Dead To Me - Wait For It 7"

Apparently I wasn't joking when I wrote that Dutch based Shield Recordings had no intention to slow down. Almost out of the blue (if you don't count endless Facebook messages by the labelowners they had big news to announce soon) probably the best European punk label around announced that they were going to release a new three song 7" by one of the most talked about bands of recent years: Dead To Me.

Let's make one thing clear. Like everyone I love the Cuban Ballerina and Little Brother records. But boy, did I have a heard time digesting the African Elephants full length. Was this band going to get back on track? Or were they lost to uninspired reggae and grunge? Who would have thought a Dutch label would be the first with all the answers.

After African Elephants the band apparently shifted bandmembers once again and a revatilised line-up brings some crushing new songs to the Wait For It 7".

The titletrack is a return to form sounding melodic and catchy yet somehow gritty. Here the band stays on the good side of the Clash discography. 'Attack Form' features those Jam inspired vocals which were my personal highlight on the African Elephants record. Closener 'Paystub' is a more experimental, harsher song which takes a bit longer to sink in, thus being the right 'crossover' between the material on African Elephants and a new full length to come.

Dead To Me shows a return to form on this 7" and it's awesome that the band joined a lesser known label to spread that word.