It’s easy to see why bands with lengthy histories and voluminous catalogs would consider getting back together, but those rationalizations don’t hold much water for Death from Above 1979. The Canadian duo featuring bassist/synthesizer-player/backing vocalist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger got together in 2001 and released a sole album of original material, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, in 2004. The pair considered breaking up in the wake of tours with Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails, but held off for a year to appease their rabid fans, label and inner circle. When the creative friction between the duo became unmanageable, Keeler officially announced the death of Death from Above 1979 online in 2006.
That might well have been the last word on the thunderous twosome, but if we’ve learned anything from the James Bond franchise, it’s to never say never again.
Five years after Death from Above 1979’s official demise, Keeler revived the band’s website and dropped the bomb that he and Grainger were reuniting and working on new material for a proposed Canadian tour. Read more about Death from Above 1979 in this week's Sound Advice.
Catch Death from Above 1979 Saturday at Riverbend. More info/tickets: riverbend.org .
