Death From Above 1979 – “One+One”

Death From Above 1979 – “One+One”

After going a full decade between their first two albums, Toronto dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979 followed up their 2014 reunion album with another called Outrage! Is Now in 2017. They’re releasing the fourth today, which I guess means they’re in the midst of a prolific streak by DFA1979 standards. It’s called Is 4 Lovers, and it’s dropping at the end of March.

Lead single “One+One” finds Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger bashing out an aggro groove punctuated with stabs of falsetto. It reminds me of what LCD Soundsystem, progenitors of the high Vice era’s other famous DFA, were doing back in this band’s heyday. Eventually they shift to half-time high-drama mode for the harmonically charged bridge before ramping up the speed again for the finale.

In a statement, Grainger calls “One+One” a love song: “It’s the karmic sequel to ‘Romantic Rights.’ My wife, Eva, became pregnant not long after we started working on the song, and after hearing an early version she said, ‘I wish this song was dancier.’ So I went back into the studio and re-worked the drums. As the record was taking shape, every time I would come home from the studio, the baby would start dancing in Eva’s belly. Even before I walked in the room, the party would start. One plus one is three — that’s magic!” But can the baby record its own album?

The “One+One” video, directed by Eva Michon (Grainger’s aforementioned spouse), features bovines and a bonfire and is inspired by the photography of David Hockney. Watch below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Modern Guy”
02 “One + One”
03 “Free Animal”
04 “N.Y.C. Power Elite Part I”
05 “N.Y.C. Power Elite Part II”
06 “Totally Wiped Out”
07 “Glass Homes”
08 “Love Letter”
09 “Mean Streets”
10 “No War”

Is 4 Lovers is out 3/26 on Everything Eleven.

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