Search - Death from Above 1979 :: Head's Up

The missing link?

Matthew J. Weaver | Colorado | 12/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Death From Above 1979 (DFA) blazed across the indie world and into that nether region between mainstream success and credibility. "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine" had some major money behind it, Vice's record imprint is technically part of Atlantic... I should say, major force, if not funds. That album was a short blast of dance-punk/metal noise that was wholly unexpected by most. Jesse's angular bass chops and Sebastian's furious Joy Division-esqe drumming created a heady brew. The mostly tongue in cheek lyrics and occasional analog synth blast just added to the mix.



However, bass and drum noisecore bands are nothing new: Lightning Bolt has been rocking that scene for over ten years. But making the same style music poppy (and sing-a-long) was pretty much unheard of. It's hard to quantify what made them so magic, but their only LP is insanely hard to put down... even over a year later.



Their first EP, "Heads Up" has since been reissued, to help fill in the catalog. Whether this is an opportunistic grab from Last Gang, is immaterial, although the re-release fixes the old textual errors (the original release had the wrong website and "Death From Above" without the 1979 appended... pre-"cease and desist letter") and adds new ones ("Too Much Love" is misspelled).



Since the band broke up, chances are you will pick this up and it's well worth the price. Judging this record in comparison to "You're a Woman..", it gets four stars. However, in the grander scheme it's a little more mediocre. Remember this was originally released in 2002. Jesse and Sebastian endured two more years of sweaty basement gigs before they achieved success.



Of course the record quality is lower, more consistent with self produced home studio albums. If that turns you off, be thankful that "You're a Woman..." is so sparkly... indie music in general, might not be for you. Remember some of the greatest indie records of the last twenty five years were pretty rough (Black Flag's "Damaged I", The Wrens "Secaucus", At The Drive-In's "In Casino Out", etc). If anything, it's more consistent with noisecore... even if DFA isn't technically a noisecore band (Jesse's background is more arty-retro punk). After all, Lightning Bolt tries to make records sound "live".



The album starts out with, what sounds like Japenese or gibberish through a vocoder and rockets into "Dead Womb" (a song that evokes some of the quicker moments on "You're a Woman..."). "Dead Womb" is a quicker step and a little less "dancey" than anything on "You're a Woman", almost more punk. The next song, "Too Much Love" continues like that... actually a little more driving as the song doesn't really break up for a hook. "Too Much Love" actually has Jesse singing too, one of the few times you really hear him doing background vocals. "Do It!" (live) actually is probably my favorite track on the album. It starts with a little synth and breaks up for a long vocoder piece in the middle (laid over some double bass drumming). Except for the intro and outro, "Do It!" sounds just like the other tracks (in terms of production)... that's only mentionable because it's a live album. "Do It!" seems to be more metal too... the drumming is slightly more technical and entwined with the bass. "My Love is Shared" has a pretty big hook, which the earlier songs don't really have. "Losing Friends" starts with pummeling drum work and a very rhythmic bass part, quickly going into the metal-punk-dance style that they would build on for "You're a Woman...". One major distinction is that played with a full band, it would actually make a pretty convincing punk-metal/metalcore anthem. Crazy, eh? The album ends with "If We Don't Make It, We'll Fake It", a longer more screamy song, with a weird synth/vocoder outro.



What makes this different form "You're a Woman..."?



Well, the vocals are more distorted and nothing is double-tracked. While the casual listener interprets this as "poor production", it is actually proof that the band was just as good live as they were in a big studio. Another big distinction is the ability to hear the background vocals.



Overall, this is a more aggressive, less poppy release than their album. Since it lacks the extreme polish it isn't a stretch to say that it might not be for everyone. Yet, you should pick it up, anyway (only 2000 copies were made of the re-issue) and listen to it thoughtfully. DFA was brilliantly punk, self destructing before they could ruin their credibility and this just adds to an album that will become legendary in the future.



Buy it!"

Better than the full length

M. Maxwell | Vancouver, BC, Canada | 04/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It didn't take me too long to warm up to this band, although at times the singer's voice annoys me a bit. All the same this is a 5 star EP all the way, whereas "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine" is more a 4 or 4 and a half star effort.



I love "You're a Woman..." but this disc just kills, start to finish, whereas the previously mentioned full length disc had a weak track or 2. Also the drumming is way heavier on this one.



Any fans of this band not having heard this disc yet would be well advised to pick it up. It's not even 14 minutes, but furious drum & bass action with pile-driving riffs all the way."