Hit the Floor!

Album Review

By "floor," they mean dancefloor. Where neo-wave bands like the Epoxies are mostly interested in the arch, stylized Devo end of the new wave scene, and Interpol prefers the stylized moodiness of seasoned Joy Division followers, this quintet from the border city of Abbotsford, British Columbia is all about the dancefloor. Pylon, the herky-jerky pride of Athens, GA, is the band most recognizable in You Say Party! We Say Die!, particularly in Becky Ninkovic's ululating shriek of a voice on songs like "The Gap (Between the Rich and the Poor)" and the self-explanatory "He! she! you! me! they! we! us! ok!," and in the muscular thump of the high-in-the-mix rhythm section. That said, some of the songs here manage to engage the listener mostly through that hyperactive danceability and giddy sense of fun. A closer, seated listen reveals some of the tunes, like "Midnight Snack" and "You Did It!," to be little more than a patchwork of riffs and shouted slogans. The best material largely makes up for the weaker tracks, however.