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Baker's Dozen

Rare Essences: Andy Gill Of Gang Of Four's Favourite Records
Bryan Brussee , February 3rd, 2020 11:04

Five years ago, following the release of their eighth album, What Happens Next, Andy Gill of Gang Of Four talked Bryan Brussee through the picks of his record collection, both albums and individual tracks

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Wild Beasts - 'Wanderlust'
Sometimes I nose around on the internet, seeing what people are talking about. I'll download a track from iTunes just to check things out. 'Wanderlust' is one of the things I listened to.

I think it's just fantastic. I love the way it's just got that one drumbeat, I think it's a drum machine, I'm not sure, and that's all it does. [Hayden Thorpe] has got a fantastic voice. It's got these sort of crappy-sounding keyboards, organs. Some of that album [Present Tense], I've been listening to it over the last few months, sometimes it's so overly pretty it puts you off a bit. They're obviously in love with 80s synth sounds, a lot of people are these days, and sometimes the arrangements on some of the songs just feel very 80s and slightly too ornate and slightly too pretty. But on 'Wanderlust' I think they completely nailed it and it's really just one part. It doesn't go through lots of different sections, the way the vocals and the music develop. It's a great song, very poppy, very pretty, driving and it makes its point.