EP Review: Die! Die! Die! – O

New Zealand’s post punk power trio Die! Die! Die! are set to return with their new EP “O” on the 16th August 2019, The EP is the band’s tenth record and their first since the 2017 LP “Charm. Offensive“. The new EP marks two returns for Die! Die! Die!, one in personnel and one musically. Longtime Die! Die! Die! bassist Lachlan Anderson has returned to the fold after an eight year hiatus, making this the first recording by this incarnation of the band since their 2011 LP “Harmony”. In addition to Anderson being back, or maybe at least partially due to his presence, so is a return to the band’s harsher origins.

“Casualties Of Decades” opens up like an artillery bombardment before settling into a staccato assault that has resembles old school US hardcore that’s been kidnapped by noise rock and has developed Stockholm syndrome, “What We Choose To Remember” continues this theme with a relentless bass line and urgent vocals. ‘Everyone Else‘ is the closest you’re going to get to a single from the “O” EP, rumbling bass and spiky post punk guitar lines create a pre-apocalyptic soundtrack, whereas the final track “Break The Mirror” brings a gloriously brief wall of intense and frantic noise that brings “O” to a chaotic end

Over their sixteen year existence Die! Die! Die! have slowly moved away from the harsh roots, but this steady evolution appears to have come to an abrupt end with the release of “O“. Simultaneously recalling vintage US hardcore blended with the likes of Shellac, My Bloody Valentine and Husker Du, “O” is frenetic and urgent and resembles the soundtrack to the world burning, Die! Die! Die! have released an EP for our times that reminds you that you’re not wrong and you’re not alone.

The four track “O” EP can be pre-ordered on 10” lathe cut clear vinyl and digital download here

Die! Die! Die! can be found on Facebook here