Review Summary: The philosophy of sweat
A few years ago I caught a DZ Deathrays show at a tiny, sweaty basement somewhere in the Czech Republic. The crowd was In-To-It, the band was feeling good, feeling great; altogether, it was an amazing experience. As rowdy as it was, there was something oddly floaty and ~pensive~ about dancing and shouting along to lyrics about how three scruffy Australian guys love drinking alcohol and playing guitar. The carefreeness; the damp sense of unity with strangers whose body odours could convey more to me than their native tongues… you know? Okay, sure, I may be basking the memory in the nostalgia induced by a total dry spell of concerts for the past year and a half, but it’s the feeling that counts, right?
Anyway: where 2019’s
Positive Rising, Pt. 1 seemed to add a more expansive touch to the band’s brand of grungy punk, this newly released second installment truly capitalises on such dreamier elements, resulting in a record that conjures up the bloody lovely memories of my incredible concert experience.
Positive Rising, Pt. 2 combines the thick riffs, irresistible choruses, and expansive ideas of previous albums into a journey that is as stupidly fun as it is strangely laid back. ‘Make Yourself Mad’ may just be the best example: boasting a bouncy guitar melody, the verses are more than tiny-sweaty-basement-ready while its chorus wouldn’t feel out of place in a massive stadium. Accomplishing all this thrice over in less than three minutes, the even shorter ‘Fear the Anchor’ blasts through a ferocious concoction of tight guitars and loose drums to arrive to ridiculously catchy chants of “
I won’t let the fear wash over”. Fear of what? Wash over whom? Don’t know, don’t care, but it
sounds fun as hell.
Songs like ‘Kerosene’ and ‘Swept Up’ manage to successfully expand on this tried-and-true DZ Deathrays formula of celebrating life no matter what state it may be in. The former breathes in and takes a minute and a half (yes, 90 whole seconds!!) before the band lets loose into yet another irresistible chorus. Filling this unexpectedly restrained space with highly pleasant and relatively calm indie rock, vocalist Shane Parsons’ gruff voice proves a surprisingly good fit. ‘Swept Up’ pulls a similar trick throughout its entire runtime, marrying a beefy riff with a more laid-back atmosphere, crafting a Really Cool psychedelic garage dance punk grunge track. Ugh. It’s oddly fitting how that ridiculous combination of words and genres is an appropriate description for the song as well as the entire record: entirely absurd, mostly unnecessary, but admittedly a cathartic ball of fun… yeah, sounds like
Positive Rising, Pt. 2.
The album ends on ‘Positive Rising’, also signaling the conclusion to the eponymous series. Combining all that makes the records great, the six-minute epic presents more unrelenting choruses, more riffs to congratulate Australia to, and more dense moments of sound to lose yourself in.
Positive Rising, Pt. 2 strives to be more than your average DZ Deathrays album and manages to do so without succumbing to
boring seriousness. Sure, the band may radiate more calm energy, but if anything it only takes the party to the next, vague revelations and booze-infested levels.
