during this time and all lived their own lives for a while. Neon Trees released a new single, “Feel Good,” in August, and is now sifting through a bunch of new material for an upcoming album. After the L.A. show, Neon Trees will play an October concert in New York City. They’ve been rehearsing, with a lot of “scheming and writing and refining,” as Bradley called it. - Daily Herald

A BYU religion professor, a famous drummer, and a high school buddy don’t normally belong together in a rock band. However, Noble Bodies has been together since 2004, long before their drummer made it big in the band Neon Trees.

BYU religion professor Bryce Taylor said he met Neon Trees drummer Elaine Bradley while they served LDS missions in Germany.

“She was talking to a group of teenagers and she took one boy’s skateboard and did a kick-flip,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he knew then he wanted to get to know her and play music together.

Taylor encouraged Bradley to come to Utah to play music with him when she returned home from her church service. Bradley applied to BYU and decided to attend after receiving an academic scholarship.

Bradley said they spent time together her first day in Utah and every day since. Bradley said the first time they played guitars together it didn’t work, and Taylor said they couldn’t write something they both liked.

After a lull in their enthusiasm to play together, Bradley said she told Taylor, “I have a drum set in my house; why don’t you come over and play guitar and I’ll play the drums?”

Dani Jardine
Noble Bodies band member Bryce Taylor teaches a class on Joseph Smith at BYU. (Dani Jardine)
Both Taylor and Bradley weren’t sure Bradley could play the drums well enough to play with Taylor, but Bradley said after they played together, she realized she was better than she remembered.

However, Taylor and Bradley still felt like something was missing. Bradley said Taylor told her he had a friend, Chris Bennett, from high school who played the bass guitar and if he wasn’t good they didn’t have to bring him back. Taylor and Bradley decided Bennett was the most technically sound person in the group after hearing him play the first time.


Noble Bodies practices their music to prepare for a show. (Chris Bennett)
The group formed the band Another Statistic in 2004 and played in downtown Provo in the Battle of the Bands at Velour against the now-famous Neon Trees.

“Tyler Glenn (lead singer of Neon Trees) and I started off as enemies,” Bradley said. “We beat them in Battle of the Bands.”

Taylor said the three-person band split up shortly after their triumph over Neon Trees in the Battle of the Bands because life got in the way. Taylor went back to Germany to get his PhD and Bennett did real estate. Bradley said when Neon Trees needed a drummer, she was ready for it.

“Glenn didn’t want a ‘token girl’ in the band because they aren’t good enough,” Bradley said. “I had to prove my worth and I did. After the first practice they knew I was good.”

About a year ago, when Taylor returned from Germany, Bradley had some time off and needed to practice the drums. She said she hates practicing the drums by herself and begged Taylor to practice with her.

“He came over one afternoon and we wrote two songs in an hour,” Bradley said.

Dani Jardine
From left: Bryce Taylor, Elaine Bradley and Chris Bennett discuss how they formed Noble Bodies. (Dani Jardine)
Bradley and Taylor decided together they wanted to get Bennett on board. The band came back together, but Bradley said they needed a new name for their band. They now call themselves “Noble Bodies,” a name all three felt strongly about.

“We do believe we have these bodies that are of a noble birthright. They are going to be something more than they are now,” Bradley said. “It’s keeping in mind what you can become, rather than the stupid state we are in.”

Bradley is still very much a part of Neon Trees. She was excited about Neon Trees’s recently released single “Feel Good.” Bradley said she has always had a passion for the Noble Bodies band because of her friendship with Taylor and Bennett.

All three band members are Mormon, but Bradley said she didn’t want to be a Christian rock band.

“I want to be a rock band that is peculiarly Christian,” Bradley said.

Taylor said he has strong feelings for teaching the gospel in the classroom and living the gospel out of the classroom, making the point that the gospel can be shared through our God-given talents.

“We want to bring back the meaningful rock again,” Bradley said.

The band members said they love rock music, but there is too much bad rock and not enough good. Bradley said they sing from their hearts since a lot of other rock music doesn’t lyrically have anything of worth or to be excited about.

The band features lyrics they are passionate about — anything from Jesus to life to philosophy.

They said this is something worth enjoying together, even though their lives remain busy.

