When people talk about post-punk that term means bands like The Raincoats, The Slits, Gang of Four, and, on this side of the Atlantic, Bush Tetras, Pylon, and the like. So if I call Lithics a post-punk band it means that if you have any fondness for any of those acts, you're likely to get a charge out of Tower of Age, the new one from this Portland group. Out on Trouble in Mind Records, this third LP from Lithics is brash and inventive in equal measure throughout its brief running time.
"Hands" and especially "Beat Fall" are abrasive, funky numbers full of serious intent and real pep. If the mission here is to get you to dance and think, I'd say both missions have been accomplished. Taking a similar approach as current band Shopping, Lithics are borrowing styles from the past to update something familiar for a new century. "Twisting Vine" is propulsive and cathartic, while the excellent title cut here on Tower of Age blends a hint of early Siouxsie with the kind of spindly guitar-attack that anchored many of the best Gang of Four numbers in the early part of the Eighties.
While not derivative entirely, the music of Lithics clearly owes some obvious debts to the pioneers of an earlier age. That's not to say this isn't dynamic stuff, but, rather, that Lithics are equipped to take this style and make it vital and relevant again. While the longer songs here are a tad more experimental than the tighter ones, every cut on Tower of Age snaps and pulses with life. Fiery and agile, the musicianship here throughout this record favors post-punk that's immediate and revved-up.
Tower of Age is out now via Trouble in Mind Records.
More details on Lithics via the band's official Instagram.
[Photo: Christie MacLean]