Devil is a Lady

Song: Devil is a Lady
Artist: The Chain Gang of 1974
Album: White Guts






The Chain Gang of 1974 hail from Denver, CO by way of San Jose, and then Hawaii.  The one-man-band consists of Kamtin Mohager, the singer/multi-instrumentalist.  Sort of a mix of LCD Soundsytem and Tears for Fears, the band mixes electronic beats, crunching guitar, and a variety of off-kilter sounds.

After the release of "Fantastic Nostalgic: The Early Recordings" in January of this year, the band digitally released "White Guts," the proper debut this past April.  The album is pretty varied; opener "Stop!" sounds like junkyard Beck, until is segues into trance-like bliss.  "Devil is a Lady" is where you hear the LCD reference with a dash of Scissor Sister-esque falsetto, and the epic, 8-min "Hold On" rides a persistent modern beat but slowly begins to read very 80's.  "Visually Appealing" goes a step further mixing Depeche Mode, OMD, & a slice of New Order for a particularly pleasing slice of indie-dancerock heaven.

Elements of dance punk and underground post-punk creep in throughout, and by the time you reach "Matter of Time," an earnest ballad... you're ready for anything.  By the time you get to final track "Don't Walk Away" you really feel like you've been somewhere, ready to get back to the future even when you know you're already there.  "White Guts" in all is pretty exciting, and Mohager is obviously talented and one to watch.  There is much to enjoy on this record, very recommended.

For more on the band check out their MySpace Page.

Enjoy.

Stop!


Hold On


Matter of Time