Love Of Diagrams - Love Of Diagrams EP (Matador)
3/5
By: Chris Helsen
The Australian electro-indie field is positively blossoming, with the likes of The Presets, The Valentinos and Melbourne trio Love Of Diagrams hitting these shores recently in an attempt to upstage the British New Rave scene.
As a convenient precursor to their imminent second full-length album, Love Of Diagrams' self titled EP is a mix of old and new. Having been around since 2001, this is both the group's first work for Matador and their first global release. It is both a statement of intent and an introduction to the band, neatly encompassing their best previous song, a future album track, a live version of an 80s hit and an unreleased track.
The EP kicks off with the two new songs 'Pace Or The Patience' and 'The Pyramid' . The former is a bustling tune with layered, spiky guitars and catchy, repetitive refrains. The punky boy-girl vocals work well, making it a definite floor filler. 'The Pyramid is a darker, less poppy proposition with feedback, atmospheric vocals and more swirling guitars. Both more than recall the post-punk of the likes of PiL and Gang Of Four.
The early 80s theme is continued with a well-conceived version of the American New Wave 1980 Pylon single 'Cool'. The fact that this cover does not sound out of place next to the other songs on the EP is an indication both of Love Of Diagrams' influences and their commitment to them. Final track, 2005's 'No Way Out' again uses question and answer boy-girl vocals to good effect but really only serves the purpose of proving that the band have been around for a while,
Overall, though, this is an absorbing 'best so far/album taster' EP that provides a pleasant reminder of the best bits of post-punk for those who missed it the first time round some 25 years ago. It is a very 'cool' collection of songs that will undoubtedly go down well with the kids of Shoreditch and it sounds like the forthcoming album 'Mosaic' will be well worth a listen.
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