You Say Party! We Say Die!
Lose All Time
Paper Bag
You’ve heard this band before. They’ve been called Be Your Own Pet, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Le Tigre. Their formula for success is to start with a base of X-Ray Spex style punk rock, add some ’80s dance rock à la Berlin, shake it all up with a heaving helping of grrrl rock circa 1993 and have your female frontwoman wear some lavish clothing while she flails about…
Sounds like I’m criticizing, I know, but I’m a sucker for this age-worn formula for feminist fun! It borrows the best elements of the feminist rock spectrum, leaving the tears and PMS at home. There is a time and a place for the heartbreak (Melissa Etheridge), the tragedy (Tori Amos), and the raging hormones (Bikini Kill, Heavens To Betsy, Sleater-Kinney… oh my god, I can go on and on!), but isn’t it about time our girls got their grooves on?!!! Thank you, Karen O!
All of this brings us to Canada’s You Say Party! We Say Die! (YSP!WSD!). Their follow-up disc to the buzz worthy Hit the Floor! is chock full of music you can dance to, screw to, cook to, clean the house to – whatever the contagious little bursts of chaos inspire you to do.
Start with “Downtown Mayors Goodnight, Alley Kids Rule!” and work your way through “Poison” and the moody hypnosis of “You’re Almost There.” And if you’re really feeling adventurous, hang on for 5 minutes after the final song ends for about 8 minutes of audio freakout that will either make you see pretty colors and floating bunnies, or make your skin crawl and the walls melt.
You Say Party! We Say Die!: http://www.yousaypartywesaydie.ca
