Death from Above 1979: The Physical World ALBUM REVIEW

Death from Above 1979 are a duo that got their start back in 2002 with their EP Heads Up, which displayed the duo's ability to craft tight, danceable tunes with a lot of guts. Their debut LP further proved this, but where You're a Woman, I'm a Machine resonated with the public, critics weren't as keen on it ( at least at the time of its release). In retrospect, that LP was the precursor to what was acceptable in mainstream rock music, with a lot of feel-good songs wrapped in rough, chugging riffs.

The Physical World is the long awaited follow up to YAWIAM, and it sticks pretty close to the blueprint that that LP used, which leads, unsurprisingly, to another wholly enjoyable rock album, though it is a little less exciting. That's not to say TPW won't get your blood pumping, but its just not the left-field attack that their last album was, though that has everything to do with how influential that LP was.

The album kicks off with some nice riffs and a pretty strong hook on the track "Cheap Talk". The lyrics are decent, though fairly unobtrusive, something that is true of pretty much all of DFA's material. But the album continues its run of groove-heavy riffs and crisp choruses with the following two tracks "Right On, Frankenstein!" and "Virgins", even though the latter has one of the most boilerplate lyrical concepts on the entire LP.

I would say that every track on TPW is solid, and not a single one does anything offensive. However, the flip side is that none of the tracks do anything radically new, for both rock music and DFA as a band. But, I honestly can't say I'm too upset with that, since DFA still know how to pen a tune, and are still cranking up the volume nobs on their amplifiers to 11, incorporating plenty of distortion as well.

The band also manages to work in a couple of slower moments like the album centerpiece, "White Is Red" where the lyrics describe a relationship that went south, over a familiarly chunky instrumental and what sounds like a synth lead in the background.

So, if you're in the market for a chunky, headbang- worthy rock record, then The Physical World has you covered. For what it lacks in innovation it really makes up in just being solid rock LP from top to bottom.

8.2/10