Die! Die! Die!

Promises Promises

[3.5/5]

There’s something uneasy about New Zealand band Die! Die! Die!’s music; it’s almost as if their occasionally abrasive, always compelling songs could seizure off into any direction at any time. But while a jerky franticness often encompasses their sonic sensibilities, the band’s second album isn’t all unabashed and in-your-face. “Sideways Here We Come” tones down the intensity for calmer layered tones, while the terse, two-minute title track juxtaposes gruff, spitfire vocals with explorative noise-rock instrumentals. While bands like Liars and most notably, Sonic Youth have made careers out of transforming noisy, ambiguous sounds into mostly accessable music, rattling songs like this can be hard to digest. On Promises, though, Die! Die! Die! craft a rickety balance between anxious cacophony and attractive post-punk melody. It’s unnervingly unstable, but isn’t that the point? (S.A.F.) Emily Zemler