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You Say Party! We Say Die! - XXXX

Rating

RIYL

Pretty Girls Make Graves
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Controller.Controller
Be Your Own Pet

Release Date

02/08/2010

Label

Paper Bag Records

Tracklist

1. "There Is XXXX (Within My Heart)"
2. "Glory"
3. "Dark Days"
4. "Cosmic Wanship Avengers"
5. "Lonely's Lunch"
6. "Make XXXX"
7. "Laura Palmer's Prom"
8. "She's Spoken For"
9. "XXXX/Loyalty"
10. "Heart of Gold"

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Although the new wave/dance/punk genre seems to be falling dormant all around them, Abbotsford, BC’s You Say Party! We Say Die! are continuing to strongly push forth, releasing their third full-length, XXXX, in five years via Toronto’s Paper Bag Records. But where a stagnant genre continues to blur itself into obscurity, one has to wonder why YSP! WSD! has chosen to continue on this path of eventual nothingness.

Let’s be honest, the new wave genre isn’t exactly thriving right now. In fact, it’s almost the same thing as trying to revive a body with the head detached from it, and while YSP! WSD! desperately attempt to sew the genre back together again, it still remains about as lifeless as what unfortunately lies within XXXX. However, it’s not simply the complete and utter boredom that ruins XXXX - no, instead it’s the incessant use of the clichéd 1980’s-esque synthesizer that breeds cheesy, elementary melodies from start to finish courtesy of Krista Loewen.

One of the few reasons XXXX showcases any sort of redeeming quality is vocalist Becky Ninkovic. Her eloquently brooding vocals are consistently able to elevate YSP! WSD! from cliché retrograde to refined and relatively respectable. For example, the superb opener, "There Is XXXX (Within My Heart)," captures all of the great potential YSP! WSD! are capable of creating. Within its run time of 4 minutes and 39 seconds, we’re treated to a minimalistic approach to grand atmospherics through the use of a stylish synth beat (Loewen), Ninkovic’s soaring melodies, and a simplistic kick drum before exploding into a wall of sound led by Stephen O’Shea’s vibrating bass guitar. All this while echoing an accomplished Bat for Lashes’ intertwined with seminal dance-punk act Les Savy Fav vibe. The second strongest track, "Dark Days," finds the band paying homage to, and feeding off, extremely subtle similarities to an era when Joy Division’s drum and bass heavy new wave dominated English radio waves.

Unfortunately, You Say Party! We Say Die! rarely play to their strengths on XXXX, so instead I have compiled a list of five things that would better suit a person's time than listening to XXXX:

5. Having your teeth pulled without anesthetic.

4. Being a Detroit Lions season ticket holder.

3. Having John Wayne Gacy Jr. show up to your birthday party in a clown suit.

2. Traveling back in time to watch your mother give birth to you.

1. Hunting with Dick Cheney.

To be all but frank, XXXX is a record that is just as easily forgotten as this new wave of new wave, and if You Say Party! We Say Die! aren’t careful, the party will surely come to an end.

--Daniel Alcinii