It Does Not Offend Us, No

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 10, 2008 3:15PM

Does it Offend You, Yeah? first caught our ear with the suprema-catchy early single "We Are Rockstars" took us right back to the mid-'90s Big Beat explosion with its rock sensibilities laid like dripping blood over the dance floor. Honestly, after hearing that tune we were ready to write them off as just another dance rock band, albeit one with a slightly revivalist bent that appealed to our more sentimental nature.

When the album dropped in our lap, though, the incendiary "Let's Make Out" jumped out of our speakers and into our sex-driven heart. It's mixture of raw sensuality, aggression, and undeniable rhythms punctuated by squeaks and skronk right out of a dyslexic Moog documentary forced us to reassess the band. After listening to the album as a whole we realized that we might actual have an honest to God dance rock BAND on or hands; a group of co-conspirators just as interested in writing actual songs as they are in writing 30 second hooks that can be sampled and repeated ad nauseum.

Look for further proof of this observation in the opener to their You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into album, "Battle Royale." With a title like that the group could have easily sampled a bunch of indecipherable dialogue of Japanese school kids hunting each other down, but instead they build a pastiche -- albeit it on that owes a lot to Justice, and therefore Daft Punk -- that keeps bobbing and weaving and keeping our attention. The band plays at Subterranean tonight, and their live show should provide a visual approximation of that previous description, so strap on some trainers with excellent traction to navigate the sweat drenched floor, and get ready for a dance concert that really rocks.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? plays tonight, September 10, at Subterranean, 2011 W North, 6:30 p.m., $12, all ages