Customer Reviews

Gotham!

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This New York city band's newest offering, Gotham, is one of the most accessible politically minded albums there is. Radio 4 mixes disco grooves, post-punk guitar squeals, dub bass, and political rantings into beautiful and easily digestible concoctions. You'll find yourself humming along to the melodies with out even realizing the extremist political diatribes bubbling under the surface. Standouts include the opening track Our Town, with it's great little keyboards sounds haunting all the right moments, Calling All Enthusiasts, with it's funk guitar and Mick Jagger-esque vocals, and truly one of the best tracks of the year, Certain Tragedy, which is one of the greatest post-punk anthems ever. Buy this record and you will thank me.

on listening to the previous record I thought they had some potential but , again, they are derivative of Gang of Four and if I had more time I could probably tell you where each of those riffs came from they are so familiar!I appreciate what they are after but go out and get "Entertainment" and "Solid Gold" by Gang of Four instead - hard to believe they are from 20 years ago! As far as newer bands of this ilk go I think the Liars are a major force!

this is a simple description of radio4-
gang of four meets the clash.
don't get me wrong there is some really good songs on here and it is worth listening to or buying a used copy even but it really doesn't need to be a full length. The songs on gotham that don't sound like Go4 or the clash are world music or latin dance reggae. If you condensed it down to 6 songs you'd have a rocking little ep. one that you could invite your friends over and start a dance party too.
funky gang of four bass lines, angular guitar, clash like vocals and even some interesting synth. have fun

The premier representatives of the punk/funk new york scene including other such notables others as the rapture and liars. leading influence Anthony Roman (bass and vocals) is well versed in the big apples' music culture having growen up having breakfeast with Johnny Thunders at his fathers boarding house. Radio 4 on Gotham soothe and shock at the same time. There is a slight political manifesto to some of the material such as on 'struggle' but it's tracks like 'certain ratio' and 'eyes wide open' where they blend disco funk with punk attitude to create a blinding rythum that places them ahead of their peers. The dark - ska infused 'dance to the underground' an earlier single is already an anthem of the new york scene. Can they follow it up though?

I checked out this album on the recommendation of a review in CMJ Magazine. From the first spin, it grabbed my attention, and hasn't let go since. Radio 4's other three albums all are good, but Gotham! is the one I keep coming back to. Its production is rough and raw compared to their other albums, with lots of guitar distortion in the mix, but that's part of the excitement. Granted, the band's influences (Gang of Four, Clash, PiL) are pretty obvious, but so what; there are far worse acts to take as role models. None of the songs here is bad or lazy, and at least half of them are downright excellent. ("Our Town," "Eyes Wide Open," "Speaking in Codes," "Certain Tragedy," "The Movies" and "New Disco" are my favorite tracks on this CD.) When I play Gotham!, as soon as the last track ends, I'm perfectly happy to let the whole CD repeat. How many CDs do you hear, in the course of a year, that you can say that about?

This is by far Radio 4's best album to date--Yes, they sound like Gang of Four....Yes...it sounds like Jah Wobble playing bass....here's a new one, they even remind me a bit of Dance Society with the synth textures and the sometimes shouted lyrics. Amidst all the comparisons and blatant lifting, I must admit, after listening to Entertainment, Solid Gold, Metal Box and every other 'influence' for going on over 20+ years---I'm glad to have something a bit differant-----Franz Ferdinand sounds like Gang of Four and Au Pairs....still interesting....even the Futureheads sound like a mix of XTC and early Bill Nelson (Red Noise era). Truth is, these bands are made up of kids that have grown up listening to their parents record collections.....I would certainly rather have a band ripping off Wire and the Comsat Angels then playing grundge, metal or rap....

This is one of the best bands who played at the recent CMJ festival 2002. They come out like a group who are electronic and can play the funk. Most songs are bass driven. They are like Gang of Four without all the politics. Songs like "Save Your City" and "New Disco" really get the feet moving. They are an exciting live act and they bring this to record. It sounds like a party happening in a loft in Brooklyn. Some songs like "Certain Tragedy" and "The Movies" sort of remind me of soundtracks and early new wave bands. Anthony Roman is a great front man. I hope to see move from this NYC band. They introduced themselves with "We are Radio 4. We are form New York City." It sounded like they were proud.

(www.freewilliamsburg.com)

At what point does a tribute band become shameless rip off artists? I would say w/ this Radio 4 album. You can hear bits of Gang of Four, The Chameleons, PIL, and Joy Division throughout. The guitar interplay completely rips off The Chameleons circa "Script of the Bridge". Completely empty is how you feel after listening to this - and you'll find yourself reaching for your copy of "second edition" or "entertainment!". This guys voice is awful - a shame they can't ape the amazing vocals of Mark Burgess or Ian Curtis. The worlds biggest cover band is on display with this release. Save your money and save originality.

The main problem with this C.D. is that none of the tracks are really very catchy. Except for the energetic song "New Disco" that finishes the album, nearly every track is relatively dull electronic rock that gets old pretty quickly. Radio 4 can also be criticized for using a sound effect that sounds strikingly like the bass for Nine Inch Nails, yet does not impress me nearly as much. Only near the end of Gotham do the real gems emerge, such as the song "Certain Tragedy". Although the uninteresting vocals are somewhat of a hindrance, joy can be obtained from this song's energetic guitar and addictive rhythm. The aforementioned "New Disco" is also a really good track for its noisy atmosphere, featuring the occasional cry of "New Disco!" and a series of electronic squeaks which never cease to entertain. Generally this album is fairly tolerable, but I wouldn't recommend it.

It's amazing!
This is a new generation's dance music!
You should buy and listen to it!
The new world will spread!