If ever there was an epitome of timeless music, it's the eclectic, fervent collection of hits by Old boy Gillespie and his accompanying well-traveled chums. Consistent in churning out classic upon classic , they may not be, but it's a testament to their sound that when listening to the likes of Screamadelica and Evil Heat, the music still seems fresh, still coming across as new in its manifestation. Impregnated with layer upon layer of endless eclecticism, taking in a whole host of many differing and juxtaposed influences and incorporating them into something entirely unique and refreshing, Primal Scream can be credited with defining a much cherished genre, all of their own doing- music to get blitzed, dance and shag to!
However, that aside, the Scream have never made things easy for us, and one thinks that is just the very way they like it! This album, like the 2006 release "Riot City Blues," will divide. Following on from the aforementioned title, " Beautiful Future" rides the crest of en edgy, stomping-rock wave- sonic in its sound, elegantly soaked in floor-fillers and enough sexy swerve to shake a rhythm stick at. Coupled with the numerous belting hits, come fleeting, niggling flaws. Still, through all the years hanging on their peak in an acid trip of unbridled and unmatched unpredictability, they've impressively managed to fend off any unwanted air of inevitability that may have found itself wanting to intrude upon their music. However, that said, where once we were treated with the not knowing what was next; the everything and anything, we now know to expect a very different brand of music to the one we originally fell in love with. The music is still as solid as ever, but the songs are , staunch fans will argue, well, just not as exciting, not as fresh, not as impressive. As said, it's a niggling divider, this one.
After several chaotic years during which the band became everything from retro rockers to noise terrorists to country troubadours, Primal scream have spat out pop music to the baying masses. We open with the fluent ringing of church bells and up-beat prediction that a beautiful future lies ahead of us all, albeit in a grotesquely distorted world. Who better than to supply the soundtrack, eh? "Can't Go Back" follows nicely after, zooming in with raunchy, zip-lined rock n roll, packing enough punch to flatten all young pretenders. "Suicide Bomb" sharks in next, and here's where we slow things down- Ah yes, sludgy, garage rawk throw your stranglehold over us, obliterate us with sexual noise and leave us in a dizzy heap. "Zombie Man" and "Beautiful Summer" aptly follow suit. Yes, this is certainly looking up. And Then we're brought back down to earth with a shuddering blow. Now we really are strewn in a heap. A disappointing sign of things to come.
Lovefoxx duets with Gillespie on " I love to Hurt ( you love to be hurt)," an electronic fusion of sounds seemingly thrown in to stir things up, to veer off the rocking road into a ditch of despondency - never could a song-title seem more ironically apt. Unexpectedly, we're, um, "treated" with a Fleetwood Mac cover next. They actually do quite a nice job of it, but it's lost on this record, unfortunately. It's starting to become bizarre at this stage. From rock-stompers and snake-sliding grooves, to a crawling dose of duetted electronica and the slow covering of slide-guitars, "Beautiful Future,", for some bizarre reason or another, finds itself meandering from a solid collection of searing jigs into a manifestation of mediocrity falling on the floor.When it finds itself on its feet once again, last order has long since passed. A few decent numbers lie slack at the albums close, but the cruel intersection through its belly has made it all but impossible for things to be made up.
If this was a release by any new band permeating through the soundscapes of our modern times, one would like to think that it would be celebrated with the appreciation that it would deserve. This being Primal Scream, this means something totally different. As music lovers, we are, at times, too fierce in clinging to the past, too damn stubborn to take something for what it is, not what it isn't, and only too eager to openly criticise and pick holes, instead of commending and praising a beauty that lies lurking deep neath the surface of anything in question. But who can blame us? It's hard to shake off something we choose to hold tight, just like it's only too easy to throw away something we were already reluctant to take. Ultimately, "Beautiful Future" isn't a bad album at all. Indeed, you'd be hard-pushed to hear a better record all year. Perhaps we're all just too lazy to move our arses out of a beautiful past........
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