Double Handsome Dragons

It is common knowledge that Belfast gigs can sometimes be a bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality, but when a band like Double Handsome Dragons hit the stage with the ferocity and kind of wide eyed passion usually reserved for a band with nothing to lose, it is clear that you have stumbled into a room where something very special is going down. Double Handsome Dragons took to the stage and did the only thing that they know, which is to shout loudly directly in the audiences faces. This in many ways could be considered bad form, but tonight they get their point across perfectly. Sounding like a mix of Reuben, Refused, and local gods-of-the-hour And So I Watch You From Afar, their style of half-instrumental rock was more akin to getting repeatedly punched in the ribs, but in the best way possible. The guitarist, with his eyes wide and rock stance intact, managed to furiously attack his guitar while not missing a beat, which must be hard considered the bands reliance on backing tracks. There was a sense of revelation in the crowd at this point. The time where you realise that this is not only another random gig that bands are obliged to take part in, if only in order to spread their name (see, this band are from England), but it's clear for all to see that Double Handsome Dragons are on par, if not well over, of any band that Northern Ireland has to offer. This in itself it worrying, but tonight the only thought entering my head was one of constant surprise. While the vocals are sporadic and not quite sing-able, they are completely of a random nature, coming at the most unexpected times. In this sense they remind of Sikth, but are in no way as self indulgent. All in all, by the time this band had finished their set, it was obvious by both the look on peoples faces, and the ringing in my ears, that this band have something that many bands should hope to achieve in their lifetime, which is a focus on passion, unrelenting attitude, and tight playing that ensure that Double Handsome Dragons will be back. Take note, or miss out. - Gigging Northern Ireland

The good news: Double Handsome Dragons does not merely represent another step forward for a competent recording artist. An eponymous mini-album, it is bigger, louder, angrier, funnier, and altogether better than any of Double Handsome Dragons' previous work. The group's debut EP1 marked the rise of a talented, synth-minded post-rock quartet. The subsequent A musical study of vicious, flying insects fared much better in post-production, and introduced their quintessentially English shout-vocals. Yet it did not represent true progress, and The Silent Ballet's Kyle Williams likened it to a 'band caught staring at itself in the mirror.' The April 2009 release Lions & Tigers and Holy Shit What Was That?!! failed to tell listeners anything new.

However, this new release sees the group revitalised, a DHD2.0. Extended clips from old movies, campy sci-fi film trailers, and infamous political speeches share real estate with savage guitar riffs, concussive rhythm sections, and space-madness electronica. The track list steadily courses with more and more adrenaline, each successive cut delivering a better dose than the last. Hard rock, alt-metal, hip hop, and straight-up indie rock all make cameo appearances here, while the old soundbites do nearly all of the talking. There is little subtlety here.

Dragons begins in earnest with the third track, "Ronald Ray-gun". Here a fast, high-register synthesizer rhythm builds to a raw prog-rock interlude. Named after the 40th U.S. president, "Ray-gun" features an unflattering sample from Reagan's 'alien threat' speech to the UN General Assembly. The Dragons' mockery is unambiguous and effective, arranging the late president's comments (example: 'I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat') amidst cascading guitar and dreamlike space synth. When Reagan's reverie ends, the music takes a heavy, ferocious turn with metal guitar and percussion. The vocals are caricatured: distorted, delivered in primal screams and all but indecipherable. But one repeated lyric rises above the noise, 'the Martians are coming!'

Stateside listeners staring at their shoes during "Ronald Ray-gun" will likely duck throughout most of "Los Diablos Del Espacio". The initial impression is that of a conventional rap rock piece, until a short historical audio clip reveals itself: Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's fiery September 2006 speech to the UN ('the devil came here today', spoken of then-president George W. Bush, and of American imperialism in general). The track builds momentum throughout its second half, trading in global politics for astronaut synthesizer loops. An alarm sounds during the hard-hitting climax, and the impact is hair-raising. "Los Diablos Del Espacio" resembles a countdown to annihilation, and makes clear that the threat to mankind isn't coming from outer space. It is a masterful bit of apocalyptic songwriting. The use of guitar, laser-sharp electronica and rhythm section here is downright orchestral.

The closing piece, "Are We Not the Future of This Nation?", employs the 'Look up, Hannah' speech from the film The Great Dictator to bewildering effect. In the character of the Jewish barber, Charlie Chaplin implores 'Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers,' while pulsing synthesizer and simple, devastating rock stand in as soundtrack. The long, somewhat corny speech may not worked as the dénouement to a slapstick comedy film, but there is little question that it does here. "Are We Not the Future" is one of the largest compositions of 2010, in any genre. Even the ridiculous 90-second coda - a cheesy, even tedious keyboard solo - seems written to underscore the unstoppable and inspiring post-rock that came just before.

By the closing track, it is pretty obvious that the space invaders subplot is a dodge - and that Double Handsome Dragons speaks a larger message of resistance and freedom. The Cosmic Monsters might have been a perfectly brilliant film for its time, but the trailer is only sampled here as a juxtaposition. Today we could use a bit more science, and a bit less science fiction. It is possible that some audiences will be turned off by the politics, and others, by the camp. But where previous material reflected a glimmer in their eye, Double Handsome Dragons reveals also an angry twitch. This concise and exhilarating piece of music making is prone to excess, but it generates very little waste. - The Silent Ballet