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Locate, subvert, ExterminatePrimal Scream's War on AuthorityAfter being without an American label for the past three years, Primal Scream return with a vengeance on Exterminator, their first album for Astraiwerks. But that doesn't mean that the band are returning to the dub-dosed electronica of 1991's Screamadelica. There still may be a party going on, but Primal Scream aren't popping Ecstasy and donning silly hats. Instead, the band have fanned their banked aggression, and turned out a raw, righteously angry condemnation of the British political system and apathy in general. It's a rarity for a hand to refuel this late in their career, but the Primals' sixth album is a revelation to both the band and to their fans. In the past two years, the Primals have been reborn with the addition of former Stone Roses bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield showing that h~not Ian Brown-is the Resurrection. Besides the permanent addition of Mounfield, My Bloody Valentine's spiritual leader Kevin Shields not only guests on Exterminator, he's signed on to play guitar on Primal Scream's current American tour. The last time Primal Scream appeared in the U.S. was during their drug-drenched sojourn supporting Depeche Mode. The 1994 Devotional Tour wreaked psychic damage on both bands, sending Depeche singer David Gahan to the brink of suicide-something he almost succeeded at two years later. While Primals frontman Bobby Gillespie is hardly walking the straight and narrow path, he seems to burn with a brighter incandescence and a sense of purpose than he ever did before. Whether he's joining forces with Asian Dub Foundation to raise funds to help free political prisoner Satpal Ram or worrying about the fate of 30,000 miners who were made redundant when mines were shut down in northern England, Gillespie is offering his help and participating in demonstrations. The bone-thin singer claims he's always been politically motivated, but recently he's channeled that bristling anger into his music. "We were always angry, but because we were young guys trying to find our way as musicians and songwriters, it didn't come to the forefront," he explains in a thick Scottish accent. "It takes a long time to find a voice, and during the last two albums, I think we did. We've always had these beliefs; that's why we got into punk rock." Inspired by the rage of the then-johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols, Gillespie says much of the motivation for what he's trying to accomplish is best summed up by an interview Lydon did for the Sex Pistols' documentary The Filth And The Fur~ "'You don't write a song like "God Save The Queen" because you hate English people. You write the song because you love English people and you hate the way they've been treated.' I got that immediately; it was beautiful, and he's right. That's where all the anger was coming from." -Jaan Uhelszki Originally appeared in Alternative Press July 00 Copyright © Alternative Press. Back |
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