Gang Gang Dance: Saint Dymphna

Music Reviews Gang Gang Dance
Gang Gang Dance: Saint Dymphna

GANG GANG DANCE

New York avants craft a cathedral-sized cacophony

Gang Gang Dance dubbing its latest release Saint Dymphna after the patron saint for the mentally unkempt should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the New York group’s disorienting racket of beats from all corners of the world and ethereal noise. The band’s last full-length outing, God’s Money, was delightfully unhinged; figuring out where one song ended and the next one began was challenging, but ultimately rewarding. Now, some of the fog has lifted and the rapid-fire of drum collages, synthesizer exclamations and the fiery wails of singer Liz Bougatsos are manipulated with a newfound clarity. Couple that with a musical climate more open to pop eccentrics (from Panda Bear to M.I.A.) than ever before, and Saint Dymphna is a dangerously sane blueprint for producers trying to capture what “futuristic” sounds like right now. Arguably no one on the corner has swagger quite like Gang Gang on “Princes,” their collaboration with proclaimed “Prince of Grime” Tinchy Stryder, who spits rhymes matching intensity with the robotic drumclaps and bass. Even if this hip-hop pairing is a one-off (here’s hoping it isn’t), the band takes equally great strides with Bougatsos re-imagined as a Kate Bush-like siren on “House Jam” asking “Will the clouds carry my tears to you?” When the voices go quiet, even more vibrant tapestries emerge. “Blue Nile” recalls the rolling acid jazz high hats Kid Loco harnessed and “Inner Pace” evolves into a processed brass anthem destined for an intergalactic coronation. Foreshadowing for Gang Gang Dance ruling the heavens? Crazier things have happened.

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