Die! Die! Die! - Promises Promises

Testicle-hugging jeans? Check. Converse trainers? Check. Angular guitar riffs? Check. Punchy name? Check. Die! Die! Die! certainly know how to tick the appropriate boxes, but their sound is a little less punk in sound than in spirit. The Kiwi trio have more in common with Ian Mackaye than Mark E Smith, and ultimately sound like snotty brats covering Fugazi but doing a damn fine job of it, even if their voices still haven't broken since their 2005 eponymous debut. If a band could collectively have 'little-man syndrome', then this lot would probably fit the bill, but such displaced anger is never a bad thing to channel when you're young, really angry, and want to shift a record or two. To that end they kick off a breakneck tour that sees opener Blinding seamlessly morph from Bleach-era Nirvana into latter day At The Drive-In, setting the tone for a powerful, bass-heavy album that punishes as much as it rewards. [Ewen Millar]