The last couple of years has definitely seen a rebirth of the U.K. post-punk sound of the early 80s. The classic post-punk bands took the raw rebellion and harshness, ran it through the planer a few times to smooth it out and gave it a couple valiums to calm and tone it down a bit.

Interpol may have been the first of this recent wave of bands being compared to such post-punk legends as Joy Division and Wire, and now we're seeing several such acts pop up. Bands Franz Ferdinand and The Walkmen are gaining popularity and quietly amassing sizable fan bases while flying low enough to avoid the radar of full-blown media hype.

The Moving Units are an L.A. trio that include the former members of hard core slash masters The Festival of Dead Deer. Blake Miller, Johan Bogeli, and Chris Hathwell have taken bits and pieces of the new wave aesthetic and built an absolutely fantastic band with a very eclectic sound. When I started listening to the EP I noticed a remarkable resemblance to the post punk rockers Gang of Four. On the Moving Units song, "I Am," there is a line that goes "I am, I am, I am ordinary. I am, I am, I am not extraordinary." This one line reminded me of Gang of Four's song "Damaged Goods." It goes on, "Your kiss so sweet, your sweat so sour." Maybe there is some connection or maybe I'm just obsessive compulsive about linking things together.

The EP, on Palm records, has only four songs but they're all winners - good lyrics, catchy hooks and some aggressive high-hat snapping on the ol' boom-boom siss. If you are down with Interpol, Joy Division, The Strokes or any thing else of that taste than The Moving Units could be your new favorite band.