by Scott Yohe
There is so much noise coming at you all the time these days. The constant bombardment of stuff you aren’t interested in while you try to get things done, it’s exhausting. Greet Death, Michigan shoegazers, are taking on the constant noise of life with their own noise. Their newest album, Die in Love, out via Deathwish Inc., is their answer to two of life's biggest noisemakers, love and death. Greet Death offer their perspectives on these age-old topics in ways that are both all too familiar and yet uniquely their own.
Die in Love opens with its eponymous track, which contains immediate, MBV-esque noise. This is an often cited touch point for any shoegaze album, but it’s always a welcome influence. “Same but Different Now” is about a feeling most can relate to, the subtle difference that can change everything. It’s also loud as all hell. “Country Girl” touches on what it's like to live/be trapped in a midwestern suburban wasteland, with all sorts of callouts to John Carpenter horror films. If you’ve ever experienced that, then the idea of hitting the liquor store and going to a fast food restaurant is all too relatable. “Red Rocket” is interesting with its allusion to a dog's erection. It sounds juvenile, but turns out to be extremely poetic. It aches with a longing for something to last forever even if it can’t. “August Underground” is a nice change of pace where the band slows things down all for a while until it culminates into a truly epic jam. The themes of death and love are very apparent in “Small Town Cemetery,” the desire to spend the rest of eternity lying next to your loved one in a grave. “MotherFucker” is a truly beautiful song, which culminates in a yelped “We all expire from a slow suicide!!”
When talking about Die in Love, you have to acknowledge the simple fact it straight up rocks. The guitars are so drenched in an ethereal fuzz that sounds so warm. Greet Death have a distinct Midwest quality to them that can be hard to pin down but unmistakable. The rocking out is fully exemplified on “Same but Different Now,” and it just totally kicks ass. You can tell the band were having fun even with something so serious. They also use a dual vocalist setup, so there is a variety across every song. Die in Love avoids the pitfalls of a lot of shoegaze albums, where every song sounds the same. Every song on Die in Love is unique and stands on its own, but it is an album that should be enjoyed in full and as loud as possible. The rhythm section contributes just as much as the guitars, allowing the band to always sound in complete sync with each other. It is always pleasurable to see a band be able to completely realize their vision and create something that is truly beautiful.
It has taken me months to write this. I have spent a lot of time with Die in Love and Greet Death, to the point where it will likely be my most listened to album this year. I do not regret this at all because these songs have become a part of me. As I watch the leaves fall in my own sleepy midwestern town, I can’t help but feel that Die in Love has joined the great pantheon of fall albums. The fact that it was released in the heat of the summer does not detract from this, because it was also the perfect soundtrack then, and I imagine it will be perfect in winter and spring as well. If I were able to say one thing to Greet Death, it would be a simple “thank you” because I cannot come up with anything that would be able to adequately express my gratitude for Die in Love. This band has created something so good that words cannot do it justice. I just hope that I will be able to express even a fraction of the importance of this album.