If I was still that young post-punker, if I was still finding my own musical tastes, if I heard the new EP from Trauma Party, (probably on a cassette that a friend had pirated for me, obviously), if a new decade, the eighties, were just around the corner, I would be looking forward to encountering the band supporting Gang of Four as they flogged their debut album to the eagre, the outsider and the anti-establishment.
The fact that they sound as revolutionary in today’s modern musical landscape as they would have back then proves why post-punk has become a major force once more, not just because of us aging first wavers still making music in that same vein, but there seems to be a whole generation of artists who have plundered their parents’ record collections and found some sonic gems there. (Without being rude, the one photograph I have seen of the band, I think they are the former, but hey, so am I, so I’m in good company.)
“Are We in Heaven” has a great blend of driving basslines and angular riffs; it is punchy, powerful, and lyrically poignant. The production is either wonderfully lo-fi or they have gone out of their way to replicate the treble-leaning sound of that underground scene and those pre-digital times. Either way, it is a perfect vehicle for the music they make.
“Speak To Me” is shot through with shoegazy guitar salvos and martial beats, turning the song into punk-glam-stomp replete with sidewinder riffs (snake or missile, take your pick) and Strummer yelps!
To continue the Clash allusions, “Sharks” sits somewhere between the “last gang in town” proper and comrade Joe’s solo albums, and Roll Up (It’s The New Truth) is a squalling, squelching, scalding wash of dark sonics and scintillating lead breaks, post-punk being seduced by its darkwave siblings, perhaps.
As I say, post-punk is back in vogue, fifty years on, nearly, and it is still finding favor. But post-punk was always more than just a sound. In many ways, it was punk squared, the paint box expanded, the possibilities endless, but more importantly, it was also an attitude just as much as the punk scene that it defined itself against. More so perhaps. And it is that same attitude which turns these great songs into something else. Underdog anthems! and when did we ever not need a few of those kicking around?
