Time has a funny way of illuminating the past; nostalgia may be a bittersweet notion in these ever-changing times, but it does manage to illustrate something's relevance in the long run. 2004 wasn't necessarily a standout year- Bush was still in office, Friends ended, music snobbery on the internet was in its infant-stages (the word "Pitchfork" was still a mere farming farming tool and not a self-important hub of music critic one-upsmanship)- we were an aggressive, cynical nation overall. Enter DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979- a two-man skull-cracking, riff-driven, madness machine bent on disinterested mayhem. On their debut album, "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine", vocalist/drummer Sebastien Grainger and bassist/synth player Jesse F. Keeler delivered a blast of relentlessly unhinged post-punk songs that weren't afraid to shed its violent backbeat into 70's-dance rock melody and hooks. Despite helming such an exciting record, the duo parted ways soon after- scoffing at rumors of ever making a follow-up.
It's 2014 now, amidst our wave of evolving personal politics, elevated vicarious lifestyles through constant self-promotion on social networks (words that are now commonly used), and rising kale popularity- we're boring. Stagnant, even. The majority of the music that impacts the charts (and more importantly, the afformentioned hub of music critic one-upsmanship) typically falls into three camps: acoustic guitar whining, sterilized synthy-driven dance pop, or nonsensical avante garde instrumental compositions. This looks like a job for DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979!
With the nearly a decade passed, DFA1979 triumphantly returns with a second (and much-needed) release: "The Physical World." Barely straying from their initial sound, the duo fervently rekindled the manic, angular pop sensibility demonstrated on their debut and didn't spare a moment to second-guess. It's the same band, making the same kind of music- the only thing that's changed is the musical landscape. Somebody had to save the world from the industry's vanilla-tinged boredom, our stereos will thank us for DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979.
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