The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City

The Death of a Party

Double Negative

2007-05-22

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Having spent the last few years touring The Death of a Party are ready to be unleashed to a wider audience with their debut album The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City. Earning their stripes in the Oakland underground, the dancey post-punk foursome went from warehouse parties to touring with Metric and opening for bands such as Bloc Party, Deerhoof and Autolux. Their live show has been compared to a full-on gangfight, and while their album brings with it the headbanging beats and shouty lyrics you would expect of an act born in counterculture, this is perhaps the tip of the iceberg of this band’s talents.

Opening with the jaunty “Coronation Under Scarlet Seas”, The Death of a Party are not the killers of a good time — in fact, they are riotous. They are a lot more raw than the well-rounded Brit “new rave” acts such as The Klaxons or Shitdisco, but just as energetic with a blend of indie, rock and punk. There are even echoes of mid 1990s Britpop acts such as The Bluetones and Kula Shaker in tracks such as “The Fucking Ocean”, although I’m not sure they would be so keen on those comparisons. At their best, these party inducers send shockwaves through your body to get it shaking in time to their vibrant vibrations. “March of the Spiders”, “Weekend” and “The Fox & the Hound” clearly inspired by their warehouse forays.

The Death of a Party are not the killers of a good time — in fact, they are riotous.

Their sometimes soothing introductions often belie The Death of a Party’s intentions, especially “Weekend“‘s musical jewellery box jingle and “One Trick Pony Girl” with its jazz-style high hat. These neat touches are lost almost immediately to the band’s aggressive approach, but could well be an area for them to explore to provide a more varied sound. There are a couple of misses here as well with “Emerald Crowns” overdoing the whiney vocals like a crying child and closer “Amateur Night in the O.R.” feels as disappointing as when the lights come up at a gig.

The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City is an excellent springboard for The Death of a Party to use to increase their popularity beyond the underground and with lyrics such as “reduced to sex under highways passes, scarred by sexually transmitted road rashes” they are sure to win new fans among the trend-setters. If they can find a ways to take the harshness off some of their vocals and explore the short-lived flashes of inspiration seen here, they will be a force to be reckoned with.