Destroy Nate Allen, Portland’s colourful folk-punk couple, released earlier this month an eleventh hyperactive package, "With Our Forces Combined".
Restless trip through fifteen tales of contemporary love and other most trivial matters, it playfully approaches those thematics dear to the young, broke and free : the Internet, sex, awkward accomodations, healthy living, ambiguous relationships and so on and so forth… hard not to identify with, you see. She can’t sing too well, neither can he, but who cares? They don’t, it only makes them go louder; and surely we don’t, for it just sounds all the more authentic, and the pair converses beautifully with that ever so touching Jack&Meg chemistry. Their music is at the same time pleasantly punk for not trying too hard and delightfully pop (believe me, I’d generally call that an oxymoron) with its catchy singalong lines and uptempo rhythms. Now stir in a few ska beats, a pinch of synth, simple guitar riffs and the odd sample and you’ve got yourself an effective sound bubbling with youthful spirit.
Never at rest, DNA are about to bounce back onto the roads for an umpteenth US tour under the summer sun, so get bopping out there, fall’s only ’round the corner! – Tracy Mamoun