Rating: 5/5
Verdict: Simply the best yet from noisy Dunedin trio
Now here's a turn-up. On Form, Die!Die!Die! have come up with a warmer, more melodic record that rings in your ears rather than attacking and spitting into them. But never fear, the Dunedin trio of singer/guitarist Andrew Wilson, drummer Michael Prain, and bass player Lachlan Anderson haven't lost any of their bite.
It's not as cold and steely as last album Promises Promises, nor as caustic and challenging as their 2005 self-titled debut, traits that made them both impressive records. Because that's what Die!Die!Die! are - uncompromising, rowdy, and more than a little obnoxious.
But on Form there is more searing dynamic than ever before (like on the lush vocal attack and swirling distortion of Lil Ships), some beautifully subtle and sweeter moments (on the thrumming shoegaze haze of Daze), and HT has a delightful steely jangle that's off set by a hard, thrumming bottom end. They are also at their turbulent and agitating best, like on the harrowing frenzy of first single We Built Our Own Oppressors (with Wilson's inspired "woos") and the My Bloody Valentine-style chorus of Paquin.
While it's hard to call it the band's most inviting work, because it's still frantic and intense, it's certainly their best lot of songs to date. And it's made all the better by the fact you don't have to lock yourself in a dark room to listen to it. You can play it when your mates come around and - hopefully - they won't want to wreck the lounge.
