The Underside of Power

Underside feels like a quantum leap from [its 2015 self-titled debut] both musically and thematically, newly charged with the righteous anger of Antifa and Black Lives Matter, and explosively unleashed by artists and activists who sense that this is their moment to seize. The result is a collection of songs that articulates that fury and despair with such authority, it deserves to become the soundtrack for whatever future documentary montage captures the mess of 2017.

Algiers crafted a unified, cautiously optimistic record that rises above the vitriolic din.

The anger and disillusionment on Algiers' debut were expressed through its raw, unhinged mix. Here, while their outlook is overall less tolerant, it's voiced with more atmospheric control.

It’s disarming, actually, how an album this heavy can be so kinetic, so compulsive, so--the word seems wrong, but funky.

As an album, though still swinging from one place to another with glee, The Underside Of Power feels important, and very, very serious, as a body of work. It is one of the year’s very best albums, and sets out Algiers as one of the decade’s very best bands.

There might be no other band working that so effortlessly transcends its myriad of influences, creating something authentically new, disturbing and beautiful. [Jul 2017, p.80]

The wall of sound this band generates with distorted guitars, samples, industrial noise and live drums is overwhelming at times, but the message it conveys about race and class in America is an important one. [No. 143, p.53]

It reignites the traditions it draws upon and creates something utterly contemporary. If this record sounds familiar, it is because it is the music your soul has already worked out we need for the struggles to come. [Jul 2017, p.46]

The Underside of Power is both the latest chapter in a long-running and universal story that seems to be nearing climax, and solid, sonic proof that Algiers are capable of not just acting with their hearts, but ripping them out and offering them up on record.

The Underside of Power is even more powerful than Algiers’ debut, starker, more violent and yet leavened with an uplifting surge of gospel.

Musically adventurous and spiritually redemptive: this is what the music of our time should sound like.

It’s not an easy listen, but it is a rewarding one.

The Underside Of Power is heavy going, but completely, necessarily so.

There’s a confrontational energy to The Underside of Power that encourages conversation, and not just rapturous abandon. It’s an unorthodox approach that immediately distinguishes them.

This is one of those zeitgeist capturing records, all done without compromise or a hint of triteness. Algiers were once a band with promise; now they've fully arrived.

Working with Portishead's Adrian Utley and adding Matt Tong (Bloc Party) on drums, Algiers have managed to create a dizzying tapestry of sounds that incorporates wavy synths, industrial fuzz and gospel choirs into a protest record that embodies the key stages of grief.

Ultimately, this is an important record at a time when galvanising young people to protest is needed perhaps more than ever. While it's presumptive to assume Algiers have succeeded, this record definitely won't hurt the effort.

Singer Franklin James Fisher, whose multi-instrumentalist duties include everything from Rhodes to cello to sampling, is a perfect gospel shouter for our times, staring down darkness as he dances at the edge of our shared oblivion. The result is a genuinely new way to mangle the blues.

An abrasive but soulful post-punk. [Jul 22017, p.23]