“The Gang — which is actually just the recording moniker of Kamtin Mohager — delivers silken bursts of New Wave-inspired dance music with meaty, Cut Copy-sized hooks and flourishes of Passion Pit-style falsetto.” – SPIN‘s 35 Must-Hear Acts at SXSW
After self-releasing two albums over the past several years and receiving early praise from the likes of SPIN, The FADER, RCRD LBL, Brooklyn Vegan, and more, The Chain Gang of 1974 is ready to break out with Wayward Fire! Set for release June 21st on ModernArt, this is an album as restless as The Chain Gang of 1974‘s White Guts, an album which funneled three years of instrument-swapping, sample-splicing experience into a lean focused listen, but it melds the standout moments from that release into something wholly new and realized. In creating this new album, The Chain Gang of 1974’s genre-jumping singer/multi-instrumentalist Kamtin Mohager moved from Denver to Los Angeles, severed the ties of the two-year relationship that fueled Wayward Fire, and raised the
curtain on what’s next, proving that this particular film has just begun.
On Wayward Fire, the laser-guided synth lines of “Undercover” and the rather epic “Hold On”-crowd pleasers that hint at everything from LCD Soundsystem to Talking Heads-make perfect sense alongside such shifting soundscapes as the shimmering keys of “Don’t Walk Away,” the hands-in-the-air hooks of “Taste of Heaven,” and the choruses that cut through the rain clouds in “Matter of Time.” Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Mohager balances his minor-key melodies with bold, bloodletting lyrics.
“Fresh off a string of noteworthy performances at South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas, Chain Gang is positioned to pick up where LCD Soundsystem is leaving off – live dance music with an abrasive edge and hipster swagger.” — Denver Post
In the lead up to this release, The Chain Gang of 1974 will play select dates on the west coast with Jamaica.
The Chain Gang of 1974 Tour Dates
Sat. April 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
Tue. April 26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent w/ Jamaica
Thu. April 28 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Jamaica
Fri. April 29 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos w/ Jamaica
Sat. April 30 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club w/ Jamaica
Sat. June 11 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre w/ Candy Claws, Bad Weather California, Fellow Citizens
Musically Amusing 