| Manchester Music
"Biometrics� squeals out its guitar with the thrusting, dark tinted energy of Editors screeching down a subway tunnel. The mix is a little muddy and such a searching sound deserves to scratch its way out with more clarity. It�s an issue that rears its head once the singing comes in and things begin to get a little too busy. Overall though this is an inventive and lovingly bleak concept driven by an energetic angst that seems lost on a lot of new bands these days." Review by: Manuel Ecostos Rating: 7/10 |
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| 'BIOMETRICS' REVIEWS (Page 1) |
| Steve Lamacq
"Theres hints of My Bloody Valentine in there and almost an air of aloofness amid the pretty snarling melody lines. I like it." Subba Cultcha "Soaring like Editors at their gloomiest best, but with the jittering nervousness of The Killers, Death In Public are a danceable treat to be relished as soon as possible!" Review by: Jeremy Chick Rating: 9/10 *Subba Single of the month* Rock Midgets "Lancaster experimentalists Death in Public are an interesting proposition. While the production on the two tracks here leaves them sounding raw and untouched, it gives their expansive sound a certain DIY appeal. Lead track 'Biometrics' is an ambitious rock number, rising and falling in all the right places and suggesting that the duo have the brains and ability to make a real impact. However, it's on b-side 'Motion Sickness' that they truly excel. Building from a minimal introduction to a sprawling, shoegazing crescendo, it's six minutes of densely layered rock, reminiscent in places of defunct indie geniuses Hope of the States. Coupling the skyscraping atmospherics of Mogwai with the mainstream appeal of late-80s indie, Death in Public are proving themselves to be genuine contenders for 2008. It's almost alarming that they sound this good, this early. " Review by: Mitch Bain Rating: 8/10 Moderate Rock " Ok so they might not have buzzed loud enough to make this year�s hot lists but if Death In Public carry on like this we�ll all be cheering on tinnitus by next winter. Indie kids never fear, this isn�t blood-curdling thrash and the Lancaster band certainly aren�t any kind of volume over talent proposition, but- much like their previous efforts- this thing doesn�t half rumble and fuzz and overflow with energy. �Biometrics� is like Editors if they embraced a little more raw power or maybe even The Smiths if Morrisey dug The Stooges just a little, and it�s got enough heart, substance and smoky melodies to impress anyone too- except maybe those who hang about in Topshop. B-side �Motion Sickness� highlights even further why this band are so promising- combining post-rock guitars with a desperate urge to be catchy and concise. The coupling isn�t quite perfect but this is still dirty pop done right- lo-fi as fuck but brilliantly anthemic, memorable and imaginative too. Here�s to Death In Public then, and all the hearing loss they�ll bring. " Review by: Simon T Diplock Rating: 7.5/10 The Plastic Ashtray "Having already impressed us with their last ethereal single, Death In Public return with new single �Biometrics� which seems to have taken the band a step up the ladder in every sense. Not only do they sound tighter with a better production, this single seems to have more punch and purpose. From the opening cry of distorted delay fuelled guitar matched against the dancey yet punk driven beat you know you are in for some exciting rock. Death In Public blend a distorted Placebo-esque vocals with Deerhunter style atmospherics and Editors bombast. The guitars are layered almost into a drone which gives interesting effect, tricking your ears at times into believing there are vocal harmonies mixed in at lower levels. �Motion Sickness� sees the band plough into My Vitriol territory, mixing some nice drum work again and other-worldy guitar echoes and feedback until things explode into a crescendo of thrashed guitars and strange twinkling sounds. Death In Public seem to be coming together as a real force. If �Biometrics� is anything to go by, the live experience must be breathtaking. They are poppy enough to enjoy yet spacey and shoegazer enough to scare off people who listen to Bloc Party. I like that." Review by: Pete Stanley Rating: 8/10 Music Spotlight "With each single release Lancaster�s Death In Public have been slowly but surely getting better and better, and �Biometrics� sees the band finally living up to their early potential. The atmospheric guitars take centre stage on the a-side with the vocals overshadowed by the seamless walls of sound created by the band, but despite the noise the band impressively still manage to pack in enough melody and hooks to ensure that the song is not simply an exercise in creating as much noise as possible without a semblance of a tune. This ability ensures that �Biometrics� is a track that gets better with each listen as the melodies seep slowly into your consciousness while the band effortlessly blend elements of post-punk, shoegaze and post-rock together to create a song that is highly impressive. B-side �Motion Sickness� starts