Wow! Now this is what I call a riot.
Baltimore's `The Death Set' are a grisly, lo-fi car crash of vicious
post-punk and twisted Nintendo-pop, delivered with reckless abandon
and in refreshingly-short, anthemic micro-blasts. Formed in 2005
in Sydney, Australia by Johnny Siera and Beau Velasco, Beau took
a back seat as the band went global leaving Johnny to recruit
Baltimore native, Peter O'Connell to double guitar and vocal duties.
To flesh out their sound, the group is rounded out by whatever
drummer can play fast enough on a fcuked up kit. As a unit, `The
Death Set' play spazzed-out high energy punk incorporating laptop
programming alongside a punk rock formula of guitars, drums and
vocals. To get a rough idea of their sound you'll have to imagine
the skeletal melodies of Fugazi played through a vintage cassette
player over which warping digitized blips and rousing punk percussion
are played. Vocal duties are shared between Peter and Johnny and
are raw and grating, coming across almost crazed-female sounding
at times and exuding pure energy and youthfulness.
On `Worldwide', `The Death Set' play two
types of music. Either they go into an off-kilter whirlwind of
crazed Nintendo-punk or they create bouncy sing-along's by injecting
a little bit more melody and slowing things down a touch, but
only a touch mind. The former is displayed with aplomb on hyperactive
digi-punk tracks like `Intermission' which will have you shouting
`The Motherfcuking Deathset' at the top of your voice. On `Impossible'
a dual vocal attack creates pure energy over a skeletal tapestry
of 8bit melodies and intermittent offerings of chunky bass and
primitive percussion. `Day in the Wife' see's the group go into
overdrive with a short burst of intense noisecore but without
the downtuned guitars, resulting in a track that is a particularly
stomping hi-nrg whack in the groin and which sounds like `Your
Enemies Friends' set alight and played at 45rpm.
In their more contemplative mood `The Death
Set' don't disappoint and carve out catchy melodies and alluring
arrangements. `Moving Forward' sees the group create a giddyingly
captivating piece of harsh yet melodic pop-punk whilst `Around
The World' is a real shamanic sing-along piece that revolves around
a cascading 8bit melody. The playful vocals and upbeat melodies
create a garagey, nursey-rhyme aesthetic which reminds one of
a less harsh `Ride The Sky's era `Lightning Bolt'. Interestingly
their live performances are conducted in a similar vein as part
of the crowd instead of on stage.
Through
utilising a no-holds barred disregard for conventional music arrangement
and by conducting their efforts with a DIY garage-rock aesthetic
`The Death Set' really set the pulses racing. Their chirpy rabble-rousing
lifts the emotions whilst their turbulent hardcore creates the
perfect soundtrack to psychedelic, epilepsy-inducing Japanese
cartoons. Ultimately, if you are looking for a short, sharp shock
to your system and want something to wake you up from the dreary
formulaic-ness of daytime radio then get `Worldwide' and play
LOUD. (RM)
For
fans of: Liars, Fugazi, Lightning Bolt, Your Enemies Friends,
The Advantage
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