Gotham!

Brooklyn quintet Radio 4 got in on the ground floor of the New York City post punk revival of the early 2000s, becoming one of the first bands to work with production team and record label the DFA. But they never clicked with audiences like contemporaries The Rapture or LCD Soundsystem. It’s true that they lacked a definitive single like “House of Jealous Lovers” (The Rapture) and the emotional heft that powered a song like “Someone Great” (LCD Soundsystem). On Gotham!, Radio 4 mostly sticks within the accepted parameters of post-punk revival bands from the time – up-tempo and abrasive dance beats decorated with a slashing, clanging guitar style originated by Gang of Four and Public Image Ltd. The vocals are chanted slogans or a glam sneer. This sound forms the basis of most of Gotham! – tracks like “Start a Fire” and “Struggle” are brimming with the kind of electrifying hedonism that defined the New York City underground post-9/11. But the sophisticated and detailed production of The DFA works wonders for a band like this that occasionally strains to find its own identity. The ringing cowbells, distorted bass and analog handclaps typical of dance-punk are all consistently present, but less orthodox flourishes like conga-driven funk beats and lush synths push the mix into something approaching lurid, overcompressed psychedelic soul.