In 2017, Algiers made a big impression with the release of their second album, The Underside of Power, a fiery manifesto recorded as a reaction against the election of Donald Trump , Brexit and the rise of the right around the world. To accompany this call to arms, the Atlanta trio, which had just become a quartet with the recruitment of British drummer Matt Tong (a former Bloc Party member), had successfully perfected the fusion of their post-punk guitars with the fervour of gospel music.
Three years later, combining the expertise of producers Randall Dunn and Ben Greenberg, the group softened the mix while seasoning it with electronic sounds. Gospel and post-punk influences are still very present, the band’s music even evoking Depeche Mode (for whom they opened shows in 2017) on a few tracks. Only the punk rock of “Void”, which closes the record, is at odds with the more measured aspect of the whole.
What these new songs from Algiers lose in impact, they gain in subtlety. This is more in keeping with the subject matter which, although still very critical of the state of the modern world, is more nuanced than before. This softened sonic spectrum allows one to appreciate all the more the passionate singing of Franklin James Fisher, without a doubt one of the great voices in rock today.
