Dawn of Man
In the Bronze Age
Postfact
There’s something about Dawn of Man’s In the Bronze Age that becomes more appealing with each listen. With only four songs, the group pulls from all the best touchstones in the darker territories of early ’80s new wave and post-punk. The driving rhythmic pulse of the opener “A to Z” places it in direct lineage with prime New Order and singer Allison Russell’s clipped and croaky vocals are more than a little reminiscent of Bernard Sumner. The bridge of the title track begins with a piano melody straight from The Cure and ends up with a guitar lead from Van Halen’s “Panama.” Brian Clancy’s fretwork is the disc’s ace-in-the-whole; his riffs falling seamlessly in line with the rhythm or cutting loose with a Johnny Marr-esque melody depending on what the moment calls for. If there’s any complaint to be leveled against this recording, it’s that some of the songs feel a little timid, like the takes cut in the studio lack much of the punch these songs would exude in a live setting. Dawn of Man have all the tools to become an innovative post-punk band –maybe even fill the gap left by the recently departed Pretty Girls Make Graves– and it only makes sense that they’d have to move past the Bronze Age to realize their potential.
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