Revisiting past records can easily turn into an exercise in comfortable nostalgia, but Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler managed to find another way out of the rearview mirror. Death From Above 1979 have announced Private Lives, their first full record since they issued Is 4 Lovers in 2021. Due out on January 29 through their original label home, Last Gang/MNRK, the ten-song collection arrives after an extensive run of anniversary touring that unexpectedly sparked an urge to write again.
Grainger and Keeler spent the past couple of years looking backward on stage, marking twenty years of their debut album, You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, and ten years of its follow-up, The Physical World. Playing through the old arrangements every evening reawakened their creative drive. Keeler found that running through those vintage tracks each night gave him an appetite to assemble new material. Grainger noticed a similar shift. Once those commemorative concerts finally wrapped up, he felt somewhat weary of the self-congratulation that accompanied them, yet the process also left him feeling grounded in the fundamental musical identity that defined the band from the very beginning.
Rather than starting completely from scratch, the pair turned to their own vault. They began sorting through an archive of unreleased but favored demos, polishing those older ideas and injecting them with fresh vitality. Grainger reflected on how much the songwriting atmosphere had changed since their early days, when making music was as casual as going down to the basement, serving as a direct physical extension of hanging out and living under the same roof. The routine grew more deliberate as time passed, but Grainger pointed out that the goal was still to stay in touch with what made the band enjoyable in the first place. That meant preserving the balance between abrasive sounds and sweet melodies, combining heavy tones with a playful tenderness.
The title track, Private Lives, offers the first preview of the album. The single tackles the friction surrounding personal privacy in an era built on constant exposure, with the band noting that people frequently feel compelled to broadcast their intimate thoughts and private moments merely to feed a consumer loop. Despite the subject matter, Grainger and Keeler built the track as an energetic rock song powered by wild guitar riffs, highlighting what they describe as a renewed devotion to electric sound. The release is paired with a music video directed by Eva Michon, which centers on an expressive dance performance from actor Kim Bodnia.
The rest of the tracklist reveals a few notable details, including a guest appearance from Brazilian dance-punk outfit CSS on a song titled Mystery. Other tracks appearing on the record include Escape From Steeltown, Hi Lo, Put Up/Shut Up, and Late Stage Liberal.
To support the new record, Death From Above 1979 have mapped out an extensive North American tour scheduled for early 2027. The schedule begins on February 2 in Tempe, Arizona, before winding through a string of California dates with stops in San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Ventura, Sacramento, and San Francisco. The duo will then travel north into Canada, performing in Waterloo, Toronto, London, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. The run concludes on the East Coast with final concerts in Boston and Brooklyn.
