The 1960’s can be looked upon as the golden age of the power trio, with the emergence of Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience and later Blue Cheer and Grand Funk Railroad paring rock music down to the bare essentials of guitar, bass and drums and proving that with enough attitude (and amplification) three people can create a big noise. With that in mind, the first decade of the 21st century is arguably the golden age of the power duo, with bands like the White Stripes and Black Keys seeing just how bare they can make the essentials of rock music. Usually, this comes at the expense of that most unappreciated of rock music’s cornerstone instruments, the bass guitar. Fortunately, for a brief moment in time, Canada’s Death From Above 1979 more than proved the 4‑stringed instruments worth with the glorious drum and bass racket kicked up on their sole full-length album “You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine”. Although it‘s only been a few years since it came out, as a fellow Canadian, I feel it‘s my duty to help give these boys their much deserved due for creating some great music and helping rock thugs everywhere forgive Canada for unleashing Celine Dion upon the world.

Consisting of singer/drummer Sebastian Grainger and bassist Jesse F. Keeler, DFA 1979 (as they shall be called from here on) make a downright Colosseum-sized noise with only a few bits of tastefully used synth-squeals and samples augmenting their respective instruments. Although the bass n’ drums two piece band thing is hardly exclusive to these guys (Godheadsilo and Big Business being two other examples), most of those other bands are noise-driven, mostly hook-less “rock-as-art-instillation” bands who don’t understand that there’s no crime in making rockers want to shake their ass and sing along to the chorus, even if it’s just a passing thought as they slam into each other in the mosh pit. Grainger’s primal, Dave Davies-in-heat howl practically drips with lust, both when he’s yelping at the top of his lungs (which is often) and when he brings his voice down to a near whisper, and his drumming has a frenzied sense of urgency even when he’s creating deep, sexy grooves, like Keith Moon indulging a dormant Clyde Stubblefield fetish. Keeler’s bass playing has a similar sense of punk aggression pulling at the choke chain of the almighty groove, and his bass tone is about the biggest, most monstrous thing this side of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, its huge, fuzzy but sharp attack filling up enough frequencies for 10 band members.

What truly separates DFA 1979 from other two-piece bands is not just the number of strings on their melodic instruments, but also the tangible feeling of sexual emotion, from frustration to anticipation all the way to copulation, they so gloriously conjure up. The rhythm section is the pulse of any band, and on “You‘re A Woman, I‘m a Machine“ Grainger and Keeler make the listener‘s blood run cherry red. When Grainger sings “I don’t need you, I want you” on “Romantic Rights”, it’s clear what his intentions are, and “Pull Out” is probably the best, most pure ode to the act of fucking since The Stooges “Penetration” 30 years before. Despite the limited number of instruments at their disposal, these boys from Toronto are able to create a variety of moods over the course of “You‘re a Woman‘s“ 11 songs, from the frothing at the mouth intensity of the aforementioned “Pull Out‘s“ sub‑2 minute duration to the slow, sparse elongated groove of 5‑minute plus closer “Sexy Results“. That song lives up to its title with its steady bongo drum undercurrent and bargain-bin synth outro creating a fabulous and inviting dance-rock strut, the band cleverly putting the foreplay at the END of the album. Yet despite the variations in tempo, the theme is abundantly clear throughout, the album representing a gigantic come-on, hard-on and any other sex related hyphenate you can think of. Not since the glory days of Robert Plant has someone rhymed “Lady“ with “Baby“ as effectively and believably. And at just under 36 minutes, “You‘re A Woman“ comes to an end at a perfect time, leaving the listener wanting more but not outstaying it‘s welcome.

Unfortunately, this would prove to be the band‘s only full-length album of original material. They managed to release the remix album “Romance Bloody Romance“ in 2005 before breaking up the following year. Nevertheless, “You‘re a Woman, I‘m a Machine“ stands as a crowning achievement in sweat-drenched power duo mayhem, and who knows, perhaps the band achieved all they needed to in their brief time together. For a couple of years in early 21st century, Death From Above 1979 saw, they conquered, they came.