D.I.D. Photo Credit: Brad Matthews
D.I.D released their long awaited second album earlier this month, like five Indie Santas blessing us with an early Christmas present. ‘The State We’re In’ is the first album released under the band’s new acronymified (yes, that’s a word that I used) name, which comes four years after the release of Dog Is Dead’s ‘All Your Favourite Stories.’ The new era for the band sees a more sophisticated, darker feeling with the same upbeat, slick sound.
Album opener ‘Fast Food’ sets the tone for the whole album. Choruses full to the brim with catchy lines, euphoric harmonies and an upbeat sound that wouldn’t feel out of place at a carnival. That’s not to mention the intense bass lines. The kind of bass lines that, when heard live, feel like they were designed to penetrate through your soul (in a good way ofc).
Lyrically, this album reaches a whole other level for D.I.D. Saying the explicit in the most beautiful manner. Front man Rob speaks through spine-chillingly honest lyrics: “We both needed space / someone else’s pillowcase / to rest our necks on and be alone for a little while”.
Lead single ‘Killer Whale’ keeps the upbeat, anthemic sound going, despite talking about the much deeper message of bullying, with the video showing a mini Trev wearing a whale costume and being cheated out of winning his school Sports Day race. The album tackles another difficult topic with the slower ballad, ‘Heavy Cloud,’ talking about Rob’s struggles with anxiety.
‘Funnybone’ uses a fantastic metaphor – comparing powering through the pain and difficult times of a relationship to hitting your funny bone. I mean, I know love can be a bit shit, but hitting your funny bone must be worse, no? To misquote the cute kid in Love Actually “is there anything worse than the total agony of hitting your funny bone?”
Tracks such as ‘Hotel’ have been taken from last year’s ‘Fast Food EP‘ and placed perfectly into the new album. A fierce bassline which is only done full justice through the speakers of Rock City, matched with ghostly echoing harmonies that help make ‘Hotel’ a real standout track.
‘Flush’ has a more electronic sound than the rest of the album. The track describes the process of literally flushing people out of your life and feeling better from it.
The album closes with the poignant ‘I Meant To Hurt You.’ The juxtaposing meaning behind the song talks about the difficulty of cutting someone out of your life despite knowing it is for the better, it is definitely one of the most revealing points of the album.
You can buy the album on iTunes HERE.
Yours in Love of New Music,
Katie Beard x
