Is 4 Lovers by Death From Above 1979
The Toronto dance-punk titans strike again.
The history behind Death From Above 1979 is a bit rocky. Starting nearly 20 years ago, the duo came onto the Toronto music scene in the early 2000s with raw and unrefined energy that felt missing from most rock music at the time. With their 2004 debut, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine they solidified themselves as a fierce rock duo, and then disbanded almost immediately after. Reuniting a decade later and dropping music sporadically in the past few years (2014’s The Physical World & 2017's Outrage! Is Now) It’s almost as if they never left, despite their limited discography.
Following another gap thanks to the COVID-pandemic, the Toronto punk duo have struck gold once again with their newest album Is 4 Lovers. Their fourth LP sees the duo return to their rough and gritty sound from 17 years ago for the first time, while also introducing themes of romance and society into the mix. It’s a fast-fuelled album that doesn’t overstay its welcome and will keep you on your feet throughout its 10 track run.
Vocalist/drummer Sebastian Grainger and bassist Jesse F. Keeler's decision to self-produce the entire album is abundantly clear from the get-go, and a sound one at that. The vocals and guitars are warbled and fuzzy, making each track feel so primal and noisy. The microphone bleeds on almost every track, making Sebastian’s vocals distort to the point as if he was singing right in your face, as he howls on the chorus of tracks like “Totally Wiped Out” and “Mean Streets”. Jesse’s use of just his bass guitar alone is heavy and sludgy, making for some fast riffs that kept me headbanging on the 2 part banger “N.Y.C. Power Elite”. How the band manages to create these sounds with just a bass and a drum kit alone still surprises me (the same can be said for Royal Blood as well!). Is 4 Lovers does slow down a bit with tracks using digital synthesizers and piano keys as heard on “Glass Homes” and “Love Letter”.
Love is a driving theme for the album, as evident on the single “One + One”. Seb jokingly implying that one plus one equals three, at least when two people decide to get together. “Love Letter” discusses the difficulty of actually writing a literal love letter, so why not opt for a song instead? DFA 1979 also takes a look at our own society. It’s an intimate track about a man not finding the right way to say I love you. The opener “Modern Guy” gives insight into the band’s idea of growing up to become a modern man (“Progress, not a promise. Devil’s laugh if you go too fast.”). A slow process that shouldn’t be rushed. “Free Animal” is all about being a truly free person with nothing to hold you back. First-world problems suffocate “N.Y.C. Power Elite Part 1” with details about the typical Williamsburg hipster lifestyle (“They go upstate on the weekends, helicopter brunches, art shows, cryptos to exes on the payroll.”).
Our obsession with the internet gets compared to surfing the waves throughout “Totally Wiped Out”. “Glass Homes” shows off the band’s political side over its glitchy, dancy production, insisting that we’re not all that different after all despite our differences. Closer “No War” echoes on the difficulty of our planet, from fake news to cages keeping us locked up. The whole word is hard to believe as Seb says on the chorus, the last track seemingly fits into our new reality post-pandemic amidst the psyched-out and spacey guitars.
Overall, Is 4 Lovers is a solid album by these dance-punk pioneers. The songs are fast and catchy, the production maintains this gritty edge that makes each track sound superb. The writing is witty, tongue in cheek at times, and in some ways very relevant to a lot of societal ills we face in the 21st century. It's definitely their best, or at least, their most cohesive album since their debut. By the end of it all, Is 4 Lovers is merely proof that no matter how old they get, or how little music they put out, Death From Above 1979 will always pack a punch.
Favourite Tracks: Modern Man, One + One, Free Animal, N.Y.C. Power Elite Part 1 & Part 2, Totally Wiped Out, No War.
