Primal Scream
Vanishing Point
Reprise Records
Release Date: July 15, 1997
Once upon a time, Primal Scream was a band suffering from schizophrenia. One minute they were Madchester hop, the next they were London howl. And while Screamadelica gelled like so much pistachio pudding, British music fans couldn't help but wonder if it was a Happy Mondays fluke -- one great album shining above a sea of mediocrity. Its follow-up, Give Out But Don't Give Up, was a party, but the pints went dry early. It was certainly not the answer to the question at hand.
Wonder no more. Vanishing Point pulls together rock 'n'roll swagger with rave-up bliss and cranks out a Dali-esque ten-legged party animal. One part Stone Roses (no, really! former bassist Mani is the latest addition to the gang), two parts Rolling Stones, and two parts electrorock (think Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Aphex Twin), Vanishing Point finds Primal Scream at the top of their game and thumbing their noses at the purists.
The Scream has distilled a dozen different musical grains into a 200-proof moonshine that'll burn the hair out of your nose. From the liquid soul of opening track "Burning Wheel," to the rumbling, fractured noire of first single "Kowalski," to the balls-out pout 'n' strut of "Medication," the Scream have loaded these tracks with more ingredients than a pack of smokes. The 70s action-flick wacka-wacka of "If They Move, Kill 'Em," the lazy feedback atmospherics of "Out of the Void," and of course, the drug-addled daze of "Trainspotting" combine for a better primer on the stateof UK music than any self-appointed Q guru.Try not to turn it up too loud. Try not to wriggle about in your chair. Try not to worship the pure, if not purist, genius of Primal Scream. And when you fail, don't feel too bad. This thing is bigger than all of us.
-- Lindy Powell
powell@outersound.com
