One Track Mind

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One isn’t likely to come across a rock quartet with a finer pedigree than Githead. Guitarist Colin Newman is largely responsible for the sound of the most enduring–and arguably most influential–post-punk acts of all time: Wire. His wife, frequent collaborator, and former Minimal Compact member Malka Spigel handles vocal duties. Her former bandmate from that Israeli post-punk outfit, Max Franken, lays down the drums, and the band is rounded out by Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner), who swaps his usual electronics rig for guitar pedals as a member of Githead. On November 10th, the band will release their third full-length, Landing, on the Swim label (which is run by Spigel and Newman).

Landing‘s title track is a terrific illustration of how this unlikely coterie truly gel as a musical unit. Sure, there are some hints of their musical past–Wire’s “Map Ref. 41°N 93°W” is likely the nearest reference point, no pun intended–but one of the most satisfying aspects of Githead’s music is that they don’t especially sound like any of the members’ other projects. Instead, “Landing” offers a smooth wall of guitars that suggest early Blonde Redhead or contemporary European post-shoegazers Serena Maneesh or Pia Fraus, with Spigel’s accented vocals adding a dash of Enon. Despite its foundation of distorted guitars, the song has a slick, gliding quality to it; the “Landing” is smooth, never jarring. Similarly, the track has elements of the ethereal while never veering into rootless, blissed-out stratospheres. These tensions between disciplined musicianship and more atmospheric leanings make the song both rewarding and easy to listen to again and again.