The '80s Athens post-punk band Pylon is finally back on the radar, playing reunion shows behind DFA's release of the career summation Gyrate Plus. The lovefest was unofficially kicked off earlier this year when the Australian trio Love of Diagrams did a scorching cover of Pylon's lost classic “Cool.” A live version of it appeared on the band's Matador debut, a self-titled EP showcasing two songs from Mosaic, the first Love of Diagrams album to see American release.
Even Love of Diagrams' original songs sound a bit like Pylon, mining a particular strain of post-punk that has largely gone ignored during the genre's mainstream makeover these past few years. It goes something like this: hard-charging drums, outsized bass, churning and scribbled guitar, hazy effects, and dreamily cryptic lyrics sung in alternately sleepy and ferocious tones. Love of Diagrams take the formula and make it their own, adding more atmosphere and tight call-and-response duels between bassist Antonia Sellbach and guitarist Luke Horton.
Produced with weighty emphasis on the bass lines by Shellac's Bob Weston, Mosaic is split between anthemic workouts and shoegazing studies. Monika Fikerle's drumming is as unpredictable as the other elements, mapping out vivid new terrain on the run. The singles “The Pyramid” and “The Pace or the Patience” are obvious places to start, but the centerpiece punch of the lilting “Ms. V Export” and the shifty “Confrontation” make for more unlikely entry. The album is dense and noisy enough to lose yourself in, but animated enough to get you moving along.
Being a newly minted Matador band, Love of Diagrams face lots of expectations. They also get choice opening slots on big tours. They hit the States with Ted Leo earlier this year, and now they're back with Enon. And if there was ever a time to be sure and catch the opener, it's now. In fact, Enon may have trouble following such a blistering act.
Love of Diagrams with Enon and Deadly Finns at the Glass House, 200 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 865-3802; www.theglasshouse.us. Sat., 7 p.m. $10-$12.
