Customer Reviews

Evil Heat

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Manchester's Primal Scream are what hundreds of untalented L.A. bands aspire to be: A swaggering, smirking Molotov of fist pumping anthems and drug induced slow jams. It's the aural equivalent of a back alley knife fight between punk, glam, house, psychedelia, rock, and all out noise. And they make it sound so easy too. Well, in all honesty, if I could get Robert Plant (Led Something-Or-Other), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Jim Reid (Jesus And Mary Chain), and supermodel Kate Moss (!?) to pop into the studio one day and muck about on MY newest album, I'd think I was pretty frickin' cool too.

In the two and a half minute first single, "Miss Lucifer," the band effectively grabs you by your nether regions, squeezes tightly and politely asks "Do I have your attention yet?" It's a hyper-kinetic burst of sleazy techno-punk that makes you want to run around the room and break things. (It also marks the first time I ever used the "repeat one song" button on my CD player. I listened to it about five or six times in a row on the way home from work tonight. I'm lucky I made it home in one piece.)

Ringleader Bobby Gillespie screeches and yowls and snarls and poses his way through the album, getting by more on charisma and a good punk sneer than real singing ability. The lyrics are, admittedly, jingoistic and inconsequential, but are nonetheless fun. "Skull X" and "City" are relatively straightforward garage punk tunes. "The Lord Is My Shotgun" sports the distinctive harmonica work of Mr. Robert Plant and a drum machine beat reminiscent of NIN's "Closer" for a song that sounds like the middle ground between both bands. "Deep Hit Of Morning Sun" and "Autobahn 66" offer some chemically-inspired psychedelia as a change of pace from all the breakneck rocking out. "Rise" is a call to action set to a steady, almost military drumming while the delicate, organ-laden "Space Blues #2" ends the hedonism with a nice denouement.

If there's a weak link here, it's in the limited edition bonus DVD. The video for "Miss Lucifer" is awesome (Devil chicks dancing at a rave? A guy shooting lightning out of his hands? How can you go wrong?) and the video for "Autobahn 66" is solid, but the live tracks fall well short of what they could be. Gillespie looks bored out of his mind, standing stock still through uninspired renditions of "Skull X," "Rocks," and "Swastika Eyes." How anyone could perform this music without getting hyped up is beyond me. (A chemical cocktail before the show, perhaps?) But if you want to display the band in the best light possible, why include footage where the lead singer looks half asleep? The band all acquit themselves well enough, but it isn't until "Kowalski" and "Movin' On Up" that Bobby shows any signs of life at all. It's worth watching for the "Miss Lucifer" video, but it could have been much more.

At a moment in time where jock rock is waning and cooler-than-thou garage rock is on the rise, it's a pleasure to hear vets like Primal Scream offer a nice alternative to the same ol' same ol'.

Every once in a while, a new album comes along that perfectly nails the spirit of rock n' roll without bowing to the age-old guitar, bass, drums formula. Well, this my friends, is one of those. "Evil Heat" is chalk full of electronics, but shakes and grooves along like a futuristic version of the Rolling Stones with contributors from all across the musical spectrum.

With glitter and sas, Primal Scream delivers a sonically blistering testament to living and partying hard, only to wake up, shake it off, and start all over again. "Miss Lucifer" is trancey and pulsing and sounds almost as dangerous as anything The Jesus and Mary Chain ever recorded. Speaking of the JAMC, Jim Reid moonlights as lead vocalist on the slamming and slivering "Detroit," delivering a bucket full of piss and vinegar irreverence. Without warning, Robert Plant (yes, THAT Robert Plant) handily lends his sensual blues harmonica gymnastics to the distorted, techno breakout "The Lord Is My Shotgun." Although the Scream rarely rely on guitars, "City," featuring Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, proves that they can kick out the jams with the best of 'em. Featuring a rip roaring chorus, it's sure to blow some eardrums. Droning, sexy, and exuberant, Evil Heat is a truly underrated document as Primal Scream deftly embodies the dark side of Rock n' Roll.

The follow up to Exterminator, which it resembles more or less, I guess Primal Scream now can be seen as a leader in the movement of bands trying to be the MC5. I guess that they may have some more legitimacy since they played with Wayne Kramer on occasion. Things start off with "Miss Lucifer" which gets off to a good electro start. "Autobahn 66" tips a hat to their obsession with Kraftwerk. The two rockers are "City" and "Skull X" which are stand out tracks. The song "Rise" was called "Bomb The Pentagon" before pushing the envelope was becoming bad taste. There is more psychedelia on this recording that previous releases. People as diverse as Kate Moss and Robert Plant show up on various tracks. It doesn't matter in the end. It's a great record, but just another notch in the belt for a band who has rode every possible trend. People in America are still trying to figure out if Primal Scream is a jam band or the English Black Crowes. The American release includes a DVD so you can see the band for itself, which is a great live act, and bridges the gap between rock, soul and techno.

