You have to feel sorry for A Certain Ratio. Forever sidelined to the more visible behemoths of late 70s post-punk, their influence is arguably more tangible than bands such as Gang of Four, Joy Division, or PiL – the most artistically successful revivalist albums to come out of North America this decade. While the Mancs weren’t the sole purveyors of the tribal drums and disco strums, their marriage of this style with more accessibly pop and dance elements has been the template for successful acts such as Liars and Free Blood 30 years after their heyday, and serves as the basis for Chicagoite outfit Mahjongg’s utterly un-turnoffable second LP, Kontpab.
A strong sense of familiarity permeates the band’s first release on K Records. Witness the Outhud-style funk traps, the Angus Andrew-esque vocals, percussion-centric songs in the style of Liquid Liquid, and the almost tokenistic nods to mysticism and ciphers, and you’ll wonder quite why you’re affording Kontpab precious listening time. Simply put though, from the first seconds of the shuffling, tinny drum loop of opening track Pontiac, to the dying 90s rave-up electronics of closer Rise Rice, the band refuse to give either your mind or your feet a respite. Never mind all the usual new wave touchstones, the band’s most palpable influence is Franz A. Mesmer’s hypnotism experiments. Each layer of scuzzy instrumentation is pendulum-like, toing and froing, and serves to control your consciousness for the duration of the album’s nine songs, before sending you back out into the world a bit bewildered and hoping you haven’t said or done anything silly in your trance.
Problems is the perfect encapsulation of everything Mahjongg do right – simplistic riffs filtered through archaic-sounding samplers, mind-fuck vocals and a completely irresistible line in percussion. Mercury does a good job of showing Bloc Party exactly what they should’ve done with their namesake song, creating the album’s late highlight. Kontpab might have all the dynamics of a hallmark DFA release, but filtered through a distinctly K Records fuzz it stands up as the most humbly outstanding lo-fi dance record since Holy Fuck’s LP.
See also: Liquid Liquid – Slip In And Out Of Phenomenon [Domino], Free Blood – Never Hear Surf Music Again [DFA], A Certain Ratio – I’d Like To See You Again [Factory]
Mahjongg- Teardrops
