Album Review: Dead Poet Society - 'FISSION'
‘FISSION’, the third album from America’s Dead Poet Society, is a triumph. Building on both the signature sound and the success of sophomore release ‘-!-‘, it manages to incorporate the same bluesy-rock base while soaring higher and delving deeper than the band have ever been before.
Fission — the process by which an atom absorbs something new and breaks apart, releasing an influx of energy and a domino-chain like effect that encompasses everything. A rather apt name for Dead Poet Society’s third album; through a tiny quirk in their sound, the intrusion and inclusion of just a teensy bit of external influence, the band seem to have released something new, something that grows and grows until it’s just about ready to consume you. Something chaotic, something explosive, and something that manages to somehow be, at times, tear-jerkingly good.
If there was one main criticism to be had of ‘-!-‘, it was that a lot of the songs seemed to blend together. It’s not necessarily a bad thing — especially when the sound is a blend of Queens of the Stone Age-style bluesy riffs, pounding drums and bass lines, and a healthy sprinkling of falsetto from vocalist Jack Underkofler — but it left the album feeling at times less like a cohesive whole, and more like a repeated whole.
‘FISSION’ might not fully solve these problems, but it takes one hell of a swing at them.
It starts off in the usual vein. An oppressive, infrasound bass line plays over a thudding drumbeat that beats against your very bones. Heavy rock, buzzing and droning that builds into a crashing crescendo Other than the sudden appearance of a cowbell, it seems business as usual for the band.
But then you’ve got the lead singles, ‘Running In Circles’ and ‘HURT’, and everything changes. The former — an urgent, addictive, anthemic earworm of a track ready made for arenas — perfectly encapsulates it’s own message of an anxious yearning for escape; ‘HURT’, meanwhile, is a lot more insidious in its approach; the instrumentals play second fiddle to Jack’s insistent doubts, layered on top of one another as a cloying, choking barrier, before erupting into a frustrated crescendo, attempting to break out. Already, not even a quarter into the album, ‘FISSION’ is growth through decay; and each song exhibits that differently. There are familiarities, sure — ‘How could I love you?’, the addictive ‘Hard To Be God’, or the almost mocking ‘KOET’, especially, seem like tracks to bridge the gaps between the albums — but then there are pure exceptions.
Take the double hitter of ‘Tipping Point’ and ‘LA Queen’, clocking in halfway through. ‘Tipping Point’ has no right being as emotional as it does, given the tracks that surround it. Poignant and passionate, the vocals sound as helpless as they do petrified, as if watching their world fall through their fingers. ‘LA Queen’, meanwhile, is a wonderfully addictive track; raising your blood pressure, directly after the cold shock of ‘Tipping Point’, the warbling guitars and building drums give rise to a climactic crash and sudden silence. Both tracks just feel intrinsically new to the band’s repertoire, and none too soon.
Another clear standout is recent single ‘81 Tonnes’. The closest thing to a title track that the album has, it’s a builder; slow, electronic hums, over the nervous ticking of a clock, builds to some of the best choruses of the album, with barely coherent screams echoing behind the vocals. More interestingly, though, ‘81 Tonnes’ seems almost half of a duo; combined with ‘Uto’, another standout, the two seem like the children of a Muse-esque Bond song. Add some strings and a derivation of the famous riff, and you’re most of the way there.
Bits of the sonic evolution do still seem to take cues from predecessors, admittedly. While the comparison to Royal Blood was hard not to make in earlier releases, tracks like ‘I hope you hate me’ show that even the influences seemed to have stayed consistent, with the odd cut of the third album likewise seeming to take cues from Royal Blood’s own third album, ‘Typhoons’. But there’s nothing wrong with similarities, particularly with bands that are tackling the same musical beasts; to say that ‘FISSION’ isn’t wholly Dead Poet Society’s beautiful, writhing brain child is to do them a disservice.
It might not be perfect, but it’s a hell of a good attempt. A fantastic album that manages to address previous shortcomings, build upon existing strengths, and sound bloody good while doing so.
Dead Poet Society are back over in the EU/UK in February/March, with Canadian outfit Ready The Prince supporting, including a visit to King’s Cross’s very own Scala on March 20th. Catch them while you can!
Words by James O’Sullivan
