Pylon - Like Cutting Glass

In this issue's column I'm going to talk about one of my favorite bands of all time, Pylon. I'm writing about them because I feel that they have been forgotten by the music listeners of the world, and I hope that maybe some new Pylon fans will be born.

Pylon were Athens, GA's other big New Wave band, after the B-52's and before R.E.M. Driven by the drums of Curtis Crowe and Michael Lachoswki's repetetive basslines, Pylon merged the hard-disco punk sound of Gang of Four with a poppier 80's New Wave sensibility. Guitarist Randy Bewley developed a style similar to Gang of Four's Andy Gill--sharp guitar attacks like cutting glass--but somehow more melodic.

Overtop of everything, Vanessa Briscoe-Hay shouted, growled, and sometimes sang her strange lyrics, sometimes obvious and personal, but usually arty and abstract. Briscoe-Hay is probably the main reason that Pylon is not remembered as a Gang of Four clone--she brought a feminine angle to the band that set them far apart, especially lyrically.

Pylon's first release was the "Cool/Dub" 7", recorded in 1979. Two of the most frantic and fast songs the group ever wrote, the B-side featured Briscoe-Hay shouting "We eat dub for breakfast!" while the band hammered away. The group's first LP, 1980's Gyrate (on DB records, as were all of their releases), expanded their sound a bit, with some slower numbers. Pylon scored a minor college radio hit with the ferocious "Feast On My Heart"--Briscoe-Hay growls "Feast on my heart/Drill a hole in it/I want you to drown me in it/Pick up the scalpel and do it" over an infectious riff. The most simple and repetitive track of all is the closing "Stop It," the only lyrics being "Don't rock and roll-no!/Now rock and roll-Now!/Hey kids!"

1981 brought the "Crazy/M-Train" single, a glimpse of the forthcoming Chomp LP. R.E.M. fans may be familiar with "Crazy," as a cover version appears on Dead Letter Office. Pylon, by this point, were writing songs with more melody and even quieter parts, though they still retained their dance edge.

Chomp proved to be the group's swan song, released in 1983. With a picture of a Tyranosaurus Rex on the cover, and one side of the LP jacket serrated (as if it was bitten by a dinosaur!), Chomp looked to be more aggressive than Gyrate, and indeed it featured some knockout tracks like "Beep." This record reached a more pop sound however, on songs like "No Clocks" and the brilliant "Altitude." Chomp holds up as a more mature LP now, though Gyrate is also fantastic.

Pylon called it quits after that, though the briefly reunited in 1990 and recorded the somewhat lackluster Chain. Unfortunately, all of their releases are now out-of-print. Gyrate and Chomp were never issued on CD, but the 1988 Hits CD contains every song on Gyrate except one, every song on Chomp except for two, and both singles, so if you're not a completist it's a good bet. Hits is out-of-print also (and even Chain is hard to find now) but with some good used-bin hunting I'm sure it will turn up. The LP's turn up in used record stores a lot, but a nice copy of Chomp has been eluding me for some time. A reissue series is definitely in order.