The Deli Magazine, SF Death of a Party came on second for their last San Francisco show and second to last show as a band. Much to my dismay, Death of a Party only came on to my radar somewhat recently and now they are disappearing for good. This is a sad loss for the Bay Area as these guys are a sight to see. A Gang of Four-like jagged guitar post-punk band, their show was incredibly high energy. I got a chance to talk to the lead singer Gareth on the reasons they are calling it quits, and it seems for them that Death of a Party has reached its artistic conclusion. This is commendable, as it seems far too many bands continue together well after they should have finished, putting out one after another "there but for the grace of God" albums. The members haven't quit music entirely, which is exciting. Some have branched out to start a new group (The Chambers, something more towards the Joy Division end of post-punk) and are starting to play around the city. I gave their songs a quick listen and they sound good. I'd recommend checking out one of their upcoming shows.
sfgate.com Gareth Philip Nicholas, the lead singer of Death of a Party, jumped in the crowd and started a pit. Blood spewed from his mouth when he appeared back on stage and the band continued.....and Gareth sang, bloody and all, without missing a beat. When I interviewed him on my radio show, he showed me his permanent battle wound, a chipped front tooth.
That was about two years ago when Death of a Party performed the Eagle Tavern.
You'd think this is a hardcore punk act, but they're well dressed gentlemen with a kind of post-punk sound that includes a dash of disco and the abandon of Nick Cave when he was in The Birthday Party.
The first time I saw Death of a Party they opened for New York's Bellmer Dolls at the DNA Lounge. Gareth flipped around the stage to the uninterested crowd of goths waiting for the next DJ to come on and spin something they could taffy pull to.
At one point Gareth was upside down, hanging onto the railing on the side of the stage and still singing from the bottom of his soul.
All good things come to an end and Oakland's Death of a Party is calling it quits after a run of about four years. Why, oh why? I don't know, but here's hoping there's a couple of side projects coming from the members.
The Deli Magazine, SF Shortly after I was officially asked to take over as editor of this fair website, I attended a Deli SF-presents show at Ghost Town Gallery in Oakland for Death of a Party's EP release. In the hot, smoky depths of the gallery (which, by the way, has a PBR vending machine), Death of a Party tore the place up, boasting pure indie rawk energy and dance moves I'd not yet experienced in a live setting. This experience was more or less the introduction to my now-specific obsession with the Bay Area indie scene.
The East Bay Express Oakland's Death of a Party has already stepped into the national spotlight, but takes this opportunity to hint at new directions. Its dark, dance-punk approach is nothing unusual, but epic undercurrents offer a welcome antidote to the party-and-forget-it disposability of many of their peers - Nate Seltenrich
The SF Deli Magazine Former Deli SF Album of the Month winners Death of a Party might be in the running again with their new 7 song EP Red Meadows. The EP is very personal for the band; it was self-produced, mixed, recorded and will be self released in the coming months. Their Herculean effort can be heard on the tracks "Sympathy for Miss Veronica" and "The Ballad of Johnny," early releases from the album, now streaming on MySpace.
In true Death of a Party fashion, the songs are full of adrenaline and gothic glam, yet this time around are less eerie and more accessible. "Sympathy for Miss Veronica" digs its hooks into you and doesn't let go for the whole three minutes and six seconds while "The Ballad of Johnny" will have you stomping and dancing. On Red Meadows, Death of a Party are serving up their post-punk shaken, not stirred.
Wiretap After about thirty seconds of warped violin wailing through a swampy cloud of hazy noise, the first proper song of the Red Meadow EP kicks in with that angular dance punk style, but played with such classic rock n' roll finesse that it feels like a rush of endorphins to the brain. Gareth's delivery is brash and showy and up in your face from the opening minute to the last seconds. He struts and spits out his lines with a bit of Jagger, some Freddie Mercury, and a touch of California surfer-bro lingo to it all.
The drums and bass are heavy and flamboyant, pulsing and driving on "Medusa." "On the Other Hand" is a sort of glammed-out New Order track where Patrick Lynch nearly steals the spotlight with his charismatic touch on the noise buckets. The song "Skull Shaped Diamonds" lunges after wild note punctuations and start-stop riffs with such sharp turns and changes to the beat, texture, and melody that it becomes a riveting and unnerving listen...
The overall tone of the record shows the consistency of a well-developed band, even when they break into what sound eerily like a power ballads mid way through "Sympathy for Miss Veronica" and again in "Skull Shaped Diamonds," where Gareth gives an American Idol-worthy vocal performance.
Red Meadows is dark and it stays dark, even as I was lured into some of The Death of a Party's brighter sounding melodies. The theatrical lyricism revolves around ritualistic acts of devotion in the dead of night, macabre romance all painted in blood-red blackness. Red Meadow will make a great place holder between The Death of a Party’s full-length releases and a nice soundtrack to many peoples’ after-dark socializing.
Interview Magazine Four people from Oakland, California, gulping, shouting, delirious, only occasionally pulling back to gain an inch of perspective, running right over a cliff ("She's too young to be sleeping with a married man, but you're too old to care"), and then scrambling back up to try it again. The songs are all mysteries, hard to penetrate, full of allure, demanding you solve them. - Greil Marcus
XLR8R Magazine The Death of a Party The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City Double Negative
After a lengthy tour with Canada's Metric, The Death of a Party are showing their goth-meets-Gang of Four wings on their debut for Double Negative. Between the jangling guitars, sassed-out vocals, and catchy bass hooks, there's no way this will get out of your head.
