this Githead release has a sense of spiky intemperance and urgency; in fairness a quality that seems to be inherent in anything this band does
this Githead release has a sense of spiky intemperance and urgency; in fairness a quality that seems to be inherent in anything this band does
Githead – Artpop
(http://www.githead.com/ http://www.cargorecords.com/ http://www.konkurrent.nl/)
Whey hey! A new Githead LP, always welcome at Incendiary. If you didn’t know Githead is Colin Newman (Wire), Malka Spiegel (Minimal Compact) and Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) plus Max Franken, so quality issues are never going to be a doubt.
What’s great to notice is that this Githead release has a sense of spiky intemperance and urgency; in fairness a quality that seems to be inherent in anything this band does. Yet this LP is also a remarkably well-paced collection of songs; never does it feel rushed or awkward. It patiently sets out its arguments without recourse to hyperbole or pushing "statements" down your throat.
There are moments of reflection, seen in songs like Space Life, and the opener On Your Own, and weird, Coldcut-like moments (Jet Ear Game) that sit very comfortably with the truculent mid-tempo stomps of Drive By and All Set Up; (the LPs highlight for me, and incidentally a track that doesn’t half put me in mind of Eno’s The Great Wheel off Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy). When the LP drops its pace as it does for the last two tracks, Rotterdam and Live in Your Head, it does so graciously.
Artpop is full of sturdily built, confident, well crafted stuff. Recommended, obviously.
Words: Richard Foster.