DZ Deathrays – Positive Rising: Part 2

Has it really been two years since the release of the first instalment of this two-parter?  This is an album project that sees Brisbane outfit DZ Deathrays ranging freely across styles and vibes as before, but there’s a stronger emphasis on the power of guitars and that gives this half of the diptych a tougher, harder edge. But not at the expense of musicality, and there is a finely-tuned sense of drama that emerges from the dynamism of these songs. At times spiky and fierce, at others full of a pop sensibility. This lighter touch is evident on standout track Kerosene, where an urgent motorik drum base underlies buzzing but mostly understated guitars and bass. This nod to Krautrock-influenced pop further emphasises what is a very European feel to this album, carried through from Part 1.

The lightness is balanced by some heavy riffing, particularly on All Or Nothing, where an angular and bludgeoning verse surrenders to a joyous and almost uplifting chorus – but still with that unsettling howling guitar struggling to escape the mix. There are still plenty of 80s synth textures (Make Yourself Mad) to give this album a sense of timeless pop energy. Golden Retriever has its roots in the 90s power pop of early Feeder and their ilk and is all major chords and anthemic choruses, but the band can switch in an instant to menacing fuzzed out minimalism (Swept Up). It’s this switch of gear and vibe that makes this album an intriguing and complex listen.

It is title track Positive Rising that gives the broadest canvas for DZ Deathray‘s self-expression. It’s a coiling and sinuous 7-minute magnum opus that grinds along with a sense of menacing and ominous purpose. It’s an apocalyptic but ultimately uplifting hymn to the hope that divisions can be healed: if Bowie‘s Blackstar provided direction, this track is DZ Deathray‘s arrival at that same alien landscape. Recorded this time in Australia, but again with producer Miro Mackie at the helm, this is a bold statement, full of smaller manifestos. Sometimes introspective, sometimes brutal, always immediate and full of energy. A first class album and complement to Part 1. We like it.

Positive Rising: Part 2 by DZ Deathrays is out now on Alcopop! Records.