With members of Minimal Compact and Wire battling it
out around Scanner’s
Robin Rimbaud, Githead has everything of the super group
it promises to be. Originally assembled by Rimbaud,
Wire’s Colin Newman and Minimal Compact’s
Malga Spigel for the tenth anniversary of Swim~, for
which the trio released an EP, Headgit last
year.
Now a foursome after Minimal Compact’s Max Franken
joined the line-up, Githead follow their debut release
with a full-length. While Headgit too briefly
investigated early eighties new wave, Githead manage
to develop this same theme over the whole album while
remaining creative and fresh. There is no pseudo nostalgia
going on here, but a genuine feel for a kind of music
that is integrant part of each one of the four members.
The music is beautifully airy and elegant, with melodies
and groove often tightly intertwined. While the quartet
clearly develop their sound all over this record, wrapping
swathes of guitars and effects around linear funky beats,
each song has its own atmospheric connotation. From
the angular melody and razor sharp guitars of Alpha,
a track originally written by Robin Rimbaud when he
was sixteen, to the voluptuous beat, pulsating bass
line and clouds of guitars of Antiphon, one
of two instrumentals here, and the pop influences of
They Are, Option Paralysis or Wallpaper,
Githead steer each composition with confidence, allowing
for enough free spirit to circulate while remaining
perfectly rigorous when required. Although Newman provides
most of the vocals, Spigel and Rimbaud occasionally
chip in, adding to the general sound by providing additional
textures, and, while the lyrics on Headgit
proved at times too empty of meaning, here, Githead
demonstrate a more mature and durable approach.
This first effort as a quartet proves to be at once
a captivating and enduring piece of work. There is a
great deal of trust and respect between the four members
of Githead, and it transpires all the way through Profile.
Although undeniably rooted in the past, this album is
fresh and clever, and feels perfectly of its time.
4.2/5 |
