Despite the leaving of singer Jon King after the release of 2010’s Content, Gang Of Four managed to come back with a new frontman, John Sterry, and a departure from previous work in the form of this year’s What Happens Next. From that album comes the track “The Dying Rays,” and the worldwide premiere of the video to accompany the song. The spare and meditative images make for a natural complement to the song, a pensive, churning ballad that wouldn’t feel out of place on a latter-day Depeche Mode album. The track features Herbert Grönemeyer on vocals, a music superstar in his native Germany but probably better known to Americans from his role in the film Das Boot. The band’s Andy Gill explains the origins of the collaboration:
“The particular thing that Herbert does that I love are his rather angst-infused melancholy ballads. I knew I had to write a song which could incorporate that particular aspect of his character and could be a song that his voice, that voice, could inhabit, so, more than any other track, it really had to be tailor-made. I had to work at that and I went down a lot of blind alleys until I came up with The Dying Rays. It was quite an extraordinary experience hearing him sing the track as I had heard it in my head – only, better.”
The group has also announced a U.S. tour kicking off in the end of September, with dates primarily along both coasts and in the South. Check out the video below, and then scroll down to see if they’re coming to your town.
Gang Of Four U.S. tour dates:
Sept. 28—The Loving Touch—Ferndale, MI
Sept. 29—Altar Bar—Pittsburgh, PA
Sept. 30—Ottobar—Baltimore, MD
Oct. 2—The Ballroom at The Outer Space—Hamden, CT
Oct. 3—The Met—Pawtucket, RI
Oct. 4—Modern Sky Music Festival at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park—New York, NY
Oct. 6—20th Century Theater—Cincinnati, OH
Oct. 7—Thalia Hall—Chicago, IL
Oct. 8—Old Rock House—St. Louis, MO
Oct. 12—Douglas Fir Lounge—Portland, OR
Oct. 13—Venue Nightclub—Vancouver, B.C.
Oct. 15—Ace Of Spades—Sacramento, CA
Oct. 16—The New Parish—Oakland, CA
Oct. 17—The Catalyst—Santa Cruz, CA
Oct. 18—Echoplex—Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 19—The Crescent Ballroom—Phoenix, AR
Oct. 20—Rialto Theatre—Tucson, AZ
Oct. 23—The Parish—Austin, TX
Oct. 24—Paper Tiger—San Antonio, TX
Oct. 25—Tipitina’s—New Orleans, LA
Oct. 26—40 Watt Club—Athens, GA
Oct. 27—The Special—Orlando, FL
Oct. 28—State Theatre—St. Petersburg, FL
Oct. 29—Grand Central—Miami, FL