Friday, May 12, 2006

They're baaack!


Or rather, he's back. With only their fifth album in 28 years, Scritti Politti make Kraftwerk seem like workaholics. But never mind the quantity, feel the quality; most groups are lucky to make one masterpiece in their lives, while Green Gartside (for it is he) has managed three thus far (Songs To Remember, Cupid and Psyche 85 and Anomie & Bonhomie: we'll overlook Provision, his third album), and White Bread, Black Beer, to be released in early June, looks like it might shape up to be another, judging by the two tracks I've heard so far. Hell, even Simon Reynolds is in a froth.

Equally exciting is the news that Green has been playing live recently, breaking a 26 year duck that stemmed from an onstage panic attack in 1980. First Jandek, now Green Gartside...presumably the odds are now shortened on the Syd Barrett 2007 world tour...

Apparently, this is a back-to-basics effort, and appropriately enough, it's going to be released by Rough Trade, Scritti's original label. 2006 finds Green (now pushing 50 and recently married) in a very upbeat and positive frame of mind; would another album before 2010 be totally out of the question? The single, The Boom Boom Bap is out in mid-June, but you can stream it here.



Buy White Bread Black Beer.

Bibbly-O-Tek blog.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sublime track. The voice takes me right back to being a teenager and being mesmerised by "The Sweetest Girl" and "Faithless".