Division of Laura Lee
"Das Not Compute"

7 / 10

NME - 3rd July 2004

The mighty, massive, sound of rock. You know how Josh Homme looks like he's gonna turn into an 18-stone heifer any minute now? Well Gothenburg's Division of Laura Lee sound like the heavy, self-hating and, er, hungry rock'n'roll that a bloated Homme would guzzle his way through. Frontman Per Stalberg looks every inch the perennial pie-eater, but he's got Beezlebub in his bloodstream and QOTSA and Trail of Dead in his fingertips. Having eschewed the garage rock roots of their debut, DOLL have morphed into a temper-explodin', strop-throwin' antithesis to their Swedish peers; for Hives sophistication, see bowel-removing riffs of 'Does Compute', a clash of Jesus And Mary Chain moodiness and Deus dirtiness. Meanwhile, if you're feeling deflated that The (International) Noise Conspiracy are going soft, then let schizoid space-rock anti-anthem 'We Are Numbers', where Stalberg sounds like he's singing from the pit of Craig Nicholls' rotting belly, use your lung as a bicycle pump and your head as a distortion pedal. Invading the middle ground between QOTSA and Turbonegro with the same subtlety with which George Bush invades others people's countries, Division of Laura Lee have marked their territory. Christ knows, it'll take some effort to move the heavy bastards.

Niall Doherty



nme.com