Primal Scream [Album Covers]

1987 Sonic Flower Groove SR	1989 Primal Scream SR	1991 Movin’ On Up S	1991 Screamadelica SR
1992 Dixie-Narco EP	1994 Give Out But Don’t Give Up SR	1997 Vanishing Point SR	1997 Echo Dek SR
2000 XTRMNTR SR	2002 Evil Heat SR	2003 Live in Japan S	2003 Dirty Hits R
2004 Shoot Speed (More Dirty Hits)	2006 Riot City Blues SR	2007 Screamadelica / Give Out but Dont Give Up	2008 Beautiful Future SR
2011 Black to Comm	2011 Screamadelica Live S	2012 Autonomia EP S	2013 More Light - Live
$[ 21 / 25 ] 2013 More Light Primal Scream always refracted the past through the prism of the present, turning hero worship into something resembling high art. It wasnt always this way, not at the start, when they were part of the delicate, brittle C86 scene, nor was it true when they exploded in a brilliant blast of acid house on Screamadelica. The art came later, after they halted their ascendency via the Stones-aping Give Out But Dont Give Up, a move that in retrospect seems to be an important final foundation within the construction of Primal Scream but at the time seemed odd, halting, flying in the face of Cool Britannia. Bobby Gillespie and crew rubbed shoulders with the fellow Creation labelmates Oasis but Primal Scream never belonged to Brit-pop; they dropped out and tuned in, dabbling with radical politics, dub, and free jazz, pursuing that path until they once again acted like a rock band on Riot City Blues, an album, like Give Out, that seems like a waystation that, along with 2008s rangier Beautiful Future, feels like a necessary detour for the group to refuel. More Light flaunts all of the benefits of their recharging. It is one of those odd Primal Scream albums where they pull it all together -- roping in the hard rock, free jazz, club beats, flowery psychedelia, the worship of the Stooges, and a devotion to avant-garde cinema -- building upon the past in an attempt to get closer to the future. Their own history is not exempt from examination: they flirt with the aggro aggression of XTRMNTR and Screamadelicas "Movin on Up" is explicitly quoted on the closer, "Its Alright, Its OK." That tune is placed at the end of the album, concluding the album on a bit of a triumphant note, a tone thats rather appropriate for More Light. Primal Scream never shy away from darkness here, either in their lyrics or music, but More Light percolates with bright, incessant inventiveness, as if they are gripped by the tantalizing possibilities of their creations, and have yet to give up on the future, despite all the bleakness that surrounds them. Occasionally, that darkness creeps into view -- "Elimination Blues," with vocals from Robert Plant, churns its groove until there seems to be no escape; "Relativity" reaches a cacophonous crescendo, never slipping back to a comfort zone -- but what sticks with More Light is that sense of adventure, how it wrestles with the future by using the rules of the past. Maybe its a losing game -- as the years slip by, situationist politics, avant-garde art, and psychedelic pop all fade from popular consciousness -- but the brilliant thing about More Light is how it suggests that the struggle itself is empowering.$ 2013 More Light SR	2016 Chaosmosis SR	2017 Mixomatosis	2018 Give Out But Dont Give Up: The Original Memphis Recordings S
2019 Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll: The Singles S