REVIEW: DMA'S | MTV UNPLUGGED LIVE
DMA’S have just released their very own MTV unplugged album, on July 12th, following in the footsteps of iconic artists such as Nirvana and Paul McCartney. An MTV unplugged album is a huge thing for any artist, as Tommy O’dell of DMA’S told us back in May it is definitely something they’re happy to say they’ve done, as it is such an iconic programme.
The album opens to the sound of cheers and the beautiful track ‘Feels Like 37’. This was a very nice track to start off with as it holds a strong resemblance of where the band first started from; as it was one of their very first singles in 2015. To start off the iconic album with an earlier song from their discography holds a message of symbolism showing that this was their beginning, as just a small band from Australia has now grown into something massive; I feel like this was also the chosen first track to show that nothing much has changed since, in terms of music and themselves, it all seems very humble and all just about the music. This then transitions into ‘Lay Down’, it is very different to hear this on the unplugged album in comparison to the album version. This is because the unplugged version is of course acoustic, this makes the track a lot more chilled whereas usually this track is one of the bands more upbeat sounds. This however, is not a bad thing in the slightest that it is different, though I do prefer the album version. ‘Lay Down’ does suit this chilled, slower tempo too, it works both ways.
The album then goes onto tracks such as ‘Time & Money’, ‘Emily Whyte’ and ‘In The Air’. Each of these tracks are beautiful in their own way; however in particular ‘Emily Whyte’ is a massive stand out. It just sounds so beautiful. This is my personal favourite DMA’S song - but this version just throws it out the park, it is absolutely stunning. It is not too dissimilar to the original track but just everything sounds so prettier as a lot more emphasis has been put on the lyrics to make it appear more emotional, but, in particular the instrumental as each instrument stands out and compliments each other very well.
‘In The Air’ also has quite a lot of raw emotion delivered into it which makes it really enjoyable, as well as similar prettiness to the instrumental. This acoustic set compliments DMA’S songs very well.
Similar to the previous tracks, ‘Warsaw’, ‘Beautiful Stranger’ ‘The End’ and ‘Lazy Love’ follow the same approach of the pretty instrumental and emphasis on emotion. ‘Beautiful Stranger’ has a very brit-popesque vibe in this recording; due to the loops and turns in the song which contrast well with the rest of the album.
This gets toned down again with ‘The End’ which is pretty much just pure vocal with strong piano and soft guitar which just sounds like the epitome of beauty, this was also the very first time the band played this song live, which is very impressive as it is definitely one of the strongest tracks on the album.
The atmosphere is quickly brought up again with ‘Lazy Love’ which is very similar to ‘Beautiful Stanger’ in the sense of mood the song gives off as it has a fairly cheery tune and it just sounds like it’s a happy wee love song.
The deep emotion of DMA’S songs is further deeply provoked in this live MTV set through the song ‘In The Moment’ as the pretty much raw vocals depict a deep sense of sadness in the lyrics which really resonates with the listener. This is what I really like about this album the most; is that you really get a pure sense of what DMA’S songs are really about due to the stripped back instruments which allow the vocals of Tommy O’Dell to be loudly heard and gives more meaning to the emotive lyrics of the band.
‘Heath’ is very similar to this as it already is a very emotional song but the stripped back acoustic set allows this song to blossom and it is truly beautiful.
As the album comes to a near end, the violin to ‘Step Up The Morphine’ is truly beautiful and lights up the song, this is probably the best version of this song due to the additional instruments which emphasise the lyrics and the pre-existing tune of the song.
‘Delete’, one of the bands biggest songs follows from this, which again has the same beautiful stripped back quality that puts emphasis on the emotion of the original version of the song and goes harder on the lyrics and leaks their pure meaning. As the song reaches the breakdown here it gets a bit cheerier with the acoustic guitar brings a very mellow vibe, allowing the song to be very chilled but very happy. This song also received a lot of cheers at the end on the recording which shows it was a crowd favourite too, and rightly so as it was so gorgeous.
The album draws to a close with ‘Do I Need You Now?’ which again sounds beautiful. This song is a perfect one to end the album with as it sounds amazing. This song perfectly captures the whole image of DMA’S as a band as it shows what they’re capable of with the beauty of their lyrics, vocals, melodies, guitar, drums, everything. As this song has a fairly long instrumental part towards the end which has a pretty build up and just sounds so gorgeous to listen to, and with the small vocals dotted through this part it makes it sound so nice.
Overall, DMA’S MTV Unplugged album is absolutely beautiful, as if I haven’t said that enough. It has everything to show DMA’S off as an amazing band with the raw emotional vocals, the gorgeous instrumentals, everything. This album gives the listener the absolute joy of a live DMA’S set from their own home and what more could you want?
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