Review
Death From Above
Outrage! Is Now

So long, 1979. 
D.F.A. are back without the tag and without the chronological baggage that came along with their previous album, 2014's The Physical World. A ten year gap between that and their debut album was a hard thing to overcome, expectations wise. And Physical, while a very welcome return just felt slightly underwhelming, despite burners like "Right On, Frankenstein!" and "Always On".

So it's interesting that in just 3 years time, Sebastien Grainger, and Jesse Keeler, the band's drummer/vocalist and bassist, respectively sound more mature and evolved on their latest, Outrage! Is Now. 

A sizable chunk of the credit in this instance can go to producer Eric Valentine, who has managed to make the duo sound absolutely massive in much the same way he managed to take Queens of the Stone Age next-level on 2002's Songs For The Deaf.

Opening track "Nomad" gives us a very clear indication that the band is out for blood with Grainger's strongest vocal work to date and a riff you're guaranteed to have stuck in your head for weeks. Lead single "Never Swim Alone" is probably the biggest throwback to the band's former sound, but is no less catchy.

...And the hooks just keep on coming through tracks like "Freeze Me", "Caught Up" - really right on through to the last strains of "Holy Books". If there's any justice, Outrage! will take the duo to heights only experienced previously by the likes of The White Stripes, but it's safe to say that they're due. 

It will be interesting to see how long time fans will take to this more hook-heavy sound, but make no mistake, this is Death From Above's finest effort to date and most certainly one of the best albums of the year.