All praise is due to Infinite Zero for re-issuing this landmark post-punk album. The highly sarcastic title is only the beginning: Gang Of Four are a fiercely political British band who tore into complacent society and underhanded government with biting commentary in songs like "Guns Before Butter" and "At Home He's A Tourist". Their vitriol knows no bounds as they attack the commercialization of culture, empty relationships and the irony of naming the Bikini bathing suit after a nuclear-testing island.
It sounds preachy, but not to worry; what makes Entertainment! pack such a visceral punch is the incredible potency of the music, which is as tense and righteous as the politics that inform the barbed lyrics. Gang Of Four is James Brown meets David Byrne, edgy and metallic riffing slicing through astoundingly tight rhythms. Andy Gill's guitar is vicious and tense, strung with the steel wire of a garrote. Dave Allen's melodic bass and Hugo Burnham's taut drumming make a shockingly funky duo; the beauty of Gang Of Four is how they keep one eye on the dance floor while the other is perusing revolutionary text. This is fidgety, savage funk in the service of fiery polemics. Simply amazing.
An incendiary album from start to finish, Entertainment! features the seductive, anthemic groove of "Damaged Goods", the atonal experimental leads of "Return the Gift" and the bracing, formidable pulse of "Not Great Men". Accessible yet challenging, danceable yet intellectual, this touchstone for political punk is an absolutely essential purchase.
- Jared O'Connor
Fidgety, savage funk