DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979
Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides
Vice Records
· 1979 is the last year of the last cool decade.
Who says you don’t learn anything prolific in prison? Death From Above 1979, a two-piece band comprised of solely bass and drums, was formed when Jesse F. Keeler and Sebastien Grainger met in the slammer. Romance Bloody Romance, released this month, is a compilation of various covers, remixes and two new tracks. Death’s pounding basslines and rhythmically driven beats mixed with various DJs leave the disc to fall somewhere in the breach between rock, electronica and dance.
The disc hits its peak in Alan Braxe and Fred Falke’s remix of "Black History Month." The track retains a feel for the original song, adding subtle synthesized sounds to give it a dance feel. Several tracks, including the Phones Lovers and Marczech Makuziak remixes of "Romantic Rights," are so crammed with incessant synthesized pulsing that they’ve traded their melodic appeal for irritating reverberance. "Better Off Dead," a La Peste cover, and "You’re Lovely (But You’ve Got Problems)," follow the rock based flow of Death’s album, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. These remixes and B-sides will allure Death’s diehard fans, but those looking to see what the band has to offer should check out their LP. Either way, Death From Above 1979 is definitely worth a listen.
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