The Politics of Dancing

One assumes that the titular reference to the fluffy Re-Flex dance-pop hit from 1984 is both deliberate and ironic. Post-hardcore theoreticians Sadaharu have a dry sense of humor, but the general thrust of their largely abstract lyrics suggests that brushing up on your Noam Chomsky and Jean Baudrillard before tackling these songs wouldn't be a bad idea. Of course, singer Jeff Breil's hardcore-derived bark of a voice is usually enough to obscure the lyrics for those who would rather skip the homework and concentrate on the music. This might be the most productive way to approach this album, in fact, because unlike many similar post-hardcore bands, Sadaharu have a prickly but inviting sense of groove. Drummer Angelo Madrigale favors the same tricky time signatures and stop-start rhythms as a lot of other drummers, but without the herky-jerky rhythmic stiffness. Similarly, bassist Bill Bennett is almost funky at times, and favors more complex patterns than the average bassist in this style of music, most of whom simply play the root chords of the guitarists' riffs. Those riffs (courtesy of Breil and Mike Madrigale) are a bit more accessible here than they had been on the band's noise-heavy debut album, which adds to the songs' impressive sense of forward momentum. Add in the cleverness of a few brief instrumental interludes so the listener can take a breather from Breil's constant hectoring, and The Politics of Dancing is about as user-friendly as this brand of confrontational post-punk ever gets.