Pylon - Gyrate

Pylon – Gyrate

Arriving, surprisingly, out of the Athens, Georgia college scene that fostered the careers of R.E.M. and B-52’s, Pylon coupled their dub bass lines to the motorik-drumming techniques of krautrock, all colored with ripping, angular shards of lead guitar and a mouthful of direct, punchy lyrics vocalized by front woman and registered nurse Vanessa Briscoe Hay. With a sound that could imitate the dance-punk bop of Gang Of Four to a more controlled version of female avant-punk of LiLiPut, the arrival of this long-undiscovered gem re-asserts the Pylon’s influence into a region that has rarely been connected with the associated “art-cool” of post-punk. Though all sixteen tracks can eventually wear thin when consumed in one sitting, the passionate and of-kilter arrangement of their songs (the Talking Heads subtle rhythm on “Gravity” and percolating guitar tones on “Cool”) fashion this as the perfect companion for bopping in your art studio. "In my top 100 of all time, this record falls very near the top", says R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. You can believe him, right?