Remember that band every early-2000s indie act with angular guitars™, playing skeletal funk™ right in the middle of the post-punk revival™ stole from? Well, the Gang of Four are back! The legendary Leeds quartet, which had reunited in 2004 after several years of inactivity, has announced a new album: What Happens Next. The LP, to come out next February, follows 2011’s Content and is the first of the group’s records since their original vocalist Jon King’s departure. Guitarist Andy Gill, Gang of Four’s sole original member, inducted John ‘Gaoler’ Terry to replace King on vocal duties, but also made sure to invite a few younger, famous singers who happen to be fans of the band: The Kill’s Alison Mosshart, Herbert Grönemeyer, and The Big Pink’s Robbie Furze appear as guest vocalists. You can hear the album’s first cut “Broken Talk,” featuring Mosshart, below.
Though Gang of Four’s profile is a little less salient than fellow post-punk icons’ Joy Division, they easily register among the best-known acts from the era, and never stopped being an influential force in alternative music circles, despite their diminishing creative returns. Their repertoire stretches over half a dozen albums and three decades, but their legacy was cemented very early, thanks to the epochal LP Entertainment!, Gang of Four’s 1979 debut album. Through the 90s, the band’s traces were audible across a strikingly vast spectrum of heirs, encompassing alt-rock staples like R.E.M., Rage Against the Machine, or The Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as more outré acts like post-rock originators Disco Inferno; not to mention how much bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Rapture, Liars, Radio 4, Bloc Party, and many others the NME lumped under the silly post-punk revival tag, borrowed from them.
Gang of Four will support their new album with a world tour; you can check the dates they’ve confirmed so far below. What Happens Next is out on February 24 via Metropolis Records.
Tour dates:
11.27.14 - Huddersfield, UK - Holmfirth Picturedome
11.28.14 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
12.17.14 - Lille, France - L’Aeronef
12.18.14 - Fontenay Sous Bois, France - Festival Les Aventuriers
03.03.15 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
03.04.15 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
03.06.15 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
03.07.15 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
03.09.15 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
03.10.15 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
03.12.15 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
03.13.15 - Chicago, IL - Park West
03.14.15 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
03.15.15 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
03.17.15 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live Studio
03.18.15 - Dallas, TX - Trees
03.23.15 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
03.24.15 - Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
03.25.15 - Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
03.28.15 - Santa Ana, CA - Burgerama
• Gang of Four: http://www.gangoffour.co.uk
• Metropolis: http://www.metropolis-records.com