Death from Above 1979 – The Physical World

Punk You Can Dance To

Canadian dance-punk duo Death from Above 1979’s  The Physical Worldmeets the group’s expectations of a hybrid of dance and punk music. The band manages to create an album that meshes these two genres well. It’s not quite pop-punk, but still not as genuinely angry as “regular” punk.

The first couple of tracks on the album seem to lean more towards that classic punk feel, but as the album goes on the sounds become a bit lighter in the middle, giving off more of a dance vibe while still keeping that “angry” tone that is synonymous with the punk genre. That lighter vibe can especially be heard on the tracks “White is Red” and “Always On,” which specifically could even lean towards an indie-rock sound. The album picks back up to that hardcore sound on the track “Government Trash.” After “Government Trash” comes the track “Gemini,” which even has some interesting electronic sounds in the chorus. This particular noise carries over to the final track of the album as well. The Gameboy-esque noise of the title track, “The Physical World,” unfortunately feels very out of place compared to the rest of the album.

Overall, this was an enjoyable album for the most part. There are a few tracks that are harder to listen to than others, but the majority of the songs on the album carry the anger of a good punk record, while still maintaining a strong sense of melody. This allows the listener to move to the music in ways she normally can’t to the typical thrash and mosh of most punk music. The Physical World is definitely worth giving a listen.