The Deli Magazine, "Album of the Month" Gothy, glammy, arty, punky – it's hard to put your finger on exactly
what is so good about Oakland's Death of a Party, but it's definitely
something. On the band's highly anticipated second release, 'Rise and
Fall of Scarlet City', they do all these adjectives well and cram in
some Clash-y bounce for good measure. Singer Gareth Lloyd's bratty
yelp will remind you of about a half dozen other frontmen, but his
band's theatrical pomp and confident strut separates Death from the
pack. Surprising twists and sudden singalongs erupt throughout this
album, keeping you on your toes even after you think you've got a
handle on this sound. 'Rise and Fall of Scarlet City' is available May
22nd on Double Negative Records.
MTV.com [Metric's former] tour pals the Death of a Party pipe up from San Francisco to christen Double Negative Records with the first album released by either party, The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City.
West Coast Pereformer The Death of a Party is an ironic moniker considering that the band
was formed at an Oakland house party four years ago. Their debut
album, The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City, exudes the party atmosphere
with post-punk dance riffs while showing off intelligent lyrics and
darker themes.The Death of a Party has an interesting amalgam of sounds — at times bordering on the ¡Forward, Russia! school of abrasive London punk,
while at others channeling a melancholic Bright Eyes vibe.
Self-described as indie and gothic, the songs on The Rise and Fall of
Scarlet City have ominous piano/organ orchestrations and dark imagery.
Album opener "Coronation Under Scarlet Seas" starts the disc off with
a dance aesthetic. Singer Gareth Philip Nicholas' vocals are as
frenetic as the guitar scratching that blends them in with the
accompanying music. "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies" is more gothic,
utilizing stylish organ washes to create a portentous atmosphere that
contrasts with the song's more chipper counterparts. Despite the name,
"The Fucking Ocean" is a bit of a departure, with a softer piano lead
and overall slower tempo.The most impressive aspects prevalent throughout the album are thealliterative qualities and visual imagery inherent in their lyrics.This tendency is best illustrated in the song "Scarlet City
Millionaire's Club:" "I said New York, Paris and Rome / The world's in
my pocket, the world is my throne /The wealth in my blood, the gold in
my touch / The Scarlet City Millionaire's Club."The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City is a great window into a young band with remarkable musical maturity.
CultureBunker.com This is some good high-energy post punk here, you fans of that twilight of music where punks learned to play and art students learned to rock, but neither learned it too well. Begin with the guitar, the amp set to that eyeliner-melting tone that served all those sad Mancs and Scousers (and I guess, Aussies too) so well back in the early 80s. It sounds like they only use the top 4 strings, and each riff is a nervy, jarring assault up the neck. The singer's desperate words channel Tom Verlaine and Nick Cave. On "One Trick Pony Girl" he really belts it out, a controlled yelp, a dagger to your earholes, but thrown with precision. It's almost like if you took Blood Brothers, de-spazzed their music and asked them to make an album you could actually listen to. The city up north, San Francisco, spawned this band, although the singer at times sounds fresh off the Heathrow to SFO express, particularly on "The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies." I'm glad they hail from the great state of California and are not yet another British band kicking our asses. I'd put them sonically on a bill with Geisha Girls and Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower. It's a sound that uses the post-punk frame to deliver some fast chops of tortured pop. Occasionally brilliant, this is not the death of a party, friends, but the glorious beginning.
CosmosGaming.com ...By combining popular elements of mainstream dance rock with more obscure art/punk, The Death of a Party has created an album that will be able to be appreciated by more than just artsy music goers. The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City has the potential to be one of those albums that will spend more time in your stereo than in the jewel case this year. Give it the opportunity to do so, and don't hesitate to give this album a chance.
Subba-Cultcha.com The Rise and Fall of Scarlet City opens with the fresh impressive blistering 'Coronation Under Scarlet Seas', sharp guitars, pounding drums, impossible to ignore vocals from Gareth Nicholas and a evocative crazy xylophone middle part, setting the attitude for the rest of the album. Followed by the punchy 'Weekend' with its ice cream van jingle and creepy child talking opening, heady bass leads into a snappy 'ba ba bah bah ba ba la' catchy chorus, ending with an At The Drive In-esque scream-a-long. Throughout the album it retains this energetic consistency...
...The overall result is a combination of intricate guitars, pulsing rhythms, quirky background sounds, zealous vocals and engaging lyrics. The sound of a confident, self assured band, expect great things from The Death Of A Party.
The Death of a Party began in the Oakland house party scene and quickly earned a loyal band of followers. With a dark sound and a manic live show compared to a full on gang fight, the Death of a Party committed themselves to delivering an exciting unique experience for anyone willing to listen.
After earning their stripes in the Oakland underground, the band quickly found themselves touring the US with
such bands as Metric and The Lovemakers and supporting bands like Bloc
Party, Deerhoof, The Plot to Blow Up for the Eiffel Tower, Autolux,
Blood on the Wall, The Vanishing, The Noisettes, Glass Candy, Scarling and
countless others in the Bay Area. The Death of a Party took part in both the Mission Creek Music and the Noise Pop Festivals, both prominent music festivals in San Francisco. They played their final show in early 2009.
thanks, appreciate it- though was more a comment about the imagery. always dug the band's poster art. needa catch you guys soon though anyway, been a while.
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