Another notable debut was Gang of Four's Entertainment! (1979). Its title is quite indicative of the tone of both its musical and lyrical content. (By the way, the last word of the previous sentence is the name of their latest release, from 2010.) On Entertainment!, the band combined elements of funk, reggae and modernism to create a sound that was rare in punk, largely because of its creative use of space. This was achieved via the band's modernist/minimalist, staccato-attack style. They succeeded in making the sharp edges of their individual parts into a smooth whole. I saw the group live once, and that performance ranks among the most powerful and energetic I've heard. There wasn't a stationary person in the club. Lyrically, they come from a hard-left angle perhaps influenced by the Clash, and with song titles such as, "I Found that Essence Rare", "At Home He's a Tourist", and "Guns before Butter", it's easy to see that irony is their primary mode. The vocal style with which they deliver it is also very interesting: they make use of shouting and chanting as much as singing. In this band, everyone is in the rhythm section. I'm glad that I got to re-discover this record; it's great. I'll be writing about Content soon, once I hear it.