Skip to main content

Death From Above

73
Death From Above


Death From Above
You gotta’ give it up for any duo who can make a name for themselves. Whether we are talking noise-punk heroes like Lightning Bolt or white men ripping off the blues like White Stripes or Black Keys. There’s something awesome about a duo. Death From Above are no different. This bass ‘n’ drum dance-metal duo from Toronto makes huge fuckin’ noise. Bassist Jesse F. Keeler and singer/drummer Sebastien Grainger first came on the scene with 2002’s very promising E.P. Heads Up. 2004 gave us one of the greatest noise-rock debut albums ever: You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine. At this point they had to tag on the 1979 in their name because James Murphy’s DFA Records sent them a cease-and-desist. [It’s all a bit complicated, but basically they started as Death From Above, re-named themselves Death From Above 1979, and then dropped the ‘79 again in 2017, so for those keeping track- they’re back to their original band name.] 2005 gave us the remix and b-sides album Romance Bloody Romance, which is definitely worth checking out. Unfortunately the boys took a long hiatus, originally billed as a break-up, in 2006 and we didn’t get a reunion until 2011 (their first show back at that year’s SXSW ended in chaos). The band has given us two great albums since re-forming: 2014’s The Physical World and 2017’s Outrage! Is Now. Here's your full disclaimer: this isn’t music for everyone. Some would argue that the music is too loud and nasty. But let me tell you, any band that can turn it up to eleven, pack the mosh-pit and dance-floor AT THE SAME TIME deserves some credit. Simply put, this heavy music. Apparently, at one of the band’s first practices they were practicing so loud in the basement that they knocked off their parents’ fine China plates in the upstairs living-room. I think that sums up the band well. Number 73 of Bands I Love…
It’s…
Death From Above 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grouper

 131 Grouper  Grouper Reverb. Echo. Effects. Acoustic. Droney. These are some words you could use to explain Grouper's earlier work. Grouper is the solo project of Liz Harris. Her first album was self-titled & self-released. Grouper's second album was 2006's Way Their Crept . There was something special about that mid-ought's droney-underwater sounding indie. Grouper would go on to release five (!) more albums before I came on board as a fan: 2006's Wide , 2007's Cover The Windows & The Walls , 2008's widely acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill & 2011's double-album (but separately released) AIA: Dream Loss & AIA: Alien Observer ... just to be followed up by 2012's double album: Violent Replacement Part I and Violent Replacement Part II . It wasn't until Grouper's more structured-releases that I became a full fledged fan. It was with 2013's The Man Who Died In His Boat that I finally jumped on board as a full-fled...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cake

43 Cake Cake What you need is some CAKE. The late 90's were primed for CAKE. When the emotional hangover of the grunge scene was too much, we got CAKE. This isn't a gag joke. In fact- your gag reflexes are in need of some CAKE.  Despite CAKE's quirky surface, singer John McCrea's deadpan delivery and Vince Di Fiore's mariachi trumpet playing, CAKE is as real as it gets. And with more than 25 years as a band and still going strong, they have nothing left to prove. It all started with 1994's Motorcade for Generosity with the single " Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle " which mocked trust-fund rebels. Then came 1996's Fashion Nugget with the all-time classic " The Distance ." 1998 gave us Prolonging the Magic, a high-water mark. I got on board in 2001 with Comfort Eagle . I was big on disco at the time and their cover of " I Will Survive " caught my attention, and then I saw the " Short Skirt, Long Jacket " video o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Billie Holiday

27 Billie Holiday Billie Holiday The first jazz singer to really incorporate blues & move peoples hearts, Billie is immortal. I didn't get into her with her traditional music but rather the 2007 album Remixed and Reimagined . Even through the chops & screws- one thing was unmistakable- that voice- so beautiful, so unique, so pure... She said she tried to sing like a horn & it's evident. She is one of the most accomplish vocal performers of all time. A half-a-century later & her style is still mimicked. Billie is as American as apple pie. In 1935 she was singing at the Apollo Theater. She hopped around labels- Columbia to Decca to Verve- until finding her home. She would battle personal problems (drug use & the like). She would pass away on July 17, 1959. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington... there's certain artist that are almost as important to American history as they are to the progression of popular music itself. Billie is one of...
Post a Comment
Read more