Death From Above - Heads Up EP
(Ache)
While still trying to digest the noise pollution of Xinlisupreme's new EP Murder License, imagine my "delight" when I came across Death From Above's Heads Up EP. It was almost too much to handle. I hadn't even had the chance to recover from the Japanese duo's barrage of densely packed drum machines, broken keyboards, and assorted shards when here comes an American duo with a similar intent (destroying your eardrums). However, Death From Above really is more closely linked to another duo, Lightning Bolt, as it is pounding aggro-rock done with only bass, drums, and effects, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
This six song EP lasts all of fourteen minutes. Hard and fast; get in, tear some shit up, and leave before they know what hit 'em. It starts with maximum thrash on "Dead Womb." Vocoder-affected vocals chant out some lyrics about how these guys are so sick of sluts coming up to them with cocaine looking to fuck; these guys are "looking for wives," alright? The bass (which, being the only guitar, is the lead) is hyper to the point of having a fit. "Too Much Love" and "My Love is Shared" continue the hard rock assault, with more bass guitar pounding, which could be hard to take in large doses but in these small doses can still be stomached.
"Do It! (Live)" lightens up on the aggro-assault a little bit, using more effects, more noise, and more vocoder to create some sort of bastard-of-Brainiac new wave song. The fake crowd erupts in waves of cheers! Also less aggressive is "If We Don't Make It We'll Fake it," which uses a hand-clap beat and screaming-Jagger vocals, creating a cocky strut, culminating in a tight and intense rhythmic section from this only-rhythmic-section band.
Take Lightning Bolt's prog influence and replace it with equal parts posturing new wave and headbanging metal, and you probably end up with Death From Above. Not the best noise out there, but a fun and funny debut.
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