This British Columbia act began over a decade ago as You Say Party! We Say Die!, with advancing indie-dance on records Hit the Floor, Lose All Time (QRO review), and XXXX (QRO review), before the 2010 death of drummer Devon Clifford, after suffering a brain aneurysm on stage at a show. This brought about more than just the dropping of the second half of the group’s name (and the exclamation points), as band members changed and eventually hiatus/break-up beckoned. Well, You Say Party have returned, as a synth-mood ensemble with their self-titled record.
You Say Party’s You Say Party may have the word “Party” in its title, but it is not a party record (in an interesting contrast to the L-O-V-E that was all the “XXXX”s on XXXX). Instead, the group is fuzzy and moody, draped in darkness from the first bass notes of opener “112” on. Thought not a ‘downer’ of a record, You Say Party instead occupies its synth-driven wash and effects, such as on the strong second track, “Ignorance”.
While their band & record titles may been even less applicable on You Say Party, the band has successfully returned in a new, sorrowful form.
You Say Party – Ignorance
