[rating=7.00]
Ten years have passed since the Toronto bass and drums duo Death from Above 1979 released its debut LP, the high-octane You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. For a good while, it seemed that record would be the only full-length release the duo would put out, following an extended hiatus that began in 2006. But then in 2011 came the announcement of a reunion, which was followed up by several highly anticipated concerts; now, three years later, there’s a whole new collection of tunes to boot. The Physical World is a fine return to form for this group, which is all the more surprising given the follies that have unfolded in the recent rash of reunion albums.
Take, for instance, My Bloody Valentine. Although the context for that band’s 2013 reunion album, m b v, is far different than the one DFA1979 faces for The Physical World, the comparison does have some value. My Bloody Valentine is a band that put out a record that caused not only scene changes in rock around the world, but also became a formative influence for genres that are seeing their biggest public appreciations in the present day, shoegaze and post-rock namely. The album in question, 1991’s Loveless, is so rare and monumental an achievement that even though the group called it quits after that LP, it’s not as if the world lost out. Though it can be hard to tell without the benefit of retrospective, it is often the case that a single LP gives more gifts than numerous records collectively could. Even a collection of the strongest shoegaze albums would have a hard time vaulting the influence of Loveless.
So when m b v finally saw the light of day in 2013, following years of rumors and sly hints in interviews with Kevin Shields, the feeling was best described as, “Eh.” What more did My Bloody Valentine need to give to the musical world? Sure, m b v displays a lot of pretty textural instrumentation, the kind that make Loveless the classic it is, but even at its best it feels like an unnecessary victory lap. It sounded exactly what one would think a new My Bloody Valentine record would sound like. Even in 2014, Loveless still has a lot to give; the need for another LP in the same vein, then, is questionable at best.
A valuable question to ask in the case of a band’s coming together, one that naturally arose as a result of My Bloody Valentine’s reunion, is this: what more does a band have to say that it hasn’t said? This question is quite pertinent in the matter of DFA1979, especially considering that the sonic established on You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine didn’t hint at a lot of room for expansion. But expectations be damned: The Physical World is a solid record, one that manages to stay comfortably within the wheelhouse that its predecessor established without feeling like an absolute retread.
The success of You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine was that it took two instruments—bass and drums—and made them sound like they were making the sound of several more instruments. Bassist Jesse Keeler plays his instrument with the heft of two rock guitarists working simultaneously. Sebastien Grainger skillfully manages to belt out some gritty vocal hooks all the while hammering it out on the drums.
The Physical World carries on these successes, serving as a potent reminder of why DFA1979 caused such a splash in 2004. The riffs on “Right On, Frankenstein” and “Virgins” are groovy, bluesy behemoths that more than live up to the promise that You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine showed ten years ago. There’s even some expansion from the duo’s original sound: “White is Red” brings the distortion worship into more emotional territory. It’s not a full-on power ballad, however; after all, these guys did write the song “Sexy Results.” It is, however, enough to demonstrate that these guys aren’t simply hitting the repeat button on a once-successful formula. There’s still plenty of gas in the tank as far as songwriting is concerned.
There’s nowhere on this LP where DFA1979 pushes itself into radically new territory, and as a result it does look less impressive in light of how strong the band’s previous achievements are. However, this ends up not being a problem, probably due in large part to the decade that the duo took off in recording new material. Had The Physical World come out shortly after You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, it would have likely felt more been-there-done-that; but with ten years between the both of them, the slight tweaks in songwriting approach on this record feel significant enough to give it a fresh feel.
Returning then to the question posed by My Bloody Valentine’s 2013 reunion: does DFA1979 still have things to say? The Physical World shows that the answer is an affirmative one, although the same issue with You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine rears its head again here. There is only so much Keeler and Grainger can do with the limited bass and drum format, no matter how wicked their riffs and how danceable their grooves. This is the relevant disanalogy in comparing My Bloody Valentine and DFA1979; while the former put out a groundbreaking release that influenced several genres, the latter is mostly responsible for making an exceptional rock and roll record, one within the genre’s purview that slightly deviated from it in its instrumentation. Nevertheless, at least Keeler and Grainger have pulled off the tricky task of remaining relevant and invigorating. Ten years may have been a lengthy wait, but unlike their peers who waited longer to reconvene, this duo actually justified the time it took off.
