Riot City Blues (buy)
Primal Scream
Sony
By Kevin Madigan

www.primalscream.net

Riot City Blues blasts off, thunderous with attitude, charging into a raucous series of defiant statements in song. In less capable hands, Primal Scream's stance would come across as empty posturing, but the band has lost none of its grave energy since the beginning of its existence in 1984. Thank god for small mercies.

Formed by Bobby Gillespie, drummer of The Jesus and Mary Chain, the band signed to Creation Records and released their landmark album, Screamadelica in 1991, winning the very first Mercury Prize in the process.

The new album's opening track, and first single, Country Girl, takes its hat off to The Clash. Little Death sounds like Jefferson Airplane. Really. We're Gonna Boogie could have come from the mighty pen of John Lee Hooker. Dolls reminds me of T Rex. A bonus cut is a punky take on John Lennon\rquote s Gimme Some Truth.

Lest you think these guys merely pander to their heroes, rest assured that is not the case. If anything, Primal Scream paved the way for other acts such as The Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses. Indeed, the band has always been associated somewhat with the Manchester sound, despite its Scottish origins. Regardless of this mishmash of sound, the results are highly gratifying.