n incessantly head-bopping bass, acting as a Koosh Ball springboard for the alternatingly crunchy and slicing guitars, which hum like bumblebees on 'roids. Ping-ponging keyboard scales prick sheer walls of synth washes. Energetic, frantic vocals that have been fuzzed to a foamy frappe. And a melody so damn perfect it'll make your stomach churn on itself. And that's just the first song, "Our Town," from Radio 4's sophomore release, Gotham.


These New York City revivalists tear through post-punk's back pages with gleeful enthusiasm, borrowing a snappy guitar riff from Gang Of Four here, a somber keyboard section from Joy Division there, and idiosyncratic vocals from the likes of Mark E. Smith and Big Audio Dynamite all throughout the album.


Changing their focus from their more abrasive debut, The New Song And Dance, Gotham decides to focus more on hip-shaking rhythms as opposed to live-wire Brillo Pad riffs, while sacrificing none of their attitude or impact.


Songs such as "Start A Fire" and "Calling All Enthusiasts" showcase this new focus quite nicely, ticking timebombs of explosive playing, dub rhythms and sly nods to the forefathers of this sound.


"Start A Fire" mixes photon blasts of electric-blue synths and 70s cop-show guitars, with drumming so air-tight it makes a vacuum, sucking violently on the song's innards, and heightening the air of tension.


"Calling All Enthusiasts" works even better, with jagged funk riffs, wavering Gang Of Four vocals and dub lines so deep you could sink a battleship in them. It's capped off with an ultra-suave outro that shows Radio 4 knows how to deal out the style with the substance in equal dollops.


Radio 4 also juxtapose the melody-driven songs with the beat-hotboxed tunes, alternating your mindset to sing-alongs and getting down. The flurry of skittering bongos that greet you in "Eyes Wide Open" should be all the proof you need.


Even when Radio 4 decide to showcase their darker side on Gotham, they can't stop getting your pulse pounding in your ears with tracks like "Save Your City." It's hard to miss the echoes of Ian Curtis and Joy Division here. Primitive blips and bloops that sound like R2D2 reaching orgasm speckle your headspace with dots of ashen gray, while a bass line clearly lifted from Peter Hooks' bag of tricks is both foreboding and flippant. The screeching, acid-washed guitars provide a counterpoint for the fragmented, earnest vocals. Tommy William's guitar in particular hurls the song into overdrive, and things couldn't be better for singer Anthony Roman, who just muses "Do do do doo doo!"


The speedy, cab-forward construction of "Save Your City" is contrasted nicely by the lacadasial, low-rider stomp of "Speaking In Codes," which bemoans the quest for heroes, and speaks of "men in musclemen cars." Many of the cryptic lyrics contained on Gotham suggest codes, indeed. Many of the vocals are so processed and slid under layers of instruments that they're damn-near impossible to decipher, anyway.


Gotham is filled with spastic, unpredictable moments that oftentimes save the relative familiarity of the production and playing, such as the sneak bongo attack in "Eyes Wide Open," and the ghastly static blast that rudely interrupts the punkish freak-out of "Certain Tragedy," just as it climaxes, and just for the sake of being gangly.


Towards Gotham's close, Radio 4 really ups the dance quotient of the album, with the pinprick guitars and dub/ska rhythms of "Red Lights;" and the reggae beats, ultra-bratty vocals and watery, fluid guitars of "The Movies."


It all culminates in "End Of The Rope," the most obvious call to the dancefloor on the entire album, subverting rock norms with cheesy vocorder lines and herky-jerky beats, which uncoil to reveal razor-sharp guitars, pausing only to slap out a disco-fied chorus.


Gotham loses steam during the final moments, starting with the overly-long "Pipe Bombs," which is the album's lone "art" track amidst a sea of catchy pop ditties. "Pipe Bombs" advances some nice poly-rhythms and structures, but doesn't really go anywhere in its six-and-a-half minute run.


Closing with the short, snappy "New Disco," Gotham ends on a real "ehh" note. "New Disco" is a quick, lashing track, but seems out of place here, especially following the somewhat languid "Pipe Bombs."


Radio 4, while not trying anything new on Gotham, are able to successfully regurgitate their favorite records with energy, passion and pinnace. They're never really more than the sum of their influences, but there's nothing terribly offensive about that. What the Strokes are to early NYC punk, Radio 4 is to Gang Of Four. You sure could pick a worse band to emulate.