You Say Party (formerly You Say Party! We Say Die!) is a female-fronted Canadian dance/punk band from Abbotsford, British Columbia, formed in 2003. The members, currently, is Becky Ninkovic (vocals), Derek Adam (guitar), Stephen O’Shea (bass) and Krista Loewen (keyboards). On April 16, 2010, drummer Devon Clifford collapsed on stage, and, on April 18, died
(of complications from a sudden brain hemorrhage). The band changed their name out of respect. YSP released 3 original studio albums, and their sound is best compared to the party rock of Athens, GA’s Pylon and The B-52’s. But, later, they mixed in some of the moody goth of England’s Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure. In 2011, YSP disbanded, but, in 2012, returned as the current 4-piece band, sans drummer, and, in 2013, released a new song “Friend”. I first heard YSP (well, YSP! WSD!) on the Canadian TV show Todd & the Book of Pure Evil.
YSP‘s first two albums, Hit the Floor! (2005) and Lose All Time (2007) really kicked out the Athens, GA, party rock influences. Becky Ninkovic’s jerky vocal style is similar to Vanessa Briscoe‘s (of Pylon), and YSP‘s sound, overall, is definitely comparable to Pylon meets The B-52’s (without Fred Schneider‘s silly vocals, of course).
“You Did It!” and “He! She! You! Me! They! We! Us! OK!”, from the debut, are the bounciest tracks (just look at all those exclamation marks!), but, “Midnight Snack” is cool, too. And, “Jazz Crabs” is an obvious nod to The B-52’s adding a different species of music-loving crustacean [or do rock lobsters get jazz crabs?]. “Teenage Hit Wonder”, from Lose All Time, is one of my favorite YSP tracks. After one listen, you will be singing its refrain (“Just be my friend yeah yeah”), in your head, for days. In “Monster”, I love the images Becky draws: “It wants to rip our skins apart / Tear out the strings connected to our hearts / Our hearts, our hearts.” And, “Downtown Mayors Goodnight, Alley Kids Rule!” is another cool track.
Watch the videos for “Monster” and “Downtown Mayors Goodnight” here:

Watch the videos for “Laura Palmer’s Prom” and “There Is XXXX” here:

2004 – Danskwad [EP]
2005 – Hit the Floor! [Album]
2007 – Lose All Time [Album]
2008 – Remik’s Cube (remix album) [Album]
2009 – XXXX [Album]
2010 – REMIXXXX (remix album) [Album]
2013 – “Friend” [Digital Single]