The Primitives
Spin-O-Rama
“Spin-O-Rama” 7”
(Elefant)
The slow
re-introduction to the Primitives
has finally culminated in a full length album of new material! After eons away, they returned to action in
2011 with an EP (see review here), then
graced us with an interesting covers record in 2012 (review here) and finally they teased us with
the fun way pre-LP single, “Lose the Reason,” back in February of 2013 (review here).
They have always been a stellar singles band and luckily, “Lose the
Reason” is included here.
It’s
interesting to listen to new music from this band now. I don’t know how to quantify my feelings for
them. I was a fan of theirs ever since
hearing the spiky and endlessly addictive “Crash” back in 1988 and loved a lot
of their songs, but never found their albums to be strong from start to
finish. Plus, I don’t think I fully
realized back then how much of a 60s influence they had – it was simply
somewhat disguised by speed and buzz in most of the songs. It was the speed, brevity and feedback that
caught me initially, so when they bring out their full blown 60s pop songs, I
find myself missing the electricity.
About half of this new album sounds as if it were actually written and
recorded in the UK
back in 1965-66. The songs fronted by
songwriter/guitarist Paul Court
especially capture this vibe. “Wednesday
World” relies on a spiraling rhythm, scratchy strumming guitars, Court’s mellow
vocals, and drums relegated to the left side of the mix, but I have to say it
sounds pretty fresh anyway. Court
decides to drop out on his breezy anti-9 to 5-work ode “Working Isn’t Working,”
which is a sentiment I can definitely get behind (“I like to sit around”), but
it’s actually the liveliness of the
buzzing guitars and heavy pounding of the drums that emphasizes the chorus that
sparks this song. Less effective is the
trippy (though, thankfully super brief) “Purifying Tone” and the okay, but
somewhat aimless instrumental “Velvet
Valley.” Primary singer Tracy Tracy takes the lead on a couple of other Summer of Love
style psychedelic pop songs with “Follow the Sun Down” and the bouncy
“Dandelion Seed.”
Thankfully,
the Primitives have not abandoned their edge and they’ve clearly retained their
strength for creating fantastic timeless pop songs in three minutes or
less. Lead off song, title track and
single, “Spin-O-Rama,” is every bit the quality of “Crash” and quite
reminiscent as well, with its cleanly picked guitar opening leading into a
chugging number with handclaps and a serious hook (The single B-Side is the
trippy, but really fun “Up So High,” making the single a must-have). Likewise, the sheer fun whoosh of the organ
in “Lose the Reason” places a thrill down the spine. Meanwhile, “Hidden in the Shadows” allows
Tracy Tracy to urge us the look for our own truths and directions and avoid
being “tricked by a trend / fooled by a fad” with the same kind of distant
disgust at what she’s seeing as she sang in the old favorite “Sick of It” way
back in the late 80s. It’s the song
“Petals,” however, that has me truly realizing why I love this band and can
never ignore them. The rush and buzz and
energy is in full bloom inside this treat, which rivals any of their great
singles from the original days till now.
I absolutely cannot understand how songs like this cannot be huge
worldwide hits, but what do I know?
Have a truly
resolved my feelings for this band, or this album? I’m not sure.
It’s a mixed bag, but overall with such great highs, it’s damn nice to
listen to new material from this group!
It also helps that I have grown up and have a better understanding of
both their influences and their massive influence. Treat yourself and enjoy.
The Primitives "Spin-O-Rama"
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