Death from Above 1979 - The Physical World

Death from Above 1979

The Physical World

9 September 2014

Last Gang

 

3.5 stars out of 5

 

 

Coming almost ten years after their first LP, Toronto’s Death from Above 1979 have released their second, The Physical World. In the decade in between, the band saw international success, toured everywhere, broke up, reformed, smoked crack with Rob Ford, toured again with new material, and dated Beyoncé. (I may have made a couple of those things up.) The new material? Still the same fuzzy bass and drums, played loud and fast. The new romance? Rumour has it that Jay-Z has threatened James Murphy with lawsuits if he doesn’t stay away from his baby mama.

 

In all seriousness though, if you long nostalgically for 2004 and the whole garage punk revival thing, The Physical World is a suitable replacement. There are some great ass-shaking moments here, such as “Right On, Frankenstein!” and “Always On.” The lead single, “Trainwreck 1979,” is basically an encapsulation of everything NME loved in 2004: punk rock and dance in the same package. The title track is the missing link between Deep Purple and The Sex Pistols, and it’s not nearly as bad as that might sound.

 

DFA 1979 keep their sights narrow and focus on just doing what they do best: making hard, fast, danceable punk rock. That they do so without guitars is somewhat less revolutionary now than it was ten years ago, but is still unusual. The Physical World is made for good times, and while this may be an inherently shallow goal, it’s a goal everyone must strive for once in a while.

 

reviewed by Richard Krueger