Primal Scream 'Chaosmosis' review

Images: Primal Scream 

While many fans expected the 25th anniversary celebrations of Screamadelica to mark some kind of full stop for Primal Scream, the intervening years have seen the band re-assert themselves in a way as unlikely as it's been satisfying.

2013's More Light saw them turn in an exhilarating comeback, full of classic Scream tropisms and bold political statements and now their 11th album, Chaosmosis witnesses another shift as Bobby Gillespie and co change gear again and morph somewhat surprisingly into a slinky electro pop outfit.

With many of its songs hovering around the three minute mark, Chaosmosis' restless need to stay credible and relevant sees the band collaborate with hip names such as Haim and Sky Ferreira, while still retaining enough of the familiar to keep their army of ageing hedonists on board. Few of them will feel uncomfortable with the Technique-era New Order-isms of 'Feeling Like A Dream Again', while even 'When The Blackout Meets The Fallout's scronking sax recalls nothing more than some of Xterminator's more out there moments.

Unsurprisingly for a band who have never been ashamed to have hits, when they get the hooks right they sound superb. 'Where The Light Gets In' explodes into one of their finest choruses with Gillespie and Ferreira's line trading sounding far better than the novelty of their previous Kate Moss link up. '100% of Nothing' meanwhile manages to channel the mid-eighties glories of recent tour mates The Cult.

Naturally for a band who often totter on the edge of parody there are moments when they do overstep the mark: opener 'Trippin' On Your Love' is as cliched as its title suggests, with its use of Italian house pianos, a drum loop straight from 'Loaded' and Gillespie imploring us to "c'mon," it sounds like something the Soup Dragons might have rejected circa 1990 for being "a bit obvious". 

All is forgotten though, as 'Autumn In Paradise' closes Chaosmosis in beautifully wistful fashion, with Gillespie turning in an uncharacteristically sensitive lyric over waves of lush synths which seem to recall both the Scream's glory days and those of the second summer of love itself. 

Chaosmosis is not without its flaws then, but then that's often been one of the many appeals of Primal Scream's uneven and chaotic career. But their undeniable appetite to try something new has resulted in more hits than misses on this album and 30 years since they first unleashed 'Velocity Girl' that feels enough.

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