Current Affairs - Object & Subject

Place the needle on ‘Object & Subject’ and you could be in a particularly hairspray-favouring corner of 1979. Hailing from Glasgow, Current Affairs dredge up the noirish, gothic end of post-punk that reached its critical peak at the end of the decade; ‘Eyes’ is all Siouxsie and the Banshees jagged edges, ‘Object’ brings to mind Joy Division’s ‘Transmission’, while ‘Crimes’’ maudlin romance and reverb-laden guitars are pure Cure. The Scots clearly have their musical predilections, but they do it well, singer Joan Sweeney’s wiry, icy tone the perfect, dead-eyed counterfoil to the voodoo being summoned around her. More than just a homage, Current Affairs are worthy successors to their influences.