Megan's Top 18 of 2008 - #8 - Die! Die! Die!

Despite certain evidence to the contrary, I'm desperately in love with noise. I frequently drive long distances with my car's stereo turned up as loud as it'll go, and my iPod is constantly at unsafe levels (doubtlessly). My ears hate me, but I've gotta have my noise.

Both instances are especially true when I'm in the mood for dissonant, angular punkish behavior, this year kindly provided by the delightful New Zealanders known as Die! Die! Die!.

My favorite purveyors of punctuation hit the ground running this year, releasing album #2 Promises, Promises, and touring it across the States for months in the early part of the year (a tour that included a gig opening for Wire in NYC, not bad!).

Like their insanely good debut, Promises, Promises is obnoxiously loud, gritty, and brash. And like their debut, it's killer. The band's belligerent sound deviated slightly, with a bit of the edge taken off, but thankfully the album is still a bitter pill (and trust me when I tell you that's a good thing).

"Blinding", "A.T.T.I.T.U.D", and "Throw a Fit" are all in the super short, super loud, and super in-your-face style I first fell for listening to their self-titled debut. "Whitehorses" is a welcome addition, perhaps as close to a ballad as Die! Die! Die! will ever come, and proof of some, dare I say, maturation in their sound.

The band seems more cohesive these days, with Andrew's oft-snarling vocals and fierce guitar riffs anchored by Lachlan's pulsating bass and Mikey's fearfully violent drumming. Together, the trio makes one unholy racket, and goddamned if it's not fucking fantastic. My favorites (as of right now) are "People Talk", "Blinding", and "Hold Me", but believe you me, the entire album is worthy of your attention on a regular basis.