Die! Die! Die!
Form
(Flying Nun Records)

By now, Die! Die! Die! have assured their allegiance to a idiosyncratic punk-rock aesthetic: gritty, bottom-heavy, and consistently confronting. Like the New Zealand trio’s previous releases, Form contains a sound most unlike many other bands on the planet. Their hyperactive rhythms inspire vivid imagery of movement, of change, of progress. Form - their third full-length, and their first under the banner of legendary Kiwi indie Flying Nun Records - marks an evolution in the band’s songwriting, most notably in frontman Andrew Wilson’s guitar parts. He regularly alternates between a clean, jangly tone - usually during the verses - and punches one or more overdriven effects during the chorus. His playing isn’t formulaic, though, nor predictable; instead, his vocal and six-string contributions form the melodic basis amid the rhythmic bedrock laid down by bassist Lachlan Anderson and drummer Michael Prain.

Musically, Die! Die! Die! describe a man-made wasteland built upon deceit, treachery and wasted potential. Their soundtrack is drums, bass, guitar and vocals. The images they conjure are frequently alienating, yet curiously, this music is addictive. Its disembodied, abrasive nature still manages to communicate a human warmth. “I know I’m wrong, but I know it’s true / I’d rather be wrong than be like you,” sings Wilson on second track ‘Lil Ships’, amid Prain’s skittering beats. Having already proved himself as one of rock’s most interesting drummers on the band’s previous albums - their 2005 self-titled, and 2007’s stellar Promises, Promises - Prain pushes the envelope even further on Form. Just try and resist drumming along. I can’t.

First single ‘We Built Our Own Oppressors’ (video review) is something of a misfit; it sounds like it was written and recorded in an alternate universe to Form’s nine other tracks. Its introduction and the droning coda evoke a sense of space, a true rarity among the band’s near-constant sonic onslaught. Second single ‘HowYe’ is built around a pretty clean guitar phrase that sticks in the ear when framed in stark contrast to Anderson’s overdriven bass tone. Form sees Wilson takes this melodic tact more often than in their past work: in ‘Wasted Lands’, he changes things up toward the end of the song by phrasing more cute, clean riffs amidst Anderson and Prain’s scorching storm and stress.

I can’t overlook the brilliant recurring drumbeat in ‘Daze’ as among the album’s most thrilling moments, but it’s closing track ‘Frame’ that proves the singular highlight. It might be the most satisfying, most perfect song that Die! Die! Die! have ever released. Its sparse verses shiver in anticipation of the release offered by the towering chorus (“Give up the ghost, you can’t escape / We’re too close; I am here now”). ‘Frame’ is a masterpiece in three-point-five minutes; in whole, each of Form’s 37 minutes are thrilling, relentless and memorable. I feel compelled to apply Everett True’s TheVine critique of Songs to Die! Die! Die!: Ten stars. A hundred stars. A shimmering, cascading universe-full.

Andrew McMillen