GITHEAD - Waiting For A Sign

Colin Newman of Wire's Swim and Malka Spiegel refocus their attention on the Githead project. Five years after the languid "Landing", the band returns to make its slightly noise-tinged dream-pop resonate with renewed conviction, reconfirming the valuable contributions of Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) and Max Franken (Minimal Compact).

"Waiting For A Sign" is an album that elegantly lines up the softer pages of Wire, Cocteau Twins, Ride, Cure, My Bloody Valentine and Notwist, but with an unusual spirit and attitude: the album was in fact put together without any clearly defined lyrical script, instead drawing on improvisation and the musicians' mutual understanding. This creative choice allows Githead to offer more than one interesting and notable idea, with a sound freed from conventional song structure, yet still consistently melodic and refined.

It's hard not to find momentary comfort in the soft shoegaze of "Bringing The Sea To The City", which brings in longue-kraut elements reminiscent of Stereolab, or not to be swept along by the pulsing rhythm of "To Somewhere", a dream-pop track built on minimal, mischievous rhythms.

The creative gambit works not only because it allows the instruments greater expressive freedom, but also because, even without starting from clearly defined compositions, it lets Githead craft their most accessible album yet – the excellent crescendo of "Air Dancing" stands out as a prime example, an eccentric, surreal track that reminds us just how much Newman and co. have contributed to the evolution of new wave.

Unfortunately, not everything hits the mark: "For The Place We're In" and "Not Coming Down" linger in their atmospheres without much originality, but things fare decidedly better on "Slow Creatures", where the obsessive riff feeds on endless subtle nuances that leave room for the imagination.

If routine briefly gets the better of Newman and company ("Today" and "What If"), the title track restores a fitting dose of poetry and fury, with a gripping shoegaze that tastefully polishes off an album which, while not exactly miraculous, shows these musicians in fine form.

The hope is that whatever comes after “Waiting For A Sign” will manage to bring back at least a bit of that healthy recklessness that made their musical exploits seminal and perhaps unrepeatable.

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10/12/2014