Primal Scream
Beautiful Future

THE REVIEW

The impression that enormous potential resided within the Jesus & Mary Chain—albeit partially unexpressed—is an opinion that, I suppose, was not confined solely to my own quarters. The half-masterpiece debut "Psychocandy" was followed by a good post-dark-wave album like "Darklands," but the Reid brothers gradually lost their way, squandering their talent on records that were far from transcendent. What a pity!

Bobby Gillespie, their part-time drummer, essentially left the ship right after "Psychocandy" when the sailing waters were still somewhat safe. In truth, his Primal Scream project in 1987 didn't start off well, focused on a sort of 60s/70s revivalist psych-pop-rock, only to then veer toward a dance-electronic crossover with the 1991 masterpiece "Screamadelica." Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, so much so that today Bobby Gillespie, with eight albums under his belt and increasingly lanky, is heading towards fifty. Unlike the defunct J & MC, however, his Primal Scream are still in the game, capable of constantly renewing themselves and embarking on eclectic and original paths and, why not, sometimes disorienting as in the case of the controversial "Give Out But Don't Give Up" and the recent "Riot City Blues."

The fundamental issue in evaluating an album like "Beautiful Future" can be likened to having to weigh the work of any other substantial band that's been around for over twenty years. What can one expect, and more importantly, what should one expect? No revolution at hand, but neither just a routine album. The whole thing could be tersely summarized as a kind of compendium of the twenty-year history of Primal Scream.

It ranges from the joyful and lively opening of the title track to rock abrasions like new (not really) 21st-century Rolling Stones in "Can't Go Bainck" and "Necro Hex Blues", from the danceable and radio-friendly "Uptown" to the dandy groove in Pulp style of "Glory Of Love" (offered in two versions, no less), from the relentless darkness of "Suicide Bomb" (Oasis would spill blood to write such a track) to a "Beautiful Summer" that follows in the Stone Roses' footsteps (did bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield bring it as a dowry?), ending with the electronic regurgitation of "I Love To Hurt (You Love To Be Hurt)" more akin to Dave Gahan than to "Screamadelica." By the way: there was talk of a return to certain post-dance-electronic sounds of their acclaimed masterpiece, but personally, I found very few points of contact.

The inspiration, indeed, is not always that of the best days, just listen to the rather inconclusive black-boogie "Zombie Man", not to mention the slow-motion cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Over & Over", which is outside their target, but these are almost inevitable mannerist sins for someone like Bobby who boasts a career spanning over twenty years. Lastly, note the contributions from Josh Homme, Lovefoxx, and the dispensable one from Linda Thompson.

Paraphrasing the title, the future may not be wonderful (in this regard, listen to the lyrics that are inversely proportional to the optimistic omen of the title track), but the present, if not astounding, for now, is quite reassuring. On Primal Scream's musical side, obviously.