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http://www.senbaltimore.com/blogs/agt/agt_reviews/die-die-die---promises-promises.shtmlDie! Die! Die! - Promises, Promises
New Zealand's Die! Die! Die! live strong on their sophomore effort.
"Blinding", the opening track from Die! Die! Die!'s latest release, Promises, Promises (s.a.f. Records), kicks off the album with drums that sound like falling down a spiral staircase, making no concessions to the sensibilities of any listener. An album with no sleight-of-hand, no tricks, just abrasive, in-your-face, ugly but captivating music, D!D!D! carry the torch of the Pixies' sound ("Britomart Sunset") as well as if the Pixies still held it themselves.
Lots of repetitive guitar hooks on Promises sound like tunnel vision looks. I worry that the songs might not be as fun to play as they are to listen to. The record could have been recording in 1989 or 1990 as much as in 2007 (released 2/12/08), as Die! Die! Die! master the sounds of a time before grunge broke, when alternative rock bands really were an alternative to the mainstream and were still pushing the envelope rather than waiting to get their hands inside a label's (before MP3) bottomless pockets.
The New Zealand band's first album was produced by the one and only Steve Albini, achieving a dirty sound that continues without that marquis producer on this release. Avant punk songs like "A.T.T.I.T.U.D." don't need a producer to make themselves sound awesome.
Words can't describe the track "Sideways Here We Come", so leave it with a punctuation mark: "!"