Artist Profile: Dead Disco
As their MySpace headline won’t hesitate to inform you, Dead Disco have been “slaying dancefloors and breaking hearts” since August 2005. And you need only spin their songs a few times and take a glance at the picture above to know they’re not lying in either regard. Seriously though, for the first time ever I think I have a crush on every single member of a band. I’ve always had a soft spot for attractive girls with nice record collections (see: every girlfriend I’ve ever had), so imagine the state I’m in now that I’ve come across this dance rock trio that sounds like Bloc Party if they were fronted by three girls who look exactly like every girl I’ve ever wanted to date.
Getting on with it though, Dead Disco formed in Leeds in late ‘05 and released their debut single early this year on High Voltage Sounds, a hot young Manchester imprint that’s quickly becoming one of my favorite labels in the UK. The single “The Treatment”, was a limited-edition 7″-only affair produced by James Ford (of Simian Mobile Disco fame) and backed by one of the best remixes of 2006, Metronomy’s brilliant re-working of the title track. While Metronomy’s remix pulls off one of the greatest instances of B-side-versus-A-side thunder-stealing I’ve ever seen, “The Treatment” got the unsuspecting public hooked on the trio’s Blondie-meets-Bloc Party sound, featuring catchy riffs and poppy girl-group hooks, and the release sold out in under a week.
The stage was set then for total domination, and the girls didn’t disappoint with their follow-up single “Automatic”, a track which surpassed even the high expectations set by their astonishing debut. Put out on Fierce Panda, “Automatic” immediately hooks you in with an undeniable opening riff that eventually yields to that unbelievably catchy “You see me/it’s symptomatic/you touch me/it’s automatic” chorus that wouldn’t be out of place in a song by even the poppiest, most mainstream girl group imaginable. With “Automatic” filling dancefloors and getting impressive radio play on XFM and Virgin Radio already, and an equally-promising download-only single, “City Hall” (available here on Playlouderecordings) already out, Dead Disco seem to be destined for the top of the charts and as far as I’m concerned they can’t get there soon enough.
MP3s:
“The Treatment” - Dead Disco
“The Treatment” (Metronomy Remix) - Dead Disco ((highly recommended))
“Automatic” - Dead Disco ((highly recommended))
I don’t normally include press quotes in my write-ups, these publications nailed their descriptions of the band and should convince you to download the tracks above with utmost expedience if you haven’t already.
“Ladytron and The Long Blondes have a car crash, kick out the boys and get on with making electro-psychobilly jerk-pop” - NME (March 2006)
“A cross between a Phil Spector girl group and a Ladytron-style dancefloor filler” - XFM (April 2006)
“More cool than even the sweaty masses of a Black Wire gig could amass, and enough hook lines and handclap enducing moments of near genius you’d soon expect other bands to be complaining of someone hogging the quota set to burn down the indie discos without any need for a match.” - Fake DIY
“Dead Disco have recorded one of the best debut singles since The Strokes. A fun and addictive debut, full of excitement and promise. Expect great things to come.” - AngryApe.com (April 2006)