Public Image Ltd. - End Of World - The Singles, Reviewed

Public Image Ltd. - End Of World - The Singles, Reviewed

Formed in 1978 after the chaotic breakup of punk pioneers The Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd. (or PiL), saw singer John Lydon and a revolving door of guests plunge deep into the musical abstract, while maintaining an abrasive edge. This was seen first with seminal post-punk albums ‘First Issue’ and ‘Metal Box’, defined by a combination of deep basslines, frenetic grooves, shrieking metallic guitars and Lydon’s manic, unhinged vocals and distinctive lyricism. They experimented more with heavy percussion on albums like ‘The Flowers of Romance’ and ‘This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get’, before making a severely underrated stylistic shift into their own brand of alternative rock in the mid-80s up until their hiatus in 1993. Since reforming in 2009, the group have released two albums: ‘This is PiL’ in 2012, and ‘What The World Needs Now’ in 2015, both operating off of a brilliant mix of rock, dance, dub, avant-garde and pretty much everything in between, with John seeming as lyrically and vocally individual as ever. And while I probably preferred the former to the latter, both were thoroughly enjoyable. Now, 8 years on, we’ve begun hearing rumblings of a new album, once again produced by James Towler, to be released on August 11th, titled 'End Of World.' So, let’s take a look at the singles to see what Johnny and the boys have to offer.

Penge

Well as an opening track this certainly does the job. John described it in the press as “something like a mediaeval Viking epic” and he’s really not too far off. It reminds me a little bit of the opening title track from the ‘This Is PiL’ album, as it possesses the same explosive, dramatic “we’re back” kind of vibe, but arguably even better this time around. The band appear to be firing on all cylinders, Lu Edmonds’ combination of saz and electric guitar sounding both blindingly bright and dramatic, and mysterious and atmospheric when appropriate. Bruce’s drumming is great too, with a real defiant, stomping feel coming through which is great, a quality brought out all the more by James Towler’s excellent production. Even Scott Firth’s more subtle contributions of synth bass work quite nicely. I do wish that maybe there was a little more structurally, as it is just pretty much verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, end, but it isn’t a glaring issue. It goes without saying really but John seems as vital as ever here. Not only is it because of his many varying deliveries, that can go from foreboding and dark to dramatic and soaring at the drop of a hat, but also with the fact that he can make a relatively simple lyrical concepts, in this case, a description of a viking raid on an english seaside town, sound just as grand and epic in scale as the events they describe. It really is a job well done. PiL are well and truly back, and prove such in suitably decisive fashion.

Car Chase

PiL have been well known over the years to experiment with some dance music sounds and aesthetics in their own unique way, whether it be with 1979’s ‘Death Disco’, many a track off of their new wave-y album ‘9’, or with more recent tracks like ‘Lollipop Opera’ or ‘Shoom.’ ‘Car Chase’ definitely continues along a similar line, and it goes down very well. The production on this once again is gargantuan, as Bruce’s strutting disco drum grooves paired with Scott’s rumbling, belligerent bass gives the track a serious sense of swagger. The addition of a subtle, slightly bitcrushed synth arpeggio works nicely as well, adding to the track’s pre-established danceability, as well as just being very catchy. Of course Lu compliments this with a brilliantly esoteric, psychedelic, yet incredibly grand and catchy guitar/saz riff over top. It all comes together brilliantly and really does just make you want to get up and dance. There's almost a kind of demented, dark Bee Gees vibe going on. I think John would be pleased with that comparison. Speaking of John, he’s on top form as usual. He just has an uncanny knack of making a shouted, seemingly unmusical vocal delivery incredibly compelling, and a chanted, yelped refrain incredibly catchy. I’m not entirely sure how he does it, but I’m enjoying myself. As far as lyrics are concerned, John’s obviously had his fair share of serious subjects to tackle over the years: the tragedy of cancer and the interpretable evil of organised Catholicism among others. More recently though, it seems he’s just having a bit more fun in places, this being a great example. Here, John tells the story of a lunatic escaping from an asylum and going on a late night shopping spree, complete with the titular car chase. While some of the phrasing like “I like the lights in the car park [...] the way they spread them apart” seem a bit mundane, in perhaps an almost silly way if you get what I mean, for the most part it’s a pretty cool idea put across quite well, and most of all, as I say, it sounds like John’s having fun, which definitely translates in his performance. This track is quite a few things: grand, dramatic, catchy, danceable, yes, but I think the optimum word that I’ve used a few times now is “fun”, and this track has fun by the bucketload for the most part.

Hawaii

This song is a left turn for PiL in perhaps every single conceivable way: musically, lyrically, conceptually, and contextually. Written as PiL’s bid to represent Ireland in the annual Eurovision pop song contest, ‘Hawaii’ sees the band delve into much more serene, emotional, and personal territory, and while not perfect, I enjoyed it much more than expected. Musically, it sounds pretty much how you would expect a song with its title to sound: chiming, atmospheric guitars, over a bed of prominent, lightly thumping percussion, all anchored by a smooth, relaxed bassline. The song creates an enveloping, tranquil atmosphere that, while arguably slightly cheesy, it uses to great effect. It’s probably the closest PiL have ever come to writing a ballad, and while there have arguably been more melodic, softer cuts in recent times such as ‘The One’ or ‘Big Blue Sky’, this is much, much better. Lyrically, this ballad theme is cemented even further with arguably John’s most personal set of lyrics ever. Now John’s no stranger to lyrics that hit close to home: the single ‘Death Disco’ was written as a tribute to his mother who passed away from cancer, while previous album closer, the expletive-laden ‘Shoom’, was written as a requiem for his late father. However the band's press release let us know that this would be slightly different. Described as being "as close as John will ever come to bearing his soul", the song is a loving dedication to John's wife Nora, now tragically passed away from Alzheimer's disease, recounting memories of a Hawaiian holiday and musing on the eternal nature of love in an incredibly touching way. John’s melodic, yet ever striking, sharp edged vocal delivery has a real earnesty and tenderness to it, making lyrics like “all, journeys end, some begin again, we're here, you and me, I remember you, remember me” hit all the harder. Yes, the sound palette seems a touch cheesy, and some of the group “aloha” vocal harmonies in the chorus are maybe a little much, but I think that’s excusable here. This is easily the most tranquil, tender song PiL have ever released, and is also just a really enjoyable track to boot. A fitting tribute to the love of John’s life.

So, what does this mean in terms of my expectations for the album? Well, to put it simply, with these last couple albums, it seems PiL have really found their groove, and given the quality of songwriting displayed on these tracks, it’s clear that if not upping the quality level, they're certainly maintaining it, and it’s a very high quality level at that.