How about some Content?

Gang of Four - Content

Back in 1979, Gang of Four released Entertainment!, an album that forever changed the face of music. While most punk bands were starting to sound very similar, the Communists from Leeds breathed new life into the genre, mixing the extremist politics and tension of punk with downright funky drums and bass. Even now, you can still hear bits of Entertainment! in many other bands like Nirvana, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, etc. Now, 32 years later, Gang of Four has released Content. With only the guitarist and vocalist from the classic line-up, expectations were not the highest. Fortunately, Gang of Four has passed with flying colors, releasing their best album since their second, Solid Gold. The guitar is louder and noisier, and the rhythm section is as funky as ever. Unlike the first and second albums, which featured stark minimalist production, Gang of Four uses a fuller, bigger production. The last time they tried this, they made a mediocre disco record; this time, they used it to further enhance their noisy tendencies. The first six songs, especially “You’ll Never Pay For The Farm”, are all great rabble-rousing funk-punk rock. Unfortunately, the album mellows out quite a bit after “I Party All The Time,” and rapidly loses the energy and power of the first half. Still, it’s one of the better comeback albums I’ve heard recently, and I highly recommend it.

-Lebowski

Posted Jan. 19, 2011, 6:24 p.m. to KMNR New Music Blog (Tumblr) - Permalink