Pylon - Chomp More

To describe Pylon as ahead of their time is somewhat misleading,because it implies that there was ever a moment when music finallycaught up with them. The architects of a sound unlike any of their Athens,Georgia, contemporaries and the inspiration for numerous postpunkimitators, Pylon still sounds unlike anything before or since.The B-52s and R.E.M. have both gone on record as stating that Pylonare one of the country s best bands. That s a remarkable legacy for agroup that formed more than thirty years ago with the sole intentionof playing one show, getting a review in the now defunct New YorkRocker, and self-imploding.This CD, which features the band s 1983 sophomore album Chomp,is DFA s second Pylon reissue (following the 2007 release of the Gyrate+collection) and offers inarguable justification for their seminalstatus. K, an unlikely ode to Scrabble that opens the record, beginswith drummer Curtis Crow using his snare to tick off a beat akin toa time bomb; seconds later the song builds to a clash of jagged guitarlines, wiry bass, propulsive drumming, and Vanessa Briscoe s startlingvocals. Crazy, which R.E.M. would later famously cover, seesguitarist Randy Bewley avoiding his usual sharp angles and insteadtaking a jangly respite, while Briscoe veers from a moody monotoneto arresting snarls and piercing yelps. Yo-Yo strips down to herkyjerkystaccato guitar and a few perfectly placed lyrical melodies; Gyrate buzzes with antsy, danceable energy; Altitude is a gorgeousand dreamy study in loud-quiet-loud dynamics.In addition to remastered versions of the LP s twelve original tracks,Chomp More includes the 7-inch version of Crazy, a male version of Yo-Yo on which Briscoe merely guest stars, Pylon s own frenzied,frenetic remix of Gyrate, and the rarely heard single FourMinutes an ineffably beautiful pastiche of homemade and seeminglyfound noise. These innovative songs speak to the timeless visionof four young people who unwittingly created a sound that is stillinnovative, fresh, and distinct. More than three decades on, Pylon continues to lead while music, as always, lags safely behind. Kali Holloway

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