Though its bulk was penned in the early months of 2019, Positive Rising Part 2 - album #6 from the dance-punk debonairs in DZ Deathrays, and, as its title suggests, the second half of their monstrous Positive Rising project - feels distinctly suited for the mid-pandemic slog of 2021.
It’s the yang to Part 1’s yin, darker and stormier with heavier riffs, deeper grooves and an amplified wallop of frontman Shane Parsons’ wry, acerbic wit. Especially given DZ’s bout of quiet preceding it (which was forced by the COVID outbreak of 2020 - the initial plan was to jump straight from disc to disc), Part 2 marks a belting snap back to the spotlight for the Brisbane trio.
But like a lot of what’s made DZ Deathrays such an impenetrable force on Australia’s rock and punk scene, Positive Rising had a notably lowkey origin story - the band didn’t set out to create some towering, generational concept album epic; many of the songs came together on a whim, with Parsons, co-shredder Lachlan Ewbank and snarelord Simon Ridley embracing their naturally loose and luminescent character, rather than forcing themselves to be something they aren’t.
Ahead of the album’s release this July, we takes DZ Deathrays to a whole new level - and, excitingly, what to look forward to from album no. seven (which looks set to come much sooner than later).
