Profile

This album finds the band making something of a quantum leap, especially in the manner in which the music is delivered. Headgit was a fun EP: a result of the collision of three largely compatible, long-time musical minds. But Profile is something more, although it's hard to put your finger on exactly what. It's as if the band is its own entity and it's somehow grown up. While Profile is hardly the most deadly serious of records, it's certainly more mature than the band's debut: the arrangements are tighter, the mix is better, and the continually weaving mesh of instruments weaves its way further into your brain.

This, in part, is down to the music. Still somewhat wearing its punk-funk influences on its sleeve, what Profile sometimes lacks in terms of direct and memorable melodies, it makes up for with funky rhythms, Spigel's dynamic, churning basslines, and a sublime mesh of overlaid guitars. Githead is far from a one-trick-pony, though, and while those who suggest references to P.I.L. aren't far from the mark at times, Profile's mood constantly changes during its 45-minute length. Nowhere is this more apparent than during the three-track run from Cosmology for Beginners to They Are: the first of those tracks is a funky, angular and slightly shouty pop song, which is followed by the heavy and intense, guitar-churning instrumental Antiphon, which in turn gives way to the laid-back, glittering grooves of They Are. Elsewhere, Alpha manages to sandwich all of these ideas into one classic six-minute effort.

But the music isn't the only thing that Profile has going for it. One of the criticisms levelled at the band's debut was its insistence on throwaway lyrics. Newman's hacking up a load of junk mail created a few charming and wry moments (and the stomping Profile), but it all felt a little inconsequential (which, presumably, was part of the point). That's not the case here—although some of this album's words are perhaps a little disposable, Alpha's complex rhymes coupled with Newman's stern delivery, underpinned by strong, engaging rhythms, seem to confirm the band's newfound maturity, and also that Profile fires on all cylinders at once. Suddenly, it all matters. Even better is My LCA—Spigel's ode to her 'little box of magic'—one of the most emotionally charged tracks Swim~ has ever released (not least due to Spigel's sensitive and slightly fragile delivery), and even more poignant for those who know of Spigel's dedication to her photography. They Are is another classic lyric, built from Googlisms, yet the edit provides an insight into the band that's surreal, full of character, and unlike anything else you're ever likely to hear about them. And, finally, who could do anything other than love a CD that has within it the genius chorus of "shrink the world/micro hip/streets ahead/love at first sight", sung in the most swimmingly melodic manner? Not me, that's for sure.

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1. This Is A Cause (These Are Effects) —B*ST*RD remix
2. To Have And To Hold —Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall 14.03.05
3. Antiphon —Live at Queen Elizabeth Hall 14.03.05

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Reviews:

Profile is the album of the year so far. Genius.

- Dean Thatcher, Mixmag Update (UK)

Arrangements that pit Newman and Rimbaud's guitars in combinations of jangly arpeggios, sheets of distortion, choppy rhythm licks and steely lead lines, all anchored by Spigel's loping Wobble-esque dub basslines and at times brutal drum-machine beats. The results cohere into a sonic juggernaut.

- Andy Gill, The Independent

What you get here though is a set of songs that simply demand to be played to death. And the more you play it, the more you love it! A great album.

- Andrew Cowen, Birmingham Post

This album finds the band making something of a quantum leap, especially in the manner in which the music is delivered... It's as if the band is its own entity and it's somehow grown up. While Profile is hardly the most deadly serious of records, it's certainly more mature than the band's debut: the arrangements are tighter, the mix is better, and the continually weaving mesh of instruments weaves its way further into your brain.

- Craig Grannell, Wireviews

This first collection of immediate classics conceals treasures of melodic grace and sharply cut efficiency.

- Nicolas Julliard, Le Temps (Switzerland)

Robin Rimbaud (Scanner), Colin Newman (Wire) and Malka Spigel (Minimal Compact) make a debut with a first album so modern that it's scary.

- David Saavedra, El Mundo (Spain)

Profile is a more fully realized exploration of the interface between organic and electronic musics that shows Githead expanding its range and developing a distinctive sound... It's catchy without being vacuous, intelligent without being too clever for its own good.

- Wilson Neate, Trouser Press

Githead are a hipper than thou super group comprising Robin Rimbaud from Scanner, Colin Newman from Wire and Malka Spigel from Minimal Compact. What sounds quite serious on paper translates to accessible but unusual music. The key to all this is Malka Spigel’s basslines, which undulate with a strange sonorous funk that invokes Jah Wobble at his best. The guitars of Wire are also conjured up, but with a more melodious tint. Cosmology For Beginners is as spacey as it sounds, and the whole album hums with a weird punk-funk that seems to inhabit a dimension slightly different to our own.

- Ben Murphy, DJ magazine

Tracklisting: