IN REVIEW: Death From Above - "Outrage! Is Now"

After a decade of intensifying anticipation, Death From Above (they're finally able to drop the '1979') couldn't have possibly met expectations with their sophomore record, 2014's The Physical World; though it was more or less well received, there was a prevailing sense that the mark had been missed. That happens when you go ten years between records; change is inevitable, and a closer representation to the sound of that debut likely would have provoked accusations of contrivance anyway. Taken on its own merits - you know, without the need to live up to a legacy that's been blown out of proportion - there were a lot of layers on The Physical World that positioned DFA not as a band that needed to maintain a perceived ideal, but rather expand it.

If this is your philosophy, then Outrage! Is Now will feel like a sensible continuation and not a further distancing; the melodies and hooks that became more amplified on The Physical World are a much bigger story on this album. Sticky riffs and hooks abound, especially in Jesse Keeler's vocal delivery. Listening to early album highlight Caught Up may feel as far removed from the ragged swagger of You're a Woman I'm a Machine as it gets (at least until the song finds another gear toward its conclusion). This is the kind of song seemingly designed to pimp slap Royal Blood back into DFA's shadow and, if the former hadn't blown up to stadium-sized proportions already, it may have worked.

Elsewhere, the sonic tinkering that crept into the last record also plays a greater role. The piano that acted as extra flavour on previous single Trainwreck 1979 leads the way on Freeze Me, this album's lead single. There are added instrumental flourishes, noises and effects strewn throughout, and it's clear that the group's sonic palette is still expanding. There's also a noted shift in mood and attitude here; as finely tuned as the hooks are, there's more nastiness both musically and lyrically. Accomapnying some of Keeler's most profane and confrontational lyrics (Never Swim Alone features a particularly scowling take on our entertainment-obsessed society) is some of the group's most aggressive music; there are a lot of sinewy, writhing, guttural riffs that are amplified by Sebastien Grainger's pummeling drums (including horns-up double kicks on a couple of occasions). Whether it's the lo-fi Sabbath worship of opener Nomad, the sinister industrial undertones of the title track, the slash n' burn boogie of Nvr 4Evr or the metallic caterwaul of closer Holy Books, Death From Above certainly can't be accused of going soft.

This album once again proves that Death From Above isn't trying to take anyone back to 2004. Rather, having already established a modicum of separation from their debut, Outrage! Is Now seeks to further dissuade attempts at pigeonholing while keeping their core aesthetic recognizable. Bands that twist and adapt their sound are typically the ones that endure in the hearts and minds of music lovers and, now that there's a palpable sense of progression rather than simply a ten year gap between Point A and Point B, Death From Above seem primed to live on for a long time.

September 8, 2014 • Last Gang
Highlights Caught Up • Nvr 4Evr • Holy Books