“If we’re gonna fail at this, at least we’ll overtly fail miserably and gloriously fail,” Bradley said. “If it’s not gonna work, let it be because it doesn’t work and not because we didn’t try.”

Noble Bodies will perform Sept. 30 at Velour in downtown Provo. Doors open at 8 p.m. - The Daily Universe

As Elaine Bradley tells it, she owes Bryce Taylor a child.

Since that isn’t really on the table, she named a son after him instead.

“He’s the reason I started playing the drums again, which is the reason I have the job I have, he’s the reason I met my husband,” Bradley explained. “It’s kind of an epic friendship we have.”

Before Bradley started drumming for Neon Trees, she and Taylor, along with Chris Bennett, comprised the band Another Statistic, which was a mainstay in Provo’s music scene from 2004 till 2008. Neon Trees was gaining momentum by 2008, and Taylor’s wife was pregnant. Life had come to a head.

“Bryce broke up the band, that’s what I’m trying to say,” Bradley joked.

“I fully admit my faults,” Taylor countered. “I teach religion. I mean, it’s part of the repentance process.”

The past decade has taken them in pretty different directions: Bradley toured the world with Neon Trees, which released three albums; Taylor moved to Germany for post-grad schooling, then returned to Provo to teach religion at Brigham Young University; Bennett launched a successful local real estate company with his wife. Now, though, their respective paths have brought them back together. They’ve resurrected Another Statistic under a new moniker, Noble Bodies, and are headlining Velour Live Music Gallery on Saturday.

Why the new name? For one, “Another Statistic” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue — seriously, try saying it three times fast. Beyond that, the members don’t want to stick in the past. This isn’t a one-off reunion show. It’s an updated sound, brand new songs and a real desire to get those songs out to the world.

And, of course, it helps that Bradley’s name-recognition goes a lot further now than in Another Statistic’s heyday. That recognition is actually what led she, Taylor and Bennett back together. Bradley got invited on NBC’s “The Late Show with Seth Meyers” last year as a guest musician for the show’s house band. She was nervous about the weeklong gig, as Neon Trees was on hiatus and her drumming skills were rusty.

“I don’t know if you know this about me: I really am not a drummer, and don’t like practicing,” she said. “I’m not a drummer through and through — I’m a musician, and I happen to play the drums. And I want to excel at it when I do it, but I don’t practice by myself.”

She needed a practice partner, and recruited Taylor, who had recently moved back to Provo.

“And we wrote, like, two or three songs that first afternoon,” she recalled.

They invited Bennett over to join on bass, and had another batch of songs in no time. The band mates said that’s pretty much how things have always gone between them — when they first started playing together, things just clicked. They didn’t have any preconceived notions of what the songs should be. Their collective goal, Bradley said, has always been to just make the music they wish other bands would make.

“Basically, we’re on a mission to introduce ourselves to everybody, so that they have a chance to love us as much as we do,” Bradley said with a laugh. “But when I ask people for their opinions, I’m just curious — we’re not going to do anything about it, you know. We just hope that people agree with us. And if they don’t, then we’ll keep doing everything we do.”

“Elaine is just this force,” Taylor added. “She’s going to do it no matter what anybody thinks, which I love about her.”

The band hesitates to describe its sound. But the new songs, which are set to be released on an EP sometime soon, employ an intriguing mix of melodic hardcore, math-rock and ’90s-era emo, with guitars and vocals that truly swoop and soar. Taylor and Bradley regularly trade off vocals, occasionally flying off the rails in thrilling, feral fashion. (If you’ve never heard Bradley scream herself hoarse, this is your chance.)

“People ask us, ‘Well, what genre of music are you guys?’ And that’s a loaded question, because we’re not really sure,” Chris Bennett said. “It’s us. We all have different tastes in music. There’s stuff I love that Bryce and Elaine would never even think of listening to. But when we come together, we’re able to create something that we all love. We just start playing, and see where the music takes us.

“It’s like we just picked up where we left off,” he continued. “I really love the music that we’re doing now. I think it has a lot of the same fundamental principles and elements of our old stuff, but it’s slightly redesigned.” - Daily Herald

We had the great privilege to have Elaine Bradley (Neon Trees/Noble Bodies) fill in for the drummer of the 8G band. - NBC