David Gedge

David Gedge's songs have always made him sound as if he has been knocked around by matters of the heart. With the revival of his indie outfit the Wedding Present after an eight-year hiatus, the 45-year-old songwriter demonstrated he's still up to throwing some counterpunches. That's evident from the opening guitar swell of "Interstate 5," the epic "driving song" that leads off last year's comeback album "Take Fountain."

David Gedge's songs have always made him sound as if he has been knocked around by matters of the heart. With the revival of his indie outfit the Wedding Present after an eight-year hiatus, the 45-year-old songwriter demonstrated he's still up to throwing some counterpunches. That's evident from the opening guitar swell of "Interstate 5," the epic "driving song" that leads off last year's comeback album "Take Fountain."

The fascination of the English group the Wedding Present is like that of a natural disaster. The quartet's high-tension pop threatens to blow apart and unleash torrents of destructive emotion at any moment, but the group sits on the edge and plays off that threat. Rooted in the malcontent drone of Joy Division and the pretty yet biting melodiousness of the Smiths, the Wedding Present adds a constant buzz of rhythm guitar and comes up with rock that's ready to snap.