Album Review: Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World

A pre-warning coming at ya – you’re going to need to stretch up good and proper before listening to The Physical World. These are some damn fine hip-shaking, baby-making rock’n’roll jams; so fine in fact that this reviewer would almost go as far as to say it trumps magnificent 2004 debut I’m A Woman, You’re A Machine. Gasp if you will.

For all the fans that were pissing and moaning when first single Trainwreck 1979 dropped (one of them is right here) – don’t stress, the LP gets plenty heavier. But after multiple listens you realise that’s a freakin’ awesome single anyway, and definitely the right choice. When that riff bursts into life at the 52-second mark – hot diggity damn! Meanwhile, Always On, Crystal Ball, Government Trash – the duo have once again turned punk rock into a dancefloor commodity, with sexier rhythms across the board.

The slower numbers like White Is Red carry that panache too, and it’s all thanks to the consuming bottom-end offered up by moustachioed bass wielder Jesse F. Keeler. His riffs on this record are bulletproof, and gives Seb Grainger the strongest of platforms on which to finesse his lyrics out, making for a combo as deadeye as Jordan and Pippen in their prime.

DFA1979 are older, smarter, more accomplished, yet they still manage to hold onto that youthful rebellion that rocketed them into our psyche in the first place. In a year of fantastic comebacks, this potentially stands as the pick of the bunch. Throw on your leathers and get dancing.