Although 2004’s You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine helped define the indie-disco era, it left people wanting more from Death From Above, as the band broke up soon after. The Physical World then came a decade later in what was a surprise reunion. It again embraced the exhausting sonic levels of the first record only with more maturity and production value. Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler then said that they wouldn’t leave it as long for the third record and the pair have proven to be men of their word with an LP that picks up where the last left off.

Outrage! Is Now is a new chapter for the band after they dropped the 1979 from their name and they’ve begun new sonic explorations with this release, “We are committed to evolution. This record is the sound of the two of us pushing at the walls. We want there to be space, surprises and action!” said Grainger. “We both wanted to see how far we could take our sound as Death From Above. In a way, that has always been our objective.”

Retreating to Jesse’s farm two hours east of Toronto to write in 2016, the musicians re-examined the way they've written in the past. They found new ways to start ideas, and tried to exorcise their old demons. With a host of demos, they then headed back to Los Angeles to work with producer and engineer Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, etc.). Making for what Jesse describes as the “fastest recording process,” the vision quickly took shape.

“The myth of what we should be didn’t exist any more,” said Grainger. “There was never a moment where we took a conventional path—either writing or recording. Eric has been making records for decades and we managed to make him say ‘Well, that's a first’ during every song! There was always some strange element thrown in. In a way it's a very serious record, but dressed in a really fun outfit.”

Opener ‘Nomad’ finds the two in the comfortable position of laying down roaring riffs and a complicated beat under the backdrop of Grainger’s intense voice. The track grabs you by the balls along with the likes of the intimidating ‘Moonlight’ and the heavy ‘Holy Books’. ‘Statues’, meanwhile, is slightly more relaxed before the penetrating ‘All I C Is U & Me’ and hurricane-esque 'Never Swim Alone' give the ears a terrific, intense workout.

Whilst it never really captures the raw emotion and arsenal of tunes the debut gave us, Outrage! Is Now is the sound of Keeler and Grainger progressing but not experimenting too much as to lose their essence, which made them so brilliant in the first place. Turn it up.

Paul Hill

Website: deathfromabove1979.com
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