IfIHadAHifi: Fame By Proxy

IfIHadAHiFi’s 2004 release No More Music contained half a dozen killer tracks that were taut, wired, and for want of a better word, rocking. If they had some bullshit gimmick like squeezing their stubbly heads into fezzes or wearing day-glo dresses, they’d have already garnered the press their hard-punching sound warrants. Fame By Proxy is a little less monochromatic and claustrophobic, slightly more party, but still as tight and deranged as a pig in pantyhose. There’s a crisp cohesion to the playing which might be a product of them having no lead singer; everyone plays and, I think, everyone sings. IfIHadAHiFi’s sound lies at a neglected midpoint between Devo and Liars and their songs give off more than a whiff of wry humor and bitter self-effacement. Not to be confused with the UK band from Southampton.