Death From Above 1979 ‘You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine’ (679)

I know nothing about this band because I lost the press release with in seconds (to be fair they are usually a load of rubbish anyway), and their official website does not work properly on my browser. This is a pink album, with a picture of two blank-eyed human heads with elephant trunks on the front, so no clues there.

Consequently, I was able to approach the music with a relatively open mind. I pondered over the fact that ‘Death From Above’ was the name on an early Anthrax track, but it was released a few years after 1979, so probably just a coincidence? Possibly not, I soon realised – after the first nine seconds of opening track ‘Turn it Out’, this is a terrifically noisy album. Never mind the eighties thrash metal, this is more like nineties gabba techno, only with guitars instead of samples.

This is good solid raucous music, highly recommended for fans of the Hives, Rage against the Machine or Queens of the Stone Age. In places, the sound is a little too unmelodic, even for me, and the vocals sometimes sound a bit strangulated and tortuous. My head was nodding from start to finish, though, and my face snarling inadvertently due to the savage intensity of the guitar riffs. If there is anyone who has a particular desire to bang their own, or someone else’s, head against something solid until it bleeds, then this is the ideal soundtrack for them. ‘Pull Out’ is my favourite track on the album, because like a Bermondsey midget it is short and aggressive.

Beer, solvents and amphetamines would all make the listener more likely to enjoy the sound, but fortunately I like it anyway. I cannot imagine we will be seeing Death from Above 1979 on CD:UK anytime soon though.

words: Harry Harris

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