Gyrate

by

Pylon

Edit

I can't believe there aren't more reviews here on Amazon of this classic postpunk cornerstone. DFA have done a wonderful job of digging up all of Pylon's early recordings - The Gyrate LP, Pylon! 10" EP, Cool/Dub single, and a previously unreleased track - and finally making them widely available. Contemporaries of the tense, angular, bass-heavy art/punk bands like Gang of Four, Au Pairs, Delta 5, Mekons, Mission of Burma, etc., that were flourishing at the time, Pylon are essential listening for anyone interested in that amazingly creative period from about 1978 to 1982 when, inspired by punk, bands were inventing new sounds and expanding rock & roll's horizons in amazing leaps. It seemed like a completely innovative new band was emerging every week, and Pylon were one of the very best. Definitely check this out, along with DFA's reissue of the band's second album (with bonus tracks) Chomp.

Pylon - Gyrate + (originally released - 1980)

... and what can I say? I'm not going to be listening to this CD. In fact, I'm going to copy it and trade it in at the local record store for something else. Really, I appreciate that this band was THERE, that they were an integral part of the Athens music scene. And I do appreciate that they influenced (and even moreso, were influenced by) some great bands, notably the B-52's whose James Bond/Duane Eddy guitar style is clearly evident on GYRATE in certain places.

Musicians whom I like much better have sung the praises of Pylon and no doubt had some great times with them. I've loved R.E.M.'s cover of Pylon's "Crazy" since the day I first heard it (probably the very week it was first released on the DEAD LETTER OFFICE collection).

GYRATE is primal and the instrumentation is primitive. The guitars are indeed scratchy a la Gang of Four and Pylon does in fact sound somewhat like that band. Both feature vocalists who aren't too concerned with, ah, sounding pretty. In fact, I find the Pylon vocalist to be rather atonal and annoying. I'm not really much of a Gang of Four fan either, but I do like them in small doses. I can imagine reaching for this album once in a blue moon, especially to groove on the dubby "Danger!" (quite unlike the song actually titled "Dub"). But it will never be a favorite and I can frankly see why they never blew up the way those other bands did. Rating: caution.