Video: You Say Party! We Say Die! – There is XXXX (Within My Heart)
You Say Party! We Say Die! “There is XXXX (Within My Heart)” from the album XXXX. from Paper Bag Records on Vimeo.
Watch New Video For “There is XXXX (Love Within My Heart)”
Review: You Say Party! We Say Die! – XXXX
“You Say Party! We Say Die!” is a name that makes me cringe. I am a shallow, superficial person who loathes punctuation abuse. Firstly, WHY are there exclamation points within a band name, are they REALLY necessary? Secondly, if it is ABSOLUTELY VITAL that they be there, WHY not go all the way and insert the appropriate commas and quotation marks. Your name, m’dears, should really be You Say ‘Party!’, We Say ‘Die!’
Yes, so, this mistreatment of grammar makes me very grumpy. I decide to get revenge. I attach to my noggin my criticalest pair of ears. And I push play. And then I am made even more grumpy as the final question that bubbles up in my brain is WHY must they be so GOOD? Damn cognitive dissonance.
For starters, I did not expect to hear what I heard when opener ‘There is XXXX (Within My Heart)’ wafted, rather than blazed, out of my headphones. Given that their name (with or without the appalling mistreatment of punctuation) superficially implies rebellious (die!) dance-pop (party!), it is a bit of a surprise to have the first song caress your eardrums rather than assault them. Breathy and minimalistic and littered with a woodwind (?) it is only two minutes into it that you realise XXXX means ‘love’. A discovery confirmed by the songs later on the album ‘Make XXXX’ and the puzzlingly named ‘XXXX/Loyalty’ (do you pronounce the slash?).
‘Glory’, on the other hand, is the cheerleader to ‘There is XXXX’s flautist-in-the-school-band. Playful and flirtatious, it inserts comical little gasps after every defiant utterance of such scandalous terms as “sex!” and “drugs!” ‘Cosmic Wanship Avengers,’ fittingly enough, sounds like it belongs behind the opening credits of a mid-90s superhero anime assisted by lyrics like “I want to find you in a dark alleyway” and “I know you’re scared/like the coward who hides inside”.
I am particularly fond of ‘Lonely’s Lunch’ (a lot of these song names leave you going ‘what?!’). The insanely excellent refrain ‘inside out, outside in’ is probably the catchiest of the lot and there’s an organ thrown in to make things even more interesting, YSP!WSD! (see not good as an acronym, either) pawn a bit of The Police as they bridge the song with whimpers of “so lonely, lonely lonely.”
You Say Party! We Say Die! seem surprised at their success in their homeland (Canada). They speak of the novel bizarreness of having their faces staring back at them from more than one magazine cover. They really shouldn’t be so shocked. They’re very accessible but in a cool, underground way.
YOU SAY PARTY! WE SAY DIE! Return with “XXXX”
You Say Party! We Say Die! (aka YSP!WSD!) are back! The band announced the details of their much-anticipated third release, XXXX, out on Paper Bag Records on Sept. 29th. YSP! WSD! will embark on a North American tour in support of XXXX, and are returning to the US for the first time in several years.
You Say Party! We Say Die!
How did the band form?
the band formed in December 2003. Stephen asked Krista to start a band with him. Stephen playing bass and Krista playing keyboards. Stephen also worked at a pizza shop with Becky. she sang while making pizzas and Stephen decided to ask her to sing. Stephen played in lots of bands with Jason who played guitar. then we decided to borrow Bruce from “fun100″ to play drums. Jason’s girlfriend carissa joined the band on second keys. eventually Jason and Carissa moved away to Toronto so we got Derek on guitar and have been a 5 piece ever since.
How did you guys come up with “You Say Party! We Say Die!” ?
The name was actually thought up by our original guitar player Jason. He and Stephen were in a math rock band prior to ysp!wsd! and he had originally intended it as a chant along for a song that was never written. When we started the band we were trying to avoid being a “the” band which was very popular at the time. Jason suggested this one and we all loved it. The name stuck.
With such a big band do you guys ever get into fights at all?
We have just recently instituted a “one member, one vote” policy in the band. We originally wanted to reach consensus on every issue but being 5 very different people we realized that a democracy decision system was a little easier than the communal approach. We’ve all been friends since we were all really young teenagers, and were a bike gang before we were a band. We don’t really have fights, we’re took busy having a fun time!
How do you write songs? Any special techniques?
We don’t really have one specific method. Usually someone suggests a riff or two and we build the song around it. but lately we’ve been attempting to write around Becky’s lyrics. it’s interesting to try it backwards. Typically the lyrics have always come last. when we first started the band, our special technique was to drink. drink, practice, drink, practice, drink, practice, fall down!
Can you tell us a bit about the recording of “Hit The Floor!!” where was it recorded? Where their a lot of extra songs from the sessions as well?
“hit the floor” was recorded in Vancouver, B.C at lab monkey studios with the super amazing, super talented Shawn Cole. He got us super comfortable right off the bat in the studio and started pulling all these things out of us that we didn’t know we could do. the man has a talent, lots of secret weapons that helped capture our live sound in the recording. we’re really excited to keep working with him in the future.
truth be told there are NO extra tracks from the session. We threw all our new material onto the album. the only songs we didn’t include were the songs from our prior release, the Dansk Wad EP, which is out of print and hard to find; I suggest downloading it.
How have your latest gigs been?
We’re currently on tour across western Canada and i have to say that this has been the best tour we’ve ever been on. lots of people have been coming out and everyone has been really receptive at the shows. tons of dancing, clapping, chanting and just having fun. We’ve really enjoyed it.
Are you excited to be touring the UK this summer?
If it we’re possible to have a collective crapping of our pants, this would be it. We are absolutely blown away that our band would ever have the opportunity to travel to the UK to play shows. We are excited beyond belief. I’d love to say this is a dream come true, but I don’t think anyone ever dreamed this would ever be possible. We’re going to have a lot of fun together, the uk and us. Good times will be had!
Have you been working on new tracks while on the road?
yes, we have two songs that we’ve added to the live set, and probably about 4 or 5 more that are just a few rehearsals away from being finished. We’ve got alot of time to sit around on tour, so we’re working on new ideas as they come to us.
How do you think you’ve progressed as a band since you started out?
We’ve all become a lot more comfortable with each other, having confidence in what each other is doing. When we started everyone wrote a part for themselves and crashed through it in pop formula, verse chorus verse chorus. as we got more comfortable on stage and in our writing, we actually listen to each other and have parts that hold each other up, songs that don’t work unless every single part is there.
Dan Vieria has not made it a secret he is a fan of your work. Do you guys follow the press you get at all?
Wow! We catch wind of a lot of things said about us on the internet. we’re really flattered. Sometimes we’re a bit clueless in regards to it though. I think only two of us knew what pitchfork was before we were reviewed on there. press is always a helpful thing to get the word out about a band quickly, but it’s not the most important aspect. we love to play shows, that’s what we want to do, if press helps that, then that’s great!
Who were some of your favorite bands you have toured with?
We’re currently on tour with controller.controller they’re all super kind and they’re band is amazing. We’re really honored to share the stage with them. so right now they’re our favorite!
How is the scene in Vancouver at the moment?
either you’re a dance rock loving hipster or you’re a bearded classic rock loving hipster