Album Review: DZ Deathrays - Bloody Lovely

Four years on from the release of their critically acclaimed second album Black Rat, Brisbane duo DZ Deathrays return with their most mature and accomplished album yet. Named after the classic Australian turn of phrase, Bloody Lovely is a Molotov cocktail of pulsating riffs, hard-hitting percussion and vocalist Shane Parsons' rambunctious delivery.

Recorded in stints between Sydney and Brisbane while touring the globe, Bloody Lovely solidifies DZ Deathrays reputation as one of Australia's most dynamic rock outfits. Album opener and lead single Shred For Summer encapsulates the band in a nutshell. A crunching, Jane's Addiction-like rock and roller made for festivals, it's the fist-pumping crowd-pleaser we've come to expect from the duo. Likewise, the two shortest tracks on the album, the brutal alternate thrash Bad Influence and head-throbbing Guillotine are in your face rock soundtracks for dark and dingy dive bars.

But as they've proven with each new release over the years, it's not all gung-ho party anthems and adolescent screaming. Over It is a melodic guitar explosion with a riff taken straight from the '70s. Feeling Good, Feeling Great features Parsons' intense screaming over Simon Ridley's pounding stick work. Then there's the epic album closer Witchcraft, Pt II. An aggressive outpouring of stimulating noise with a last minute tempo change, the track sounds like the brash love child of Black Sabbath and Death From Above.