"Trainwreck 1979" by Death from Above 1979

Death from Above 1979: Basist/Syntesizer/Backing Vocalist Jesse Keeler and Drummer/Vocalist Sebastien Grainger

Hey guys, Lia here with a review on a punk act that's been around since 2001.

Death from Above 1979 is a Canadian duo from Toronto that's released really contradicting stories about how they got together. Some say they met in a gay bar; some say a pirate ship; still others say in prison. No matter how, Jesse Keeler and Sebastien Grainger got together originally under the name Death from Above--without the 1979. However, some legal disputes prompted them to add 1979--which is Grainger's birth year.

In 2006, the punk duo broke up because they weren't touring or working on anything new, but in 2011, they went through a period of reformation and rebooted their band--starting with a performance at EdgeFest in Toronto. Death from Above 1979 started working on their second album, The Physical World, which came out on September 9.

I don't know about all of you, but I really, really enjoy punk rock. There's something stark, honest, and unforgiving about punk. "Trainwreck 1979" is a more mature version of the same punk rock I was listening to when I was in middle school and high school. Grainger's voice reminds me of Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship. I know, Gabe's not punk, but he was a little bit in the earlier years. Also, I know, Cobra is a terrible band, but I love them, so whatever.

Back to "Trainwreck 1979." This song is...awesome to listen to, but it's nothing special. Literally, the whole "I can't get enough" bridge part has been done to death. Again, I'm going to draw from Cobra Starship because I'm sure Gabe Saporta and company did that same exact hook/bridge part in 2007. If you can't get over 2007, then that's a problem. The song also musically doesn't go anywhere. It's just overall steady, with no real interesting change--except that small dynamic change right before the song's climax.

Also, lyrically, they were trying to tell a story, but it doesn't sound coherent or authentic. I don't know anything about their background but it sounds like an upper-middle class kid adapting someone's tough life into their own story. You can't do that and sound like you're not lying; it's just not possible.

I'll still listen to it on the radio, but I won't go out of my way to hear it elsewhere. All in all, I don't entirely think it sucks, I just think it's unauthentic and dated.

Information: Wikipedia

Photo: nme.com