Disc of the day
Heaven 17 - Penthouse And Pavement
From Sheffield, synth pop and funk to stick it to Thatcher. Currently being played live!
Features Disc of the day
Pylon
Gyrate
(DB, 1980)
Unschooled Georgia dance-rockers play sharp-angled enigmas.
Pylon once opened on an early ’80s U2 tour of America. But rather than seeing it as a way to increase their fanbase, bassist Michael Lachowski would later tell journalist Jason Gross, “We were all pissed off and no one wanted to do it.” That’s the spirit. On Gyrate, cut in just three days, you can hear this anti-success urge in action. Not that Pylon are devoid of tunes; emerging from the same Athens, Georgia scene as The B-52’s and R.E.M., their cryptic, metronomic indie-rock is anything but hostile, and there’s an enigmatic, almost anthemic pop appeal on such songs as Volume and Stop It. But there is something spinning and teetering about Gyrate that suggests the U2 fans might have got nauseous anyway, as voice Vanessa Briscoe Hay breathes and screams her coded lyrics while guitarist Randy Bewley (who didn’t know how to tune his instrument properly but knew what he liked) scrapes and trills, and Lachowski and drummer Curtis Crowe blend sparing basslines and nailed-to-the-floor beats. Second album Chomp followed in 1983, but fame was not forthcoming, and after breaking up the same year, they’ve reformed and split as the mood’s taken them ever since. Get last year’s DFA reissue Gyrate Plus for the original LP plus four bonus songs, including the still-confounding AA-side single, Cool/Dub.
Ian Harrison
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 15/08/2008
Further Listening
The B-52’s – The B-52’s (Island, 1979)
Gang Of Four – Entertainment! (EMI, 1979)
Life Without Buildings – Any Other City (Tugboat, 2001)
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I bought this great album recently. No surprise it's ben re-released through DFA; James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem have impeccable taste!
Posted by Tony Kerr at 8:13 PM GMT 01/09/2008 Report Abuse
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