Githead is a band headed by Wire’s Colin Newman and Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel. The group’s third album, Art Pop is exactly as it is named. It is pop music with a touch of artful edge that keeps it interesting. The songs range from almost straight-up pop, such as On your Own, to more experimental, like Jet Ear Game. Every track does have a pop sensibility, even when it dives deep into synthesized experiments in sound.
The song Space Life stands out as a beautifully constructed pop song while going off into the realm of noisy electronics. The song’s strong rhythm keeps it moving forward through the synth effects that demand close attention. It is an impressive gem of a song and takes the best of the art and the pop of the tracks on Art Pop and brings them together very nicely.
Jet Ear Game is the hardest song to listen to with its over-synthesized vocals and repetitive electronic pounding, but remains somehow catchy. The album as a whole makes almost perfect sense as it flows easily from each song to the next. Each song is easier to understand in the context of those that come before and after it. Githead may be a side-project, but it is clear that a lot of thoughtful songwriting and production techniques were spent making Art Pop a notable addition to the catalogue of Githead’s accomplished musicians.