(www.freewilliamsburg.com)

Pretty basic stuff covered in electronic fuzz. It's cool sounding but not that challenging musically. But they do build on this basic bedrock with additional electronic layers and tangents which are kinda trippy. The songs themselves are rather repetitive. "Rise" and "Miss Lucifer" are particularly lukewarm and monotonous. A bit tired really. And the lyrics are pretentious and just try too hard to be cool, but still, they're easy to ignore.

Many will no doubt like the repetition and other aspects I'm criticising. Jim Reed of Jesus & Mary Chain sings on "Detroit" and, although that band made surf music with heavy guitar distortion (the early stuff at least), a lot of their music is basic, simple chord progressions (although my fav album of theirs HONEY'S DEAD has a lot more going for it). Anyway, if you like that band you might go for EVIL HEAT even though it's basically electro.

Things get better starting with "The Lord Is My Shotgun" which is cool and subversively intense. Robert Plant of all people blows some harp on it. None of this album is as good as Kevin Shields' My Bloody Valentine, but he contributes some cool acid-wash guitar to EVIL HEAT. And "Some Velvet Morning" and "Skull X" get a bit more musical, too.

Pretty good album, not bad, but not great.

It's been more than 2 years since Primal Scream released the intoxicating XTRMNTR and this follow up was well worth the wait. I was wondering if the band could expand from that release into something even greater...and they have.
This CD is crafted to perfection and blows away anything I've heard since XTRMNTR. Guests include Robert Plant, Kate Moss, Kevin Shields & Andy Weatherall (among others)and they help to add even more dimension to this great recording. Bobby Gillespie,Gary Mounfield,Robert Young, Andrew Innes,Martin Duffy and Darrin Mooney have really outdone themselves on Evil Heat.In addition to the 10 new songs they wrote for this you will also find a dark, haunting version of the old Lee Hazlewood song "Some Velvet Morning" with Kate Moss vocalizing ala Nancy Sinatra, although Nancy never sounded like this!
"The Lord Is My Shotgun" is reminiscent of something from XTRMNTR with bluesy harmonica added by Robert Plant. "Deep Hit Of The Morning Sun"opens the CD and is a fantastic song that gets you excited right from the start. You just know that this CD is going to be something special.This song is followed up by "Miss Lucifer", breakbeat filled with masterful electronic imagry. "Autobahn 66" shows that, as usual, Primal Scream aren't afraid to include instrumentals and this one fits right in with the Euro-techno style."Detroit", with Jim Reid adding vocals done to perfection, is a pounding thrill ride into electronica.
In fact, every song on "Evil Heat" is a thrill in itself, except for "Substance D", which sounds like a bored Spiritualized song. But I can overlook that anytime.
This is definately a 5 star offering and the best work Primal Scream has ever done, which to me is really saying something.Now, will they ever be able to top this ? Hard to say, but I can't wait for them to come through Los Angeles on the tour for this CD. In the meantime I'll just keep listening to this over and over and over. I'm a Primal Scream junkie and proud of it.

Several years have passed since XTRMNR, and now that Evil Heat has finally arrived, it doesn't feel quite as vital as it's predecessor. XTRMNR was a great album with some truelly jaw dropping moments such as Swastika Eyes, Accelerator and Shoot Speed/Kill Light. All classic songs, all produced and mixed in ways that sounded fresh, and their greatness seemed to surface after repeated listens. Like the album before that, the underated Vanishing Point, it was a real grower.

As for Evil Heat, well, there are scarceley any tracks on here that will be as awe inspiring as anything off those two albums. Obviousley, thats not the point. Primal Scream have always been about pushing the boundaries in music which climaxed with XTRMNR, and now that their duty has been done, they have every reason to pay tribute to themselves and to the music they love best- rock n' roll.

You could say that with each album the Scream have tried to capture a certain spirit in music, and with this, the spirit is rock n' roll. What makes this tribute so different and the reason why it actually works is because Primal Screams' (or mainly frontman Bobby Gillespie's) taste in rock n roll music is of the unique, real and uncompromised variety rather than the obvious (Oasis emulating the Beatles this is not). The result is a very dirty, sleazy and angry sounding record (not unlike the Stooges). There are tracks on here that are far more aggressive than anything on XTRMNTR (such as Rise, Detroit, Skull X and City) so if your worried that Primal Scream have wimped out, then think again.

