There was this thin feather of time—around two years—and that’s what many people tend to forget. Gang of Four’s Entertainment! and Wire’s Pink Flag are the signposts where the Young Offenders have set up their kicking team to score some extra points on a game that was abandoned well over two decades ago, before the game was over. (Gang Of Four went on to do some disco stuff. Wire disbanded, solo’d, and later reformed. Both are worth further exploration than the two records mentioned above.) If you’re in the mood for contemporary music that’s simultaneously skeletal, pristine, a little abrasive, and sick with hooks, the Young Offenders are in league with The Estranged. This is how I imagined “post-punk” would have evolved years ago, instead of turning into architectural sound sculptures that give math majors boners… Funny how that happens. Great stuff across the board. Fantastic two songs.
–todd (Deranged)