Algiers - The Underside Of Power - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The debut LP by Algiers is haunted by promises of the past the rapturous call and response of millenarian gospel, the bellowing urgency of 60s protest soul, the scene-searching intensity of DC hardcore and the smeared viscosity of post-punk and no wave. After all, as Marx once said 'The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.' But rather than revel in a state of nostalgia, the band wields these burdened visions to charge headlong into the future.

Algiers have always been unflinching, but SHOOK is at the same time notably joyous and celebratory. It was born when Fisher and Mahan found themselves back in their native Atlanta for several months, reeling from growing pressures and burnout as touring musicians. This triggered an intense period of beatmaking, reconnecting as friends over hours immersed in episodes of Rhythm Roulette and Against the Clock and descending deep into alt-rap YouTube rabbit holes. A revisit of DJ Grand Wizard Theodore's 1970s punk-infused New York City rap masterpiece 'Subway Theme' served as a spiritual moodboard for the album's cross-pollination of urban and counter-culture styles. Across the seamlessly flowing set, including spoken vignettes and ambient instrumental segues, the band pay respect to a sprawling lineage of rap and punk iconoclasts from DJ Premier, DJ Screw and Dead Boys to Lukah, Griselda and Dïat - chopping and screwing beats on a dusty SP-404 and a Sequential Circuits Tempest, building imagined sample libraries from scratch.

This comprehensive hits package includes all 40 of his #1 hits on 2 Cds, with legendary songs such as InchThe Fugitive,Inch InchMama Tried,Inch InchSing Me Back Home,Inch InchHungry EyesInch InchGrandma Harp,Inch InchI Think I'll Stay Here and Drink.Inch