Great name, great era, great song!
Great name for a band. Great sound as "Romantic Rights" kicks in with a flangey, static bass riff. God, this makes me want to dance. Asserting itself with all the confidence of a Rottweiler, the Marc Bolan style vocals are juxtaposed against this thrusting bass lick to full effect. This even sounds like the seventies.
However, there is a something a little bit clever going on here. I can't help but be reminded of the nineties and my flirtation with the rave scene. That bass line is so wet and dirty, yet it is executed with a near digital precision. There's a logical build up and evolution much like dance music. This sounds like some of the first programmed tunes and the whole "back to '89" rave thing.
Anyway, back to '79. Death From Above 1979. Such an apt name. Yeah, I think it really captures the essence of their sound, in this track particularly. The vocals, as I've already mentioned, have a decidedly late 70s, T-Rex feel. Periodically though, there's a really dirty guitar riff and it sounds like being on the cusp of something; the end of a decade, the brink of something new. Something exciting is just around the corner. This is the kind of track that blurs the boundaries of music. Leading out of the 70s and the clean-cut, glam-rock and paving the way for the likes of Mötley Crüe and something all together more daring and dark. Quite an achievement for these Canadian boys. I mean, how can two people create such a massive sound?