Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World
The day has finally come: a decade after their critically-acclaimed debut, Toronto’s Death From Above 1979 has made a powerful comeback with their new album, The Physical World. Produced by Grammy Award-winner David Sandy and released on Last Gang Records, this record is exactly what you’d expect: thirty-five minutes of pummeling drums and overly-distorted bass riffs that cut like chainsaws.
Although the duo disbanded in 2006, singer/drummer Sebastian Granger and bassist/backing vocalist Jesse F. Keeler reunited and have been performing and perfecting new material for the past few years. Before listening, one might imagine that DFA1979’s atypical two-piece would be lacking. However, just like their first LP, The Physical World is a dynamic onslaught of fast and loud garage-rock blasts. For the album’s duration, fat, dirty bass-lines mesh with dance grooves and visceral pounding, topped off with penetrating vocals. The only moment the record lets up is on the slightly more subdued track, "White is Red," which brings the album some welcome variety. Sonically, the only notable difference between this record and the last is the bursts of synthesizer that come and go throughout the disc.
DFA1979 new tracks cut deep and are definitely worth checking out. To support The Physical World, the band kicks off an extensive tour September 6th with dates in Canada, Europe and the US.
Author’s note: While playing this album at an enthusiastic volume, I noted a paper airplane that sailed through the window from a neighboring apartment. Seeing a note on this plane, I initially thought it was a complaint. However, the letter read: “A little weird of me to do this, but shout-out to the neighbor that was playing the new Death From Above 1979 album! I didn’t know they had new stuff -J”.
I think it’s safe to say that when your neighbors are air-mailing you compliments for playing music too loud, that band has something special.