The new EP from supergroup Public Practice is a reasonably-compelling facsimile of No NY stuff, chords rough and beats pounding. The release, out on Friday via Wharf Cat Records, is called Distance Is A Mirror and it's certainly worth seeking out for fans of this sort of thing, or those who are impatient waiting for a new Priests album.
Featuring members of Beverly and WALL, Public Practice churn up an infectious racket on "Bad Girl(s)", all proto-Blondie revved up to 10. Elsewhere, the neatly-jarring rhythms of "Into The Ring" and "Foundation" serve up memories of The Slits and Gang of Four, which is to say that Public Practice are doing this right, while the best cut here, the complex "Fate/Glory" echoes Elastica and those numbers from Sonic Youth that Kim Gordon sang lead on.
Look, Public Practice are not going to win any awards for originality but it's okay 'cause so much of this succeeds on its own modest terms. Concise and bracing, this EP is a whole lot of fun, even if the huge debts the band owes to earlier pioneers are writ large here.
Distance Is A Mirror is out on Friday from Wharf Cat Records.
[Photo by Colin Sussingham & Josie Keefe]