Moving Units – Damage With Care

California’s Moving Units formed in 2001 and are one of the original bands that pioneered the Dance Punk scene, now 15 years and numerous line up changes later they have bought us their fourth album, Damage With Care via Metropolis Records.

From the outset it is clear that Damage With Care owe a hefty debt to the British post punk bands of the late 70’s and early 80s and boasts a funky sound which wears it’s influences on it’s sleeve, the ghosts of A Certain Ratio, Joy Division and especially Gang of Four seem to resonate deeply within their songs.

The album opens strongly with Hyatt Girls which boasts a guitar riff The Go-Go’s would have killed for and is a great driving opener which nods heavily to the new wave and which should get any crowd moving, for me this is the stand out track from the album. Much of the rest of the album has an angular spiky style which whilst less accessible than the opening track did grow on me over time. Damage With Care washes over you in waves of synth and bass but never actually seems to grab you by the scruff of the neck and shake you. Having said that, this a solid and consistent addition to their catalog and will please established fans of Moving Units and the dance and post punk genres but ultimately it is one which I feel is unlikely to produce any new converts to their cause.