Search - Gang of Four :: Mall

Better than the 'buzz' would have you think.

Gsorme | Seattle, WA USA | 09/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"4 stars is probably a little TOO much. Maybe 3.5. It's in a different vein from Entertainment (obviously), but it's less smooth than Hard, despite the use of drum machines on most (all?) of the songs. Gill's guitar is still interesting and unique, layering many of the tracks with a depth and expansiveness that is quite different from anything on their first album. Sustained feedback mixed with a propulsive rhythm. Jon King's great too. The songs are for the most part quite good - World Falls Apart is great. Money Talks, Cadillac, FM USA, Colour, etc are also good. A couple don't work for me. There are also a couple of 'tone poems' - Impossible and Hiromi and Stan Talk - that are interesting. The lyrics are good, more of what you expect from GO4. I think perception of Mall suffers because like most GO4 albums it's inevitably compared to Entertainment. Each of their albums has a different sound. Accordingly Mall is different from everything that's come before it and comparing it to Entertainment is almost like comparing apples and oranges, but hey... The same GO4 sentiment is still there, just in a differnt guise. It's a good album.



Shrinkwrapped, the one after this, is also good.



As a barely related aside, fans of Gill's guitar work and production might want to check out Michael Hutchence's solo album."

Good return

Carl Mack | Palm Springs, CA United States | 05/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is not classic gang of four but still pretty good. Of course best song is Cadillac."