Chomp

Though the B-52's had already lit the spark that eventually turned Athens, GA, into '80s college rock ground zero, it was Pylon who truly first established the formerly sleepy Southern town as an artistic center and hipster haven. With an often surreal sound that paired the same sort of serpentine, angular instrumental work and emotive, off-kilter vocals characteristic of Television and Gang of Four with a disco-informed rhythmic bounce, Pylon came off like an even weirder, artier, yet somehow less pretentious Talking Heads. One of only two full-length albums released during the group's original early-'80s run (Pylon would eventually disband and re-form a number of times as the members' moods and lifestyles dictated), Chomp was just as taught, exciting, and spooky as its classic predecessor, Gyrate, but benefited from a step-up in production values. Kicking off with the throbbing, guitar noise-infused "K" (a strangely unsettling tribute to the board game Scrabble), the record inhabits a murky alternate universe dance party where Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer's melodic R&B vocals have been replaced by lead singer Vanessa Briscoe's Yoko Ono/Patti Smith-style growls and yelps, and Studio 54 has set up shop in Andy Warhol's Factory. Considering how challenging this music remained decades after its release, Chomp is surprisingly accessible. Laced with undeniable hooks, it also includes the band's best-known song, "Crazy," which was famously covered by R.E.M. as the B-side of the "Driver 8" single and later included as the leadoff track on the Dead Letter Office rarities compilation. The members of Pylon always considered themselves less a traditional rock band and more a collective of artists who happened to work in the medium of music; Chomp showcases the unit at the peak of its craft, painting musical abstractions in bold and influential strokes. ~ Pemberton Roach