Does It Offend You, Yeah? - Don't Say We Didn't Warn You, a review



I missed their debut in 2008, but with a little forage into YouTube I've been able to ascertain three things about Does It Offend You, Yeah? One, their name is a bit excruciating. Two, they're a mix of poppers-o'clock synths and Pendulum/Prodigy craziness. Three, I'm not entirely sure I like them.

Nonetheless, the sophomore album with a shady release date has arrived, all hipster-triangles and universe-adorned in its aesthetics and just as shiny in its acoustics. Opener 'We Are the Dead' is a vicious series of blasts of slightly the same effect as going on a bouncy castle with an axe murderer, helped along by a sinister(ish) tune. Follower 'John Hurt' is begging for a chest-bursting reference in this review but instead I'll opt for the Elephant Man - an at first ugly clash that after a few listens becomes a bit more clear (an 'It Takes Two' sample carrying things along smoothly). 'Pull Out My Insides' is as mainstream as they come, a Snow Patrol approach to soft-rock interspersed with shrill chorals.


'Yeah!', my initial response to the band's name, is the next track - one that could really be condensed into a smaller burst to prevent its (lack of) tune getting a bit irritating. On the other hand 'The Monkeys Are Coming!' isn't long enough - all indie stomping and Klaxonesque mania, odd monkey noises and strange man shouting the refrain 'The funky monkeys is coming!', reminiscent a lot of The Prodigy's 'Voodoo People'.

There's then a sudden restrained quality about 'Wrong Time Wrong Planet', all Empire of the Sun influences and a repeated guitar chord sequence that eventually gets a little boring and could do with a shot of enthusiasm. A rather enthusiastic introduction is made to 'Wrestler', with the repeated line "fuck you you're wrong!" throughout the chorus priming them for angry hipster quotes perhaps intentionally. Nevertheless it's the most exciting track at hand, before merging into 'Wondering', a take on grime that's convincing until the chorus, where your typical soulless female guest vocal takes its shape.


'The Knife' briskly returns us to their core sound with a not-exactly coup d'etat, smelling distinctly of filler. And the album closes with 'Broken Arms', another slow-burner that winds things down rather nicely and with slight Air influences.

I can't tell if I'm a fan or not, but the album is certainly a decent effort. For me it seems to be a bit of a genre mishmash, which can be both a blessing and a curse. It's got a variety of good sounds but also some unexplored and shallow ones, giving the album a bit of a disjointed, compilation vibe. But it doesn't offend me [/predictable signoff]

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: Wrestler, Broken Arms, Wondering, We Are the Dead
Avoid: Yeah!, The Knife, Wrong Time Wrong Planet

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