A Certain Ratio should just sue LCD Soundsystem and get it over with

Listening back to A Certain Ratio’s 1980 song Do the Du, you realise they’d have a potential lawsuit against James Murphy for LCD Soundsystem’s breakthrough single Losing My Edge, and the band’s wider sonic palette. A DJ could sneak one in after the other and you’d never cop on.

Emerging in late 70s Manchester in the freewheeling experimental period after punk imploded, ACR landed somewhere between the dystopian post-punk of Joy Division and the scratchy, atonal nerviness of The Pop Group. Their dubby, front-of-mix basslines, avant-garde free jazz guitar noodles and funk drum fills helped define a scene, and inspired countless bands since, from LCD, to The Rapture, Liars, The Horrors, or any other band who think outside the blues chord box.

They’re releasing a box set next month called acr:set, with all their best bits, from punk-funk to left-field electro-pop, trip-hop, industrial and skronky jazz. Their latest single Dirty Boy with Barry Adamson of Magazine is another killer cut, with elements of acid house and a Factory Floor-style industrial finish.