Primal Scream - "Dirty Hits" CD

Nobody would accuse Bobby Gillespie of being a great songwriter, as evidenced by this rather uneven collection of singles spanning (most of) his group's career. But he's certainly never been afraid to experiment and take his music into ever-evolving directions, and to varying degrees of success. Starting with the late-80's era Manchester-fop-dance of 'Loaded' and the neo-60's Rolling Stones impersonations of 'Movin' On Up', Gillespie's certainly been influenced by drug culture. The Orb remix of 'Higher Than The Sun' is positively lethargic (rather than lysergic), before 'Rocks' brings on some true swagger. '(I'm Gonna) Cry Myself Blind' harkens back to Gillespie's days in the Jesus & Mary Chain, with it's simple, almost pastoral sad bastard vibe. 'Kowalski', precisely halfway through the disc, is where the real forward movement begins. It's a rough cut-dub that's a signal of the deconstruction that would soon follow.
Amping it up, the songs from the incredible (and landmark) 'XTMNTR' CD of 2000 take control. 'Swastika Eyes' is a blistering, scathing techno-dub attack, and 'Kill All Hippies' is pure funk laced with bitter cynicism and vitriol with it's memorable refrain of 'You've got the money, I've got the soul'. 'Shoot Speed/Kill Light' is a noise-infested shoegazer-punk snarl, like a modern-day Suicide meets My Bloody Valentine - believable as MBV's Kevin Shields produced this one. 'Miss Lucifer' is another techno-terror track that could be the Stooges and Suicide rolled into a modern electronica blender. 'Some Velvet Morning' electrifies the great Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra gem, and closing it all out, 'Autobahn 66' is a pleasant electro-pop homage to Kraftwerk. Final verdict? First half bleah, second half prime. Invest in a copy of 'XTRMNTR' and get most of the essentials right there. (Astralwerks US)

Primal Scream website

Resplandor - "Pleamar" CD

Some rather superb and deep shoegaze sounds from, of all places, Lima, Peru! Boasting of production and mixing by one Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), these songs shimmer and drone like long-long cousins of Slowdive's prime material. And while they aren't as innovative as Slowdive (it IS 15 years later, of course), Resplandor are just about as good. Take that as some serious praise.

And, like that influential group, the vocals here are little more than a series of echoes, coos, and breathy 'baaaah's. That said, I do detect some English lyrics (maybe), but in reality, who cares? The music is simply heavenly, drifty, melodic, and soothing in a womblike way. The title track singes, sizzles, and burns with heavily-effected guitars while epic drones encase the whole sound into a cohesive whole, and the melody oozes out. This is a must-have for anyone who laments the lack of new material from My Bloody Valentine.

'Boreal' incorporates some glitchy electronics into the mix, and effectively places Resplandor outside the realm of purely 'retro' acts and nudges them into the future. I've seldom heard such a convincing melding of ambient guitar washes and swollen drone/noise. I'll be investigating this band further. I just want to turn it up loud and drift off (and away). (Automatic Entertainment)


Replandor main site
Resplandor networking site