RATTLE THOSE FOUNDATIONS (Xtrmntr - Primal Scream)

Member Name: sjen5en

Product:	Xtrmntr - Primal Scream
Date:	30/10/01 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Shoot speed/kill light, Swastika Eyes, Keep Your Dreams

Disadvantages: Pills

XTRMNTR

Primal Scream have tried everything. ‘Screamadelica’, their most influencial and critically acclaimed album, brought us tripped out, blissfully chilled but also a little self-indulgent, soulful tunes. ‘Give Out But Don’t Give In’ charted their failed voyage into the world of rock, and ‘Vanishing Point’ and ‘Echo Dek’ showed that they’ve learned how to work that sampling machine to the maximum. But before you listen to this album, you should forget about what you expect to hear.

‘Kill All Hippies’ opens with a sample from the film ‘Out of the Blue’ and readily speeds up to a blend of big beats and dancey guitar riffs. 4/5

‘Accelerator’ is the most faced paced track, with distorted guitars and shouting lyrics, but proves to be weak when compared with what follows... 3.5/5

The pulsating bass riff of ‘Exterminator’ only slightly lightens the tone a little – the dance orientation of the album begins to show through some more in the chorus. 4/5

‘Swastika Eyes (Jagz Kooner Mix)’ has stomping beats and scathing lyrics that will shake the foundations. 5/5

‘Pills’ sounds more like the Beastie Boys, as Bobby Gillespie raps the same lyrics over and over again. Instead of sounding repetitive, the song gradually builds up superbly until it goes over the top with the anger and swearing that will leave you reaching for the skip button… 3/5

The instrumental ‘Blood Money’ calms things down only slightly before building up to a jazzy, blues style track with thundering bass played throughout, underneath thumping drums and a bit of trumpet that will eventually build into an energetic and blinding climax. 4/5

The David Holmes produced ‘Keep Your Dreams’ is the slowest track, with delicate xylophone played below Gillespie’s gentle lyric
s – something that has been pretty much missing so far. An excellent, dreamy track. 5/5

One of the forgettable tracks is ‘Insect Royalty’ which opens with bleepy noises and distorted effects before Gillespie’s tight lyrics leads us to the chaotic chorus. 3/5

If you have ‘Vanishing Point’, you might recall this track, ‘MBV Arkestra’ which is basically an abstract remix of the noisy ‘If They Move Kill ‘Em’. The track opens with a fast paced tribal sound of bongos before leading into improvised trumpets. The track builds up more and more before the stomping beats and chaotic remixing kicks in. Possibly a little bit too long this one. 4/5

‘Swastika Eyes (Chemical Brothers Mix)’ starts of in true Chemical Brothers style with a simple escalating beat that has your foot tapping wildly before too long. Although the track has the same lyrics as the previous version, it sounds completely different as the Chems bring their own different sound to the proceedings with their usual tricks and effects. Not as good as Jagz Kooner’s version though. 4.5/5

‘Shoot Speed/Kill Light’ rounds things off perfectly with the speeding drums and bass, and the simple distorted lyrics. The guitar riff is amazing and energetic yet soothing compared to the chaotic songs that proceeded it. 5/5

Overall a great album that won’t please all of their current fans, but Primal Scream definitely know how to produce a fresh and energetic album that eludes all expectations with its angry stomping beats.

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