Drums, Bass...Done! (it's really all that anyone needs)

Happy Tuesday people! I hope you enjoyed the monolith post yesterday which took me several eons to complete. It's hard to cover such a monster album with any less words than that. Now, let's get down to business:

Album Review

Death From Above 1979















You're A Woman, I'm A Machine

This album is one which I can listen to over and over again and still find its songs as addicting as crack. This band is consistent of Jason Keeler, the bassist and backup vocalist, and Sebastian Grainger, who provides the drum beats and lead vocals. First off, drummers that sing are amazing to begin with; but to have a group like this which provides such raw power in a small duo is incredible. Not to mention that their dance-punk distorted bass groove sound just makes you want to strut. And the lyrics are so overtly sexual that you can't help but chuckle at them sometimes.

The album leads in with a bang; "Turn It Out" ripping out with an uptempo drum beat and blistering lyrics. This song sets up the tone of the album by this Canadian duo. Next, into "Romantic Rights" with pick scraping and 16th notes on the hi-hat makes the listener excited and anticipating the bass line which makes the head bob, and make the feet want to get up and dance. "Going Steady" and "Go Home, Get Down" are great tunes which bring the album to the four songs which are the pinnacle of the album. Starting this lineup is "Blood On Our Hands" a high-charged thunderstorm of intensity. This transitions into my personal favorite song on the album "Black History Month" which turns the fire down a bit, and makes me want to strut to the chinese food place by my house in the fall, the thing I did the most when I first got into this band. "Black History Month" leads us into the next tune, "Little Girl" this song tricks you; it starts out with a very slow bass groove, which pulls into a much more uptempo bass riff, which grabs you and makes you listen to the lyrics, which are almost cryptic sounding "My brother has a lady/ oh and one day she will have a baby/ my brother has a baby/ oh and one day, and one day she'll save me/ ohhh, ohhh, I need to talk to you girl.." very very interesting lyrics in that tune. Next up is "Cold War" a throbbing, distorted, almost metal ridiculosity which makes half the people yell to turn it off (not to be confused with "Turn It Out"), or to dance in a way that if somebody got too close, they might get hurt. Next we finally get to the title track; "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine" is another great power-charged dance punk metal tune in 4/4...UNTIL it turns into a 3/4 waltz explosion. Into the second to last tune on the album "Pull Out" which is so sexual it almost hurts to listen to it. Finishing up with the slow groove tune "Sexy Results" which is a great song like "Black History Month" a great song to strut to and a great closer to a great album.

Keeler and Grainger show us all that in the world of huge ensembles and bands, that you only need two to rock out; and the most important thing that these guys teach us is that a guitar is not a requirement for a rock band.

8.5/10