Primal Scream, Xtrmntr (Astralwerks)
It's amazing to think that when Glasgow's Primal Scream introduced its fusion of rave and rock with Screamadelica, Nirvana hadn't even hit it big yet. Perhaps energized by the fact that their British compatriots are wallowing in a simpering pool of a creative lull, Primal Scream reckoned it was time to kick out the jams once more and shake things it up. Assisted by Bernard Sumner and My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields, Bobby Gillespie and company have whipped up a batch of songs that recreate the sense of urgency, anger and importance that one might have felt when punk first broke. Never mind that the messages behind "Kill All Hippies" and "Swastika Eyes" are indecipherable -- we still haven't figured out what The Sex Pistols' "Bodies" was all about either. XTRMTR is Primal Scream turbo-charged, their Stones fixation replaced by MC5 and The Stooges, all brutish beats and feedback-drenched guitars, topped off with the surprisingly free flowing jazz in "Blood Money." Dan The Automator does a custom job on the bottom end for "Pills," and "Accelerator" is an anarchic free-for-all, repeating the mantra, "Shoot/Speed/Kill/Light." Makes you just wanna go out and be naughty doesn't it? Maybe not as noble as Rage Against The Machine, but a lot more fun, and certainly more nourishing for the soul than, well, there's really nobody who can quite compare to the newly trashy, hard-rocking but supremely funky Primals.
