Love of Diagrams: Love of Diagrams

Love of Diagrams is toughening up post-punk revivalism with sinewy precision. Not as much bounce and angularity as outright rolling force, their terse introductory EP for Matador throbs with dexterously relentless rhythms and fluidly dissonant melodies. While that abrasiveness owes an obvious debt to classic Touch and Go artists like The Jesus Lizard, the band also demonstrates a capacity for hooks and finesse somewhere between the Pretenders and Pixies. Love of Diagrams is a lot stiffer than any of those other artists, but there are still some very compelling elements in play. Antonia Sellbach’s bass lines are enthrallingly insistent while Luke Horton’s guitar playing is incredibly nuanced. Sharing vocal duties as well, the pair has yet to turn this aspect of the band into an asset. Albeit hardly a shortcoming, their singing is the most obvious victim of rigidity. Once they manage to unhinge their voices while keeping a lock down on the groove, their impact will be unnervingly devastating.