Never Exhale" is the sound of a band that has never taken a break. Since the release of their first album "The Great Regression", DITZ have been touring relentlessly, and even before that they were on the road at least 100 days a year since COVID. The songs for their latest opus were written all over Europe, often on days off and in borrowed rehearsal rooms to break up the long drives. You could say that the band treats the recording and release of music like an afterthought. They often play the songs live years before they are released and tweak them as they go. The songs on the final record may change before they are even heard as part of the album. Never Exhale" was mostly recorded at Holy Mountain Studios in London in a freezing January. The process was fraught with obstacles. The original plan to record in Rhode Island was scrapped when DITZ were offered the opportunity to tour in support of IDLES. Nevertheless, the album was mixed by the originally intended engineer Seth Manchester (Model/Actriz, Lingua Ignota, Big Brave). The result is an album that has become hard due to the pressure it has created itself. Laborious, but unloved. The album's themes only reveal themselves after repeated listens. The opening track "Taxi Man" is an exploration of what it would be like to weigh your impact on the world. The eponymous cab man could be seen as a kind of St. Peter or as Charon, transporting the dead to the underworld. As the album progresses, themes of unnecessary hatred and division ("Space/Smile" and "It smells like something died in here"), aging ("Senor Siniestro") and the separation of body and reality ("The Body As A Structure") are explored. It is political, but ultimately personal. More Genet or Kafka than Orwell or Huxley.
Sonically, the album has its roots in the usual DITZ influences, classic noise rock like The Jesus Lizard, Shellac or the blunt post-punk of The Fall, but also brings in new influences. The closing track 'Britney' could be compared to Radiohead or Mogwai. Overall, the album is a clear progression from the first album. A sign of things to come.
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