Die! Die! Die! - Harmony

With their newest album, New Zealand punk trio Die! Die! Die! continue to assault eardrums from the outset, kicking things off with the rousing ‘Oblivious Oblivion’. Then it’s to the title track for a battle between the instruments, where it feels like each one is vying for your attention. Guitars seem to win though, with calmer riffs taking over in the latter half of the song before things get loud again.

The frenetic ‘Erase Waves’ is excellently angry, and Andrew Wilson’s distinctive vocals fit in perfectly, making Die! Die! Die! sound the way they do. Things don’t necessarily calm down in new single ‘Trinity’, but they seem almost contemplative in their noise. ‘Seasons Revenge’ is even more downbeat, less of a cacophony than a 90s emo throwback with some random screams thrown in.

Things get energised again in ‘No One Owns A View’, but here’s where the tiny problems start to show. Too many of their songs blend together, with little variation. Even on tracks where the clue is in the name – looking at you, ‘Changeman’ – the sound doesn’t really change. And if it’s not your favourite thing in the whole wide world, it will get a bit boring.

Overall ‘Harmony’ is a good album, with piano keys of closer ‘Get Back’ being a particular highlight. But it’s probably not the best follow-up to the band’s last album in terms of progression or improvement; it just feels like there should be more to ‘Harmony’ than there actually is.