Whereas XTRMNR had a well rounded set of songs with proper lyrical motivation (politics, the corruptancy of capitalism, the suffering of youth in the new world order) some of these feel like unfinished mixes of songs with no lyrical vitality that could have been so much better. The sonic envelope has still been pushed, but the melodies and deep substance of the songs is sadly missing (other than a few notable exceptions like Deep Hit of Morning Sun, Skull X and Space Blues #2). Still, a Primal Scream only half trying is far more intresting than any modern tradional rock band giving everything they've got and trying to be different, and Evil Heat...

Astonishing. Simply amazing. The guest players on this cd range from the obvious ( the Reid brother from Jesus and Mary Chain, for whom Bobbie Gillespie used to drum, singing lead on one cut )to the inspired ( Robert Plant's blistering harmonica wailing on another) to the down right bizarre ( guest vocalist Kate Moss has a serviceable voice with a limited range but somehow it works). Most track is radically different from the one that preceeded it, and the one that follows it, actually. This one is all over the place, but it hangs together very well. The full time addition of Kevin Shields on guitar was a smart move, as he adds not only incredible guitar textures and sounds to the mix, but offers a lot in the way of overall sound and production.

Primal Scream remains one of the most enduring and changing bands of the early Manchester sound. CD highlights (for me): Autobahn 66, Detroit Rise, Skull X, MIss Lucifer. Their emphasis on the dark beats and fuzzy guitars comes even more to light with the addition of Kevin Sheilds (My BLoody Valentine) and Jim Reid (Jesus and Mary Chain). The cd holds together quite well and the sense of pounding, danceable rock-etronica is what makes Primal Scream so great. When they are not channeling heroin era Rolling Stones and American 70's funk or Ride with fuzz boxes they are being purely P. Scream and that's a great thing. This cd has a continuity and a pace that lifts the dreamy side of My Bloody Valentine into a kind of psychedelic dance tract party disc while holding as both atmospheric and dance. What a blast! And this is what has always made Primal Scream such a great ensemble, that they can translate the Rolling Stones with gospel grooves to Chemical Brothers with soul. This is the way that rock and roll should evolve, and as rock and roll Evil Heat works as car music, work music and party music. This is a must have to any collection of the British dark wave and Manchester sound.
And the DVD? Enjoyable and lively. Nice to see closeups of all the guitar work. Kowalski is OK but studio version is much better, other than that it's what you would expect of them live. I just wish that there was a bit more charisma or that unknown something that would have been able or is able to push them over the top. This is one of the best Brit bands along the lines of Ride, Rolling Stones, Stone Roses, Cure (early work), Chameleons UK, My Bloody Valentine (without the daydreaming), Happy Mondays (on a good day), Electronic, the Echo And The Bunneymen side project Electrafixion, Johnny Marr Band, even some Stooges and MC5!, Tin Machine, then onto parts of Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method and Prodigy. So many bands, so much music, and Primal Scream touches on them all with the wild abandon of a music fan and a band in love with music. What more could you want from a group that loves music and loves to make music? Just wish that they could capture more attention in the US.

Deep Hit of Morning Sun: One of the best songs the band's ever done. It doesn't rock or roll; the only way I can describe it is as electronica gospel/hoodoo. Backwards guitars, a mystical vibe, hardly any drums, and a ghostly chorus. Very different, but also very good.

Miss Lucifer: Sounds like the Prodigy, or recent Nine Inch Nails. Lyrics-wise, this could be one of Primal Scream's Stones-type rockers, but the synthesizers give it a different vibe.

Autobahn 66: One of the best tracks on the album. More synthesizers, and, like the previous two tracks, not much guitar work. It's like a mixture of krautrock and electro-pop...could you call it krautpop?

Detroit: Hard and heavy electronica. Sounds more like the Prodigy than Primal Scream. Features Jesus & Mary Chain's Jim Reid.

Rise: Sounds like an outtake from NIN's The Fragile. Apparently this was recorded right after XTRMNTR was completed, and was originally titled "Bomb the Pentagon." Wisely, the name was changed for album release. This also sounds like "Exterminator," from XTRMNTR, but without the added effects. This track kind of thumps along without changing the beat or adding anything new, which detracts from its power. The lyrics are rehashed XTRMNTR paranoia. Still, not a terrible song, just not a great one.

The Lord is My Shotgun: Sounds like something the Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones would've recorded if they'd gotten access to modern-day recording equipment. Twisted electro-blues. Pretty cool. Features Robert Plant on a distorted harmonica.

City: Sounds like a combination of "Accelerator," from XTRMNTR, and "Medication," from Vanishing Point. One of the best garage rock tracks Primal Scream's done. Has a great, heavy vibe, and gets even better when Kevin Shields slams his foot down on his distortion pedal, after the chorus. Would be a perfect choice for single release.

