Album Review: 24/7 Diva Heaven - Stress
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Whereas their 2018 EP – Superslide – was a gritty example of the lo-fi snotty punk attitude, Stress is an altogether more refined outing. In fact, partway through Bitter Lollipop you’d be forgiven for thinking the Berlin three-piece had ejected the raw noise in favour of a pop-punk so sugar-coated it should come with a health warning and a prescription for Metformin.
Both Bitter Lollipop, and the preceding Potface, revel in the cleaner sound of Stress. Both are sweet-sounding and sway to infectious melodies and, for those who enjoy Superslide’s no-nonsense approach, the fear that 24/7 Diva Heaven [24/7] have sold out becomes of real concern.
Then, about halfway through Bitter Lollipop, the veneer of respectability slips, and the guitars take a turn for the mean. Short stabs of aggression pierce the happy-smiley feel, the vocals maintain the upbeat nature of the song’s beginning but are now tempered with a sense of foreboding. Within the space of three minutes, or so, 24-7 have transformed themselves from pop-princesses into L7.
With the exception of JT, which sprinkles the pop-punk with a little Alt-Rock, the gloves are well and truly off for Stress and 24/7 embrace this bad-girl persona by taking things into dark places. Everything Sucks might start out meaning well, but things take a turn for the sinister and the music adopts a grunge feel, dumping the clean guitar sound as they go.
Head On Collision’s bass-led driving beat is as big a hook as you’ll hear and could be picked straight off The Bronx’s last record, whereas the guitars are able to break their earthly bonds and fly freely on Shamebath.
Just as you think you’ve got the skinny on 24/7’s stylings, Stress throws you a huge curve-ball in the form of Everyman: a Sabbath-inspired distorted guitar riff with a psychedelic vocal, which is so slow and laconic it is almost dreamlike. Although a shock to hear amid the punk, that 24/7 have found themselves playing on the Desertfest bill in their native Germany is testament to their versatility.
My highlight of Stress is White Swamp which contains some seriously heavy moments and musical savagery among the generally upbeat sound of the record. But, before getting to that track you’ll have to contend with the 100mph Death To and Topped with Cheese, two stompers, both loaded with punk ‘tude and the occasional Motorhead-esque moment.
24/7 Diva Heaven have put together a more polished and wide-ranging debut album than Superslide even hinted at. Their blending of punk, grunge, noise and sludge makes for a fascinating listen and one which, hopefully, will be coming to a stage somewhere near you soon. Should the Rebellion Festival crew be reading this, I’m just putting it out there!
