Album Review: Die! Die! Die! - Harmony

Raucous Dunedin trio Die! Die! Die! have consistently poured sweat and spat blood over stages the world over throughout their frenzied career, and unlike many of their contemporaries have been able to capture such vitriol on their recordings. Fourth album Harmony doesn't disappoint. Despite a line-up change (The Mint Chicks' Michael Logie taking over bass duties from Aussie ex-pat Lachlan Anderson) the trio have laid down ten tracks that informs on their frenetic back catalogue whilst introducing some melodic tangents that suggest their longevity will continue for quite some time yet.

Opening with typical aggression on Oblivious, Oblivion, the tempo shifts on the title track, a song that flirts with a shoegaze wash, albeit with buzzsaw bass and Michael Prain's fevered drumming, a sonic brushstroke that also informs later tracks Trinity and Seasons Revenge. These slower tracks illuminate the depth of songwriting, with frontman Andrew Wilson's nihilist wails countered by Trinity's passionate chorus and Seasons Revenge's dreamy malaise. Such tempered moments heighten the impact of the more aggressive rants, of which there are a few – pivotal track No One Owns A View harkening back to the band's abrasive early days, blasting forth with wailing punk snarl and hiss; Erase Waves is a short discordant punch to the face; 16 Shades Of Blue swirls around like a long lost Swervedriver track before dissolving into a morass of wanton destruction.

Signing off with enigmatic slowburner Get Back that explodes in a wash of acrid feedback and anthemic drums, Wilson's voice warbling in and out of the mix, Harmony is a clever, sinuous beast of an album that proves that Die! Die! Die! are more potent than ever.