More Light
Details
LP / Format
Ignition Records / Label
Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock, Ambient Pop
Krautrock
, Space Rock Revival
, Post-Punk
, Psychedelic Rock
, Alternative Rock
/ GenreFull Credits
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Critic Reviews
90
More Light is Primal Scream finding their experimental soul in a beautiful, lush trip that goes to some exotic and strange places but never loses the listener- it’s always a pop record- if you believe in the possibilities of pop.
6y
90
Maybe it's a losing game -- as the years slip by, situationist politics, avant-garde art, and psychedelic pop all fade from popular consciousness -- but the brilliant thing about More Light is how it suggests that the struggle itself is empowering.
13y
90
Running at over 70 minutes, ‘More Light’ is the sprawling sound of a reinvigorated group giving it all they’ve got and stretching their musical imaginations to the limits, sounding vital and important once again.
9y
83
On More Light, the band exercises this need for reinvention while incorporating—and even emphasizing—the danger and despair inherent in its best work.
12y
80
With Gillespie partly muted, experimentation back on the agenda, and a guru knob-twiddler at the helm, Primal Scream are back on form. This might not be their finest work, but it’s the best thing they’ve made in at least a decade.
13y
80
There is a tendency to think of Primal Scream as precisely the sum of their parts: a dash of Rolling Stones; a hint of Kraftwerk; a lingering aftertaste of Jesus & Mary Chain. The truth is that the band transcend their influences and More Light is conclusive proof of that.
5y
80
Sure, few will love everything on here but the hubris, yet the sprawling mess that is ‘More Light’ can’t help but impress. To place it within the band’s own record collection: this is their ‘Sandinista!’.
11y
80
Bobby Gillespie is back throwing lyrical grenades – the stance that suits him most.
12y
80
The Britain of 2013 may be a place full of dread in Primal Scream’s world but that sense of anger has prompted them to deliver an extremely impressive return that’s brash, bold and often brilliant.
13y
80
With blazing horn riffs on tracks like “2013” and “Invisible City”, moments of soulful rock, free jazz explosions, psychedelia and grooving rhythms, More Light is sure to please both long-time fans as well as attract new ones.
12y
80
More Light doesn’t get straight to the point like other Primal Scream records, mainly because, unlike several of their past efforts, it is much more multi-faceted.
13y
80
As inventive and relevant as they’ve ever been, it’s an alarm call for a comatose nation being slowly drained of lifeblood. It’s exactly what 2013 needs: more fight.
13y
77
More Light primes the Scream for their fourth decade in the best possible way, serving as a summary of everything they’ve done before, yet sounding nothing like it.
13y
70
‘More Light’ is prosaic, but also proof that when you want to rally a new generation, it’s not Marcus Mumford you want holding the megaphone.
13y
70
This is quite something, and though Primal Scream is far from a perfect band, one thing remains with More Light: they’re still undeniably very, very cool.
13y
70
This record will survive the ages, and when all of us pass and our post-meltdown, economically solid progeny dig up this record, the stark realities of 2013 will have been well represented.
5y
70
More Light is a surprisingly solid set which starts a new phase in Primal Scream's expansive discography. It's diverse enough to offer thrills to anyone willing to listen, yet it would have been more efficient and less exhaustive if it had been trimmed a bit.
11y
70
Fewer of the screechers and More Light would be just right: Screamadelica-lite.
12y
68
The problem with More Light is the problem with any given Primal Scream record: too much variety. And the problem with that problem is it can also work for them as a strength. But on More Light, it can get hard to see any kind of cohesion beyond compilation.
13y
60
Too many stock psych-rock gestures, too few freaky non-rock ones.
11y
60
As ever, the ghosts of the past haunt Primal Scream; the pleasure this time is that they are not the ghosts of other bands' pasts.
10y
60
After cringe-worthy forays into dated Black Crowesy blues rock and conventional pop, the restless Scottish rockers have crafted their best album since XTRMNTR.
10y
60
This is a record in which you can feel Primal Scream have again ripped up their own sonic rule book but not always with pleasing results.
9y
60
If you hate the Coalition, you’ll love this album.
6y
50
At its best, More Light shows that even this far into the game, Primal Scream still have some aces up their sleeve. Unfortunately, the rest of the time, it’s the sonic equivalent of the moment in Almost Famous when its fictional band’s lead singer petulantly insists “I’m incendiary too!”
13y
40
It’s the best Primal Scream album since XTRMNTR, though that would say more about how badly they’ve gone astray over the past thirteen years rather than the actual quality of this release.
13y
An incredibly solid late era album from an incredibly overlooked act that continues to push their own boundaries while grabbing anyone by the throat should they pass by.
Another, I use this term a lot with this group, apocalyptic album, here we find sibling record to Screamadelica and XTRMNTR in all of it's groovy noisy terror. Settles into blistering kraut rock adjacent passages of distorted throbbing urgency set against bobby's cool but paranoid vocals. Brilliant.
Primal Scream's discography is as eclectic as it is irregular. Fortunately the high points are quite high: Screamadelica (1991), Vanishing Point (1997), XTRMNTR (2000) and the most recent one, More Light. The band sticks to its strengths: high doses of psychedelia, a combination of rock with electronics and politicized lyrics.
Highlights: "2013", "River of Pain", "Culturecide" and "It's Alright, It's Ok".
Honestly this is probably better than Screamadalic just because the album is more consistent and the lows are no where near as low. The album has a very nice sound to it through out the whole thing and shows that they haven’t lost their style if they try enough.
Contributions By
wallver, patton, royalflush, thisisabtlgrnd, philthy, erik, d_ism, Lazers, sher12308Become a Subscriber
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Track List
| 1 | 2013 9:01 | 91 |
| 2 | River of Pain 7:00 | 76 |
| 3 | Culturecide 4:37 | 79 |
| 4 | Hit Void 4:14 | 83 |
| 5 | Tenement Kid 4:48 | 83 |
| 6 | Invisible City 4:43 | 75 |
| 7 | Goodbye Johnny 3:32 | 73 |
| 8 | Sideman 3:56 | 81 |
| 9 | Elimination Blues 5:48 | 82 |
| 10 | Turn Each Other Inside Out 4:38 | 90 |
| 11 | Relativity 7:31 | 79 |
| 12 | Walking With The Beast 4:00 | 83 |
| 13 | It's Alright, It's OK 5:11 | 83 |
Total Length: 1 hour, 8 minutes
By Quet
