Sydney’s DMA’s brought British indie-rock on their 2016 debut, Hills End (QRO review), and they’ve doubled down on that with THE GLOW. Their indie-rock is dance club ready, reminiscent of everything from the Arctic Monkeys to the baggy Madchester of the nineties, for a catchy and appealing album.
Like so much alternative music these days, THE GLOW is as much about the synthesizers as the guitars, but DMA’s lean into it all. They’re neo-baggy on opener “Never Before”, and bring a dance-press to the great “The Glow”. Yes, this record ‘glows’ with neon lights, but isn’t all surface, with emotional pieces such as the reaching “Strangers” and the carrying “Appointment”.
While hardly reinventing any wheels, the DMA’s do what they do well on THE GLOW. Hopefully someday soon the dance clubs (that remain) will reopen for them to do it live.
