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May 10, 2021 Web Exclusive By Matthew Berlyant

Following Gang of Four’s incredible debut album Entertainment!, the successor Solid Gold initially can feel less penetrable, immediate, and a bit more obtuse. After several listens, though, one gets used to the slower, sludgier, heavier pace of the songs, perhaps peaking with the all-out funk attack of “What We All Want,” on which bassist Dave Allen shines, channeling influential greats like Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham and sounding like he’s playing multiple basses at once.

Opener “Paralyzed” sets the mood, a desperate plea of a recently unemployed worker that feels like an attack on the heartless policies of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, while a re-recorded “Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time” and “He’d Send in the Army” are also standouts, as is side two opener “Cheeseburger.” There are no skippers or bad tracks on here, just constant, post-punk pummeling not a million miles from what contemporary groups like the also incredible Comsat Angels were doing then, all with a socialist lyrical consciousness.

Like Matador’s reissue of Entertainment!, this is just a straight-up reissue of the original LP, so the bonus tracks available on some previous reissues are gone now. While that is unfortunate, it forces the listener to focus on the LP itself, sometimes an overlooked but integral part of the original Gang of Four’s canon. Furthermore, as a massive influence on artists like David Yow (Scratch Acid, The Jesus Lizard, Flipper, etc.) and Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbreaker, Jets to Brazil), etc., its footprint on ’90s and beyond indie rock is outsized. (www.gangoffour.uk)

Author rating: 9/10