New Zealand’s Die! Die! Die! has been offering equal amounts of noisy, jagged riffs and undeniably catchy melodies for close to twenty years now, channeling everything from straight up punk rock to post punk, shoegaze, and plenty of adjacent genres. The punk spirit and sheer noise in both the vocals and instrumentation that was on their earlier albums never really went away, but over time the band has explored a range of softer textures that showcased more depth than some of their peers. A lot has changed over time, as different bassists have been on the last few albums, but this year’s This Is Not An Island Anymore finds the core duo reunite with Lachlan Anderson who played with them on 2008’s Promises Promises and 2010’s Form. With this change the group has looked back towards the rawer emotion and noise levels of their earlier days alongside the bass heavy presence Anderson brought during his previous tenure. It’s a bit more outwardly abrasive and jarring than some of their recent discography, but there are still hooks underneath that noisy exterior that will keep the right kind of listener coming back again and again.
Given world events in the last few years, it’s probably not surprising that a lot of bands have recaptured the noise and jagged edges of their earlier sounds. Die! Die! Die! has never fully shied away from layers of distortion and bursts of noise, but their later efforts have often emphasized just as much melody and introspective moments that showcased a bit more depth than their earliest days. This Is Not An Island Anymore retains some of those softer moments, but this is easily the band’s loudest and noisiest material in quite awhile and the transitions from soft reflection into all-out rage comes across as much more jarring. In some ways it reminds me of a cross between the youthful energy and frantic transitions of their self-titled debut along with the bass dominance of Promises Promises, with some of their later exploration thrown in for good measure. At twenty-five minutes in length, songs come in fast and furious and then transition over to the next idea, sometimes emphasizing jangly off-kilter guitar and other times letting the rumbling bass feel like it can destroy the foundations of any building you’re currently in. Stylistically it incorporates a lot of noise rock and post punk, keeping you guessing with off-balance rhythms and manic shifts that let the walls of distortion pummel you the entire time. But there are hooks underneath this abrasive exterior, as songs like “Losing Sight, Keep On Kicking” bring in some drearier shoegaze leaning melodies that get stuck in your head, while “Never Tire Looking at the Sun” injects some saxophone into the mix for something that feels more like no-wave. Admittedly even with the short length a few songs still drag, particularly “Vanish (but That's My Hometown, Marcus)” where the move to slower acoustic guitar work kills the momentum.
The instrumentals aren’t the only element getting more abrasive and in your face on This Is Not An Island Anymore, as Andrew Wilson spends a good portion of the album with a jagged and cutting screaming/singing combination. This is where the material again brings the self-titled debut to mind, as there’s that same anger and intensity to many of the songs that hit hard and cut through the layers of sound. Wilson also switches to more introspective singing and even some spoken word over the course of the album, bringing moments of tranquility before exploding into an all-out rage only a minute or so later. It’s this type of seismic shift between melodic and aggressive that proves to be appealing, and while not every listener is going to find that it clicks those that do will find that all the more reason to come back.
Die! Die! Die!’s latest effort revisits some of the noisiest and abrasive elements of their sound while still incorporating plenty of reflective and melodic moments. It’s a quick burst of chaotic and memorable riffs, with a bit more precision than you sometimes get from anything punk related. Although there are a few moments that drag and this doesn’t quite stand as my favorite from their discography, it’s still one I’ll revisit often and finds this group sounding fully energized and ready to take on whatever the rest of this decade throws at them.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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