Gang of Four (Yellow EP)

Guitarist Andy Gill said of Gang of Four that they definitely weren’t a punk band, but that when you listened to them you could tell that punk had happened. That’s certainly true on this untitled four-song EP (known to fans as the “Yellow EP”), which introduced the group to US audiences with four songs that had previously been released as singles in the UK: “Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time,” “It’s Her Factory,” “Armalite Rifles,” and “He’d Send in the Army.” Gill’s slashing, chattering guitar combined with Hugo Burnham’s monolithic drumming, Dave Allen’s funky minimalist basslines, and Jon King’s declamatory vocals to create a sound that would influence subsequent bands for decades. Forty years later you can still hear the echo.