GANG OF FOUR: Happy Now (Gill Music) — In 2019, the Gang of Four is Andy Gill plus three others. So, fine. The important part is that the music is excellent — this is a good band, and they’re onto something here. Their albums this decade sound as abrasive now as their stuff did in the late ’70s, while still being straightforward and accessible songs. They know what a hook is, and all of these have bits that stick in your head. Dunno what the hell they’re putting that guitar through, though. Caustic, opinionated and funky. Above: “Paper Thin”, “Lucky”. Also check the preceding EP “Complicit” and the even more abrasive 2015 album What Happens Next. Or the 2016 live album if you want to hear how the new band handles the old stuff.
LINDY VISION: Adult Children Part I — I like Lindy Vision’s sound. A minimal and electronic post-punk sound, there’s lots of space there. There’s the vocal melody that tends to thirds and fifths to the chord. “Handshakes” is a good example. The band are long-time favourites at Rocknerd House. “Tight Rope” is a bright and single-shaped intro to this EP. “N’Girls” is so Interpol. “Life’s Not Fair” is too, but with more. An entirely fitting followup to 2017’s Jute. Above: “Pressure,” the single track that dropped on Christmas Day last year — there’s a direction control at top-left of the video so you can scoot around the whole field of vision. Here’s a nice interview in Alibi too.
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