The Death Set - 'Worldwide' (Counter Records 2009)

The Death Set, born in Syndey and honed in McNulty country (Baltimore), can accelerate your heart-rate. Fact. I jogged listening to their debut energising album, ‘Worldwide’ and I crawled into a fast K-hole of dark gritty streets of death and destruction, where on each corner kids in hoodies playing Gameboys on endless loops. I nearly ran myself off the end of a cliff by album’s end, and there was a satisfying lurching moment as I waited for the next beat to kick and it stopped suddenly, giving my stomach whiplash. I crawled home on hands and knees begging for mercy. ‘Worldwide’ is a passionate, insanely melodic and thrashing death race through post-punk thrashed guitars and scream-o lyrics (you WILL find yourself screaming ‘THE MOTHERFUCKING DEATH SET’ on a crowded train listening to this), lo-fi Casio drum loops with the muffler on, and weird Nintendo bleeps, bloops and melodious computer synths. The songs are either fast and short or a little slower and a little shorter; the Death Set have two moods, energetic and life-affirming fist pumping punka (‘Intermission’) or melodious (‘Cold Teeth’). Le Tigre/Bikini Kill-esque riot grrl lyrics are shouted and screamed at you, heavily affected but funky and riotous all at once. ‘Moving Forward’ approaches emotive with tinges of acoustic guitar, before heading into uptempo frenzy, it’s almost a love song, almost sweet, but contains enough attitude to enduce whiplash. Closer ‘Selective Memories’ is the least lo-fi of the numbers, with the muffler moved up to halfway, all harmonies and punk sensibilities as the melody breaks sticks over your back willing you to submit to its infectious haze of pure emotion and complete disarray. This album is incredible, so life-affirming and infectiously uptempo, it never bores you, never outstays its welcome and always threatens to break your neck through throbbing pulsing verve.

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