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Rating: The seventh studio work by The Prodigy, "No Tourists" arrives three years after the previous "The Day Is My Enemy".
Conceived over the course of twelve months by leader Liam Howlett, the new work consists of ten tracks for only thirty-seven minutes of duration; it thus favors compactness and immediacy, an approach perhaps stemming from Howlett's initial desire to release only EPs and no longer albums, an idea that was eventually abandoned given the unexpected and renewed excellent creative streak of the British band's leader.
Howlett himself has described the new work as "full of Prodigy aggression, but expressed in a different way". And this is only partially true, as we are faced with an album in the exact style of the British trio, particularly in episodes like "We Live Forever" and "Champions Of London", which retrace (in an undoubtedly pleasant manner) the rawer Prodigy of the pre-"Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned" period. Techno, rave, and big beat, therefore, with slight adjustments here and there to refresh what is now an absolute and undisputed trademark.
The lead single "Need Some 1" opens the album brilliantly with its circular structure, introducing us to the devastating double "Light Up The Sky"/"We Live Forever". The title track is perhaps the only less frenetic moment, since then the album picks up again with "Fight Fire With Fire" (a collaboration with Ho99o9, while the concluding "Give Me A Signal" features contributions from Barns Courtney) to then flirt with dubstep in the pounding "Timebomb Zone" and venture into more refined territories with slightly smoother angles ("Resonate").
"No Tourists" thus continues in the vein of the latest good performances of the British band, thereby confirming "Always Outnumbered..." as the only real misstep in a career that has made them absolute and unique survivors of a genre now off the radar of today's mainstream circuit.
The Prodigy confirm they don't care and continue on their own path, with more than appreciable results.
Best track: Champions Of London
Tracklist
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By Omega Kid
No Tourists... is substantially better than TDIME, the tracks are more inspired and manage to shake off, albeit not completely, that truly annoying aura of self-parody.
No Tourists, a maxi EP disguised as an album, hastily packaged to bulk up the band’s playlist in anticipation of their tour.
