INFECTIOUS MUSIC 5th March 2021
I remember the last gig I went to, a couple of days before lockdown and it is nearly a year ago now. Seems like a distant memory. Almost exactly a year before this release, the DMA’s played the show it was recorded at – a sell-out night at Brixton Academy, 6th of March, 2020. Like a time capsule from a time when crowds could shout, sing, sweat and bump about, the album captures an infectious atmosphere.
Every generation deserves a band they can love, with lyrics they click with and huge choruses they can wave their arms too. Those memories of bonding with friends in a packed crowd will stay with them once their heady student days merge into earning a living and raising a brood. People talk about Indie Landfill as a bad thing but pop music doesn’t last forever – it defines a moment in our lives and that, folks, explains why bands put down as landfill before, like Shed Seven, can still sell out gigs to audiences that have hired babysitters in. DMA’s are that heady rush of a band today, that band to learn the lyrics for, that band to sing along to, arms round your friends’ necks, for as long as the feeling lasts.
Known for their live set, this veers from the furiously propulsive and riff-laden to the anthemic ballad and has all the songs they’re known for. Throughout it all, the voice of the audience is never far away. Expertly mixed, the atmosphere is excellent and I hear the crowd around me, singing along at the peak moments. All I need is some warm lager spilt down my back and I’m in the Brixton Academy myself. This is a band where I can’t name the songs yet the warm feeling and rousing choruses drag me in regardless, as the packed multitude around my headphones exude waves of passion and adoration.
Whether you know the band’s albums or not, this is an excellent document of what live rock music means and its value to the human soul.