off sounding a little bit like This Et Al�s 'The Loveliest Alarm' with a drawn-out intro before exploding into life for the chorus with Death In Public�s signature heavy guitars in place once again. While it�s not quite as strong as the a-side, �Motion Sickness� is still one of the best tracks the band have written to date, and suggests that 2008 could be a very good year for the band indeed." Review by: Pete Foster Rating: 8.5/10 Guestlist Manchester "The term 'soundtrack to your day' has become synonymous to the hot war age of the ipod generation, and its cyclic homage to the paranoia of 80s Ireland, the poll tax riots and Chernobyl. Death In Public conjures up the depersonalisation of society, and the draining reserve of hope that fuels its music. Biometrics makes redundant the need for glossy promo videos, and takes the listener to the places where light has failed to penetrate, to the monochrome of videoshop wastelands, and the tacky subworlds of seafront coin arcades. Howled vocals soar through jagged sweeping guitars, as a commuter train cadence bounces and jangles along, like a boisterous version of the Cocteau Twins. Vocalist, Julian's, singing style is a refreshing return to real music, his scalloped regional pronounciation adding to the organic feel of the track. Its edgy retro approach iconic and personal like early Petshop boys and Thomas Dolby. The box marked extra atmosphere has been wedged firmly open by Death In Public, and the extensive level of interest promising a positive future for the band. Motion Sickness is for all those whose Coldplay threshold was reached, and exceeded by, the third listen of Yellow. Warm and complete from its start, the track has the confidence and purpose its angst ridden rival lacked. Comparisons have been made to the likes of Placebo and The Smiths, which are well founded, however in an age of covers this three piece band from Lancaster have a strong original product ready to take up the baton from the 90s brit pop favourites." Review by: Micheal Roberts Rating: 8/10 Room Thirteen "Lancaster based trio Death In Public are new to me, I�ve never heard their music and I�ve never even heard their name, so I was curious about what I�d find on �Biometrics�. When the CD started playing the first thing that struck me was Julian Dicken�s vocals, he sounds a lot like Placebo�s Brian Molko. Musically they sound like a hybrid of Editors and Mogwai, sounds a little strange but it works for these guys. The track is full of heart and with every listen the melodies work their way deeper into your subconscious. �Biometrics� is full of angst but it has a quality that makes you want to dance along as the music peaks and troths in all the right places. The B-side �Motion Sickness� doesn�t have the element of instantly likeability that �Biometrics� has, but it is an intelligent track. Starting of in a minimalist fashion before sprawling out into a dense and deeply layered beautiful piece of rock. It lasts for about six minutes, which seems like a daring thing for a relatively new band to create, but it really pays off. It maybe a long song but at no point does it become boring. Death In Public sound different to a lot of bands out there, their sound is diverse meaning that they�ll have mass appeal. Something tells me these boys are worth keeping an eye on." Review by: Tara Couper Rating: 11/13 Floatation Suite "Straight outta Lancaster, Death in Public got together �due to being sick to the fucking back teeth of rich Grammar school bands singing about being hard done by.'DiP express their anger and vitriol with equal parts Placebo and Smashing Pumpkins, plus a little bit of Radiohead and The Cure mixed in for seasoning purposes. �Biometrics' becomes a better experience for its influences. The band are quite clearly still finding their feet, but the track has an aura of bigger things to it, echoing Bloc Party's early work. It's a feeling that, once DiP find their own unique sound, they could take it much, much further. As it stands, �Biometrics' is a cracking tune, intelligent with an underpinning energy waiting to leap out, fuzzy guitars and rolling drums breed life into strained vocals without drawing from the fragility of the track. Watch this space." Review by: Stuie Buchanan Rating: 11/13 Blues Bunny "How do you express such things as angst, frustration, distrust and disappointment musically? Well you could start with an industrial strength dose of swirling guitars, mix in some manic drumming and top it all off with some despairing vocals. That is the approach that Lancaster band Death in Public have taken with their single "Biometrics". It has to be said that this is not a particularly original approach but it is well executed this time with some effective lyrical stabs taken at our style obsessed society. On the flipside, "Motion Sickness" seems to follow a similar theme but adds a mournful, dirge like quality. It does the business though and you can almost feel yourself falling into the abyss whilst listening to it." Review by: Anon Rating: 4/5 | Press & Review archive | |
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