A Pox On The Pioneers

We Say...

Review by Andrew Perry

Twenty years ago, Weatherall was amongst the first house DJ's in England. He soon became one of its hottest remixers, after pied-pipering multitudes of indie-guitar geeks to the dancefloor, via his mastermind role in Primal Scream's Screamadelica. More vibesman than virtuoso, he has gradually acquired musical chops, first in the collaborative Sabres of Paradise, then as one half of techno minimalists Two Lone Swordsmen, with whom he made an unforeseen singing debut in '04.

Even as dark horses go, Weatherall is sombrely-hued indeed. With his DJ interests still covering all the above, plus electro, vintage dub, funk, garage-punk and rockabilly, this solo debut really could have gone in any direction. As it is, the catholic listener will savour echoes of all the above on "A Pox on The Pioneers", plus numerous off-the-menu delights, such as the platform-booted Glitterbeat on "Miss Rule".

In overall mood, this enormously enjoyable album harks back to that genre-mangling period of musical possibility in the early 1980's now known, fashionably, as 'post-punk'. Its widescreen productions recall Mick Jones's Big Audio Dynamite, as does Weatherall's sing-song delivery (he's on the mic for 80% of it), but all updated with the tinkered frequencies of post-millennial hi-tekkno. There's a similar process of EQ upgrading on shady, PiL-esque, bassline instrumentals such as 'Selective Walking' and "All The Little Things".

Also in the mix: Wire, Fun Boy Three, and any other curmudgeonly separatist that sniped from the margins to a spooky — but unabashed, undeniable, irresistible — tune. The title track, and particularly 'Privately Electrified' are ultra-catchy, should be on the radio, preferably.

Here then, from the wreckage of 50-plus years of rockin' and tweakin', is a forward-looking, analogue/digital-straddling breed of nu-pop, idiosyncratic, wordy, sceptical, heroically reaching back to the future.