DMA’s are a three piece rock band from the land down under (Australia, that is). The members of the band are Thomas O’Dell on lead vocals, Matthew Mason on lead guitar and backing vocals and Johnny Took on acoustic guitar, along with a number of other musicians who provide additional instruments when the band tours.
They currently have three studio albums and one MTV Unplugged offering. DMA’s Live At Brixton is their latest release and first proper concert album. All in all? Yeah, it’s a pretty decent affair. Sound-wise it’s got a perfect mix for me. Some “live” albums are so overproduced that you can’t hear the audience, it might as well be just another studio album. This however, has a nice healthy balance between the band and audience noise. It’s also nice to hear that Thomas O’Dell sounds just as good live as he does in a studio.
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Clocking in at just over an hour of music (77 mins), the band’s most well known offerings can be found here. ‘Delete’, ‘The Glow’, ‘Play it Out’ and my personal favourite, the opening track ‘Feels like 37’. There’s a real Britpop vibe to be found here. Do you like Oasis, The Stone Roses or other bands of that era/style? Then you should give this trio a look.
Looking at the concert as a whole, however, I find it difficult to recommend to anyone who wasn’t already a DMA’s fan. I’ve attempted to listen to this concert over half a dozen times and I find that about halfway through my attention keeps drifting away. While there are a couple of stand-out tracks with ‘The Glow’ (Track 7), the surprisingly electronic ‘Life is a Game of Changing’ (Track 11), the heavier ‘Lay Down’ (Track 16) and the aforementioned ‘Feels Like 37’ (Track 1), the rest of it begins to blur together and that’s a shame.
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I wanted to like this album more than I do, and if you listen to it the crowd are really into it, singing along with almost every number, but for me, coming into it knowing almost nothing about the band beforehand? This just isn’t going to make a convert out of me. This is going to be one for existing fans only.
DMA’s Live At Brixton is out on Digital and Vinyl on 5th March from Infectious Records.
