The post-punk principals of Gang Of Four—a band whose scratchy, smartly anti-capitalist screeds inspired generations of dance-rockers and poli sci majors, and who arguably reached its broadest audience selling its best song mocking empty consumerism to an Xbox commercial—are releasing a new album. Or rather, a single remaining member of Gang Of Four, guitarist Andy Gill, is releasing a new album under the Gang Of Four name, with vocalist and lyricist Jon King having departed in 2011, to be replaced by the much younger, much broodier John “Gaoler” Sterry. (As a band and ad for a video game console once sang, “We all have good intentions / But all with strings attached.”)
The guy who is not Jon King will be assisted on the forthcoming, both blandly-and-ominously titled What Happens Next, by a rotation of guest vocalists that includes The Kills’ Alison Mosshart, The Big Pink’s Robbie Furze, and German singer/Das Boot star Herbert Gronemeyer. These songs will then be repackaged as Gang Of Four and sold out to maintain the interest—a market of the senses, an ideal love, a new purchase, available February 24 in the U.S. and March 2 in the U.K.
Here’s a new song from that album, titled “Broken Talk.” It kind of sounds like late-period U2 with the girl from The Kills singing on top.
Gang Of Four’s last album, 2011’s aptly titled Content, found Gill and King on a new batch of tunes that aimed to build on a decade of being name-checked and revered by countless new bands. It was just all right. On the plus side, it featured two whole members of Gang Of Four.
Gang Of One Plus Three Young Guys And Some Weirdly Random Guest Vocalists will also be embarking on a series of North American dates, listed below. (Note the suspiciously empty March 16 date, right in the middle of South By Southwest.) You probably should have seen them before this.
March 3—Washington, DC—9:30 Club
March 4—Philadelphia, PA —Theatre of Living Arts
March 6—Boston, MA—Paradise Rock Club
March 7—New York, NY—Irving Plaza
March 9—Toronto, Ontario—Lee’s Palace
March 10—Cleveland, OH—Grog Shop
March 12—Minneapolis, MN—Varsity Theater
March 13—Chicago, IL—Park West
March 14—Nashville, TN—Mercy Lounge
March 15—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse
March 17—Houston, TX—Warehouse Live Studio
March 18—Dallas, TX—Trees
March 23—San Francisco, CA—The Independent
March 24—El Rey Theatre—Los Angeles, California
March 25—Solana Beach, CA—Belly Up Tavern
March 28—Santa Ana, CA—Burgerama @ The Observatory
In similar news, The J. Geils Band is embarking on a tour without J. Geils.