Gang Of Four – What Happens Next
★
What in god’s name is this travesty? I mean, this is the same band that made Solid Gold and Entertainment!, right? No, this is just guitarist Andy Gill’s attempt at keeping the band going, for the filthy lucre that touring a nostalgia act brings in. All of the pre-album media hype talked about how Gang of Four were returning for their ninth album with all of their strident fury intact; instead, what we get here are some servings of generalized old-man paranoia about technology and some bullshit about the Illuminati. There is nothing that made Gang of Four one of the seminal post-punk acts here. Absolutely nothing. “England’s In My Bones” sounds like a goddamn synth-laden power ballad, ferchrissakes. Is this supposed to be some cosmic inside joke that only Gill gets? There are few albums as exploitative and vile as Black Flag’s What The…, but here we are, adding another one into that infamous tar pit.
Jesus, Mission of Burma could get post-punk comebacks correct, why couldn’t Gang of Four? Awful.
Normally this is where I’d add the Spotify playlist for the album under review, but do yourself a favour and listen to Entertainment! again instead.
Structures Capable Of Joy 