SOUND BITES

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...

Who could have predicted a decade ago that Death From Above 1979's debut album, the spiky electro-fuzz dance punk platter You're A Woman, I'm A Machine , would go on to become one of the aughts' most highly regarded albums? Probably the same percentage of folks who could have predicted that, until now, it would be their only studio album. After a few tumultuous years and some remix action, DFA79 took a half decade off before a tentative reunion three years ago that has finally gone full-blown with the release of sophomore effort The Physical World . It's virtually impossible for human beings to go ten years without maturing, and The Physical World can't help but excise some of the young, hungry energy and manic attack of YAWIAM ; hooks here are sharper, the overall sound more refined. It's really only problematic if you actually believe Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler were put into cryostasis, which (sorry, Terminator fans) they were not. The res...