Some Velvet Morning: Another of my favorite tracks on the album. A very funky, electronic beat, with Bobby Gillespie's treated vocals whispering the verse, and a silky female chorus (provided by Kate Moss) singing a counterpoint to his lyrics.

Skull X: More over the edge Stooges-type rock; it's possibly TOO over the edge. Screeching feedback and electronic noises are mashed so heavily over the song that the basic rhythm is nearly obscured. You're left with a loud, chaotic, ear-damaging experience. But that's what rock music's all about, right?

A Scanner Darkly: Instrumental electronica with a dash of melody. Almost sounds like a reworking of David Bowie's "Crystal Japan," but maybe that's just my imagination.

Space Blues #2: The album's benediction; another electronica gospel track: mellow, moving, and melancholy. Sounds very much like something Spiritualized would do. A great ending for a good album.

Overall, I would've liked to have seen a more aggro-rock/electronica hybrid, as on XTRMNTR, but one of the great things about the Scream Team is they change with each release. The band's been known to re-use B-sides on albums, and I think they should've put "When the Kingdom Comes," from the Accelerator single, on here.

I was hoping this album would be comprised of some dirty funk, instead of cold electronica, but as straight-up electronica albums go, Evil Heat's up there with the best of them. It isn't Primal Scream's best album (if only they could one day combine their early Big Star-type sound with their current electro-rock stance), but it's still better than most anything else out there.

Some critics dismissed Evil Heat as a repeat of Primal Scream's techno-metal opus XTRMNTR. That's partly fair: Evil Heat basically sounds like a collection of XTRMNTR B-sides. Like most B-sides, these songs reuse ideas from the earlier album and either oversimplify them entirely (in the bad moments), or bring out particular aspects that were less prominent before (in the good moments).

The best of the good moments is the first track "Deep Hit Of Morning Sun," which surely belongs on any list of top Primal Scream songs. Although Kevin Shields was still officially a member of the band when Evil Heat came out, only a couple of songs on it sound like he might have contributed, and this is one of them. It's a glitchy, droning guitar mire with a chillingly paranoid vibe. For once, Bobby Gillespie's weak voice actually sounds completely in its element, as he does his best disembodied moan on the chorus. XTRMNTR buried these queasy soundscapes under noise and break-beats, but they're mighty effective as the focus. The layered guitar drone is a Shields signature, but it's much more rhythmic and moody here than anything on Loveless.

The album might have been really fascinating if it had focused on this sound. Unfortunately, it switches gears frequently. Sometimes it sounds like it's going for an XTRMNTR-like aggro-dance approach, which unfortunately sounds very underwhelming the second time around. See, the great thing about XTRMNTR was that it was fully credible as a techno album, with modern and highly sophisticated beats. But this level of detail is absent from Evil Heat. "Miss Lucifer" and "Rise" are extremely simple, with stomping 4/4 beats and two-note alternating synth lines, sounding exactly like a rock band with a drum machine.

You can always tell when Primal Scream run out of ideas, because they always fall back on imitating the Stones and Stooges. Late in the album, there are a couple of songs ("City" and "Skull X") that are very similar to "Medication" and "Motorhead" from Vanishing Point. Somehow they were able to integrate their blues-rock fixation with their dance leanings on Screamadelica, but not since then. On Evil Heat, these two songs sound out of place and make the album sound incoherent, as a B-side collection might be.

Still, let's try to be positive: there are also a couple of songs that explore the murky drone of "Deep Hit Of Morning Sun." One is "The Lord Is My Shotgun," which has a similarly weird and queasy vocal, backed by more off-kilter drones, as well as an outstanding harmonica part. More electronica bands should use the harmonica, it can sound really cool when distorted. The other noteworthy song is a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "Some Velvet Morning." The latter is a real surprise. It's a duet with Kate Moss, who cannot sing, so it really shouldn't work...yet it does. Her weak voice is saved by the echoing production, which deliberately muffles and distorts her vocals. This creates a spaced-out, unreal feeling in the chorus, which is a great match with the elastic bass line and the understated dance beat.

Things are rounded out with the requisite pair of instrumentals, "Autobahn 66" and "A Scanner Darkly." Both are decent, though not as impressive as "Blood Money" or "MBV Arkestra." They are produced in a very clean, streamlined way, without the dense layering of the aforementioned tracks. On the other hand, the melodies in "A Scanner Darkly" are quite pretty, with an effective build-up of background synths, making for a nice head-nodding track.

I find Primal Scream to be really inconsistent. Of their many albums, only Screamadelica and XTRMNTR really come together, in my view, and should be enough for casual fans. But if those albums intrigued you enough to go a little deeper, Evil Heat is the next step, thanks to the original sound explored in "Deep Hit Of Morning Sun" and a few other songs.