Diagram Brothers

How I missed this one, I don't know.

Diagram Brothers was an angular, abrasive ball of electricity that flashed into existence, in Manchester, in the late 70s, quickly released some singles, some EPs, an LP, most of which were appropriately, tellingly put out on the Buzzcocks' New Hormones, and then disbanded.



Angsty, tightly-wound, art-school post-punk that has the fire and ferocity of Gang of Four and the bony funk of 99 Records alumni, like Liquid Liquid and ESG.

One of the "brothers," Andy Diagram, whose surname the rest assumed, went on to join some other groups—the jazzy Dislocation Dance, the blue-eyed soul-meets-new wave Pale Fountains, and, most notably, the Britpop-adjacent alt-rock James—but each for only a few years at a time. With James, he was enlisted to record albums three and four ("Sit Down, "Come Home," the Youth-produced "Ring the Bells") and bounced right before their biggest hit, "Laid."



But we're here for Diagram Brothers! Listen to their Some Marvels of Modern Science full-length.