DZ DEATHRAYS - Bloodstreams Review

The death ray never came to fruition outside the pages of sci-fi novels by the likes of Alfred Noyes and Alex Raymond, and that's probably for the best. However, the principle did manifest in other forms of sonic warfare, many of which appear in our everyday lives without our noticing. Late at night outside grocery stores, malls, and other prime lollygagging spots, an alarm known as SonicScreen, or the Mosquito, blares at a frequency only teenagers can hear in order to stop them loitering in the vicinity. You get the impression that these alarms are designed to ward off exactly the kind of kids that are going to find release in the debut album from Australian duo DZ Deathrays, where heshing, BMXing, and making yourself sick on lurching rollercoasters are a way of life, when you're not bumming around on street corners. And if there were ever a teen colony they wanted to keep free of adults, then Bloodstreams would prove ample weaponry.

As may be apparent, Bloodstreams' principal methods of assault are volume and vitriol. DZ Deathrays formed to play house parties, and they say they'll "most likely end at one," too. It's not hard to imagine the floor falling out beneath them as they unleash one of the mighty "OWWWWW"s that blast through the end of a number of their songs like a sonic turbo boost button. DZ Deathrays' house is a place you'll want to go, and it's on a street close to that of Japandroids' Celebration Rock. If you hit up David Prowse and Brian King's joint to hug your friends in a seething sweaty mess and declare how much you love each other, then you'll go to Shane Parsons and Simon Ridley's to smash the furniture with the force of everyone who ever wronged you fuelling the punch....full text Co-produced by Richard Pike of Aussie electro rockers PVT, DZ Deathrays’ debut album, ‘Bloodstreams’, was recorded in Queensland in less than two weeks. Rumour has it that Simon Ridley (drums/vox) and Shane Parsons (vox/guitar) perfected 14 songs in 14 days, the outcome of which is a furiously energetic rumble of sweaty, scratched-throat dedication and a semi-DIY dissection of punk rock’s egoless fun side.

From the moment you hear the bassless, guitar pedal-wielding ‘Intro’, ‘Bloodstreams’ beckons you to embrace a cocktail of condensation-raining ceilings and nose bleeds that you don’t mind splattering over your favourite Black Flag tee. ‘Teenage Kickstarts’ sounds out a sticky grunge riff, the sort found lurking in the coolest basements of dire towns, and ‘Cops Capacity’ is a clear example of how a band born from playing secret house parties in their native Brisbane couldn’t be kept under wraps forever. This album has the potential to make your little sister want to shave her head and invest in mock leather hotpants. It’s the penned seduction of a weekend of irresponsibility and a Monday full of inferior excuses.

DZ’s debut EP, 2009’s ‘Ruined My Life’, was recorded live at a house party and that ‘anything goes’ vibe is still present throughout this polished full length. If you’re somewhat unfamiliar with their tone, conjure up the eager grittiness of Pulled Apart By Horses met by Bill And Ted gatecrashing a DFA 1979 gig. A true gob full of 2am, beer spilt, ruined sofa bliss. ‘Play Dead Until You’re Dead’ hits a deeper, slower pace, gaining breath for ‘Gebbie Street’ which informs you “You know our bodies make the right conversation”, swanning in and out of your earholes like a rather loud, dirty joke. ‘Dollar Chills’ hones in with a distinctive drum thud, relentless and string-manipulating at its peak. The delightful (no, really) ‘Debt Death’ gets noisier still, triggering rave ambitions and climaxing before the drone-infested carry on of ‘Dumb It Down’....full text Fling the dust off your Mötley Crüe t-shirt and get ready for some wildly abhorrent and assaulting party rock as it’s time for Bloodstreams, the debut release from Brissy duo DZ Deathrays, aka Simon Ridley and Shane Parsons.

Teenage Kickstarts provides an overhaul of thrash with careless, buzzing guitars and before you ask, yes, sweat and black leather are mandatory. Dollar Chills keeps it real with a distorted rawness that you’ll be pining after, using little inserts of electro to bridge the gap between party thrash and electronica, while Gebbie Street will have you stomping around in Doc Marten’s and throwing back $5 bourbons like there’s no such thing as a brown liquor hangover. Play Dead Till You’re Dead is all mosh as church organ-like echoes and drunk satanic beats paint pictures of smoking skulls with catchy lyricism. A true kick-arse element is the crafty way Parsons uses his yelling as a rhythm keeper, adding another layer to existing instrumental beats. The pop drums that open score for No Sleep make a refreshing and playful introduction to this short and sweet adrenaline-fuelled punk number while Cops Capacity was made for pubescent punters to play as loud as possible, and is bound to put some fur on their figs....full text