The Wedding Present + more across Manchester Academy.
Gong Gong Gong “Phantom Rhythm” (Wharf Cat Records)
LP | CD | DL
Rel Date: 4th October 2019
Gong Gong Gong are a two piece Beijing underground proposition, the duo of Tom Ng (Guitar, Vocals) and Joshua Frank (Bass, Vocals) cite their influences as ranging from Bo Diddley to Cantonese opera (not a genre I am familiar with), desert blues, drone and general electronic squall.
‘Phantom Rhythm’ is their debut album and follows the ‘Siren’ 7” via Brooklyn based Wharf Cat Records, that release brought them enough attention to justify a tour of the UK and Europe alongside Brooklyn based Bodega.
Despite the lack of a clear drum beat ‘Phantom Rhythm’ is a compelling, yet unsettling listen. Opener ‘The Last Note’ is a case in point, the lyric, sung in Cantonese, for me almost took on the appropriation of instrumentation, as it punctuated the abrasive psych tinged patterns, whilst ‘Notes Underground’ is built around a chugging almost krautrock striking guitar.
‘Ride Your Horse’ is stripped down to the twin guitars, each jarring against each other to provide a discordant platform for a melodic lyric, ahead of a cranked-up flourish of noise.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/624344388″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
Gong Gong Gong are drawing upon every genre; ‘Moonshadows has a jazz flavoured guitar before the bass suddenly replicates the instantly recognisable opening to Grandmaster Flash ‘White Lines’.
The song structures are gloriously messed up – within a more traditional rock band setting, with the addition of a drummer these tracks would at times resemble The Velvet Underground; what I’m getting at is that within the angular, taut and downright claustrophobic pieces there are the bare essentials of a fine band; rhythm, melody and a determination to craft your own material.
‘Gong Gong Gong Blues’ as the title indicates veers towards a blues pattern, albeit a seriously contorted one, whilst ‘Wei Wei Wei’ defies genre as it pulls from Cantonese opera before colliding with distorted guitar.
‘Phantom Rhythm’ is an album of detailed, very dark twisted music; serrated guitar provides texture as opposed to musical tone – it’s certainly an uneasy, and uncompromising listen, though beneath the clanging guitar shards there are periods of progressive conformity that draw you in.
Gong Gong Gong online:
Wharf Cat Records online:
More writing by Phil can be found at his Louder Than War Author’s Archive
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
