Absolutely Free (ex DD/MM/YYYY) make U.S. debut at Death By Audio in Brooklyn Saturday

by Bill Pearis

Absolutely Free, the new group featuring most of Montreal's defunct DD/MM/YYY, make their U.S debut at Death by Audio Saturday night (2/25), playing with Cleveland's Mystery of Two and Athens, GA band Bambara.

I caught Absolutely Free's first-ever show at M for Montreal last year and wrote:

After two songs of sweating onstage, the drummer for Absolutely Free -- who made their live debut last night at Mile End venue La Salla Rossa -- peeled off his flannel shirt to reveal a Neu! t-shirt underneath. But by that point we already got it, though a Can shirt might have been more to the point.

Featuring four fifths of DD/MM/YYYY, as Absolutely Free they still make complex, time signature-shifting music, but this was less manic, less skronky with decidedly groovier rhythms. (For me, that's a definitely an "Oh Yeah.") With no recorded music to hear yet and a short 20-minute set, I don't think we've got a full picture of what these guys are capable of, but it was a very promising first show.