When asked to describe the songs on this release Lydon's response was, "Well 12 songs, where do I begin? Everything and anything that attracts my attention." Each song is a reflection of what he has seen while glaring through his microscope, of something that moves him strongly enough to comment on. But these aren't the obvious political songs of other people; stirring anthems with catchy choruses to rouse arena crowds aren't what PiL's about. I really doubt you'll find people singing along to their favourite tunes at the next PiL gig you go to. Instead what you're hit with are a series of images which, viewed as a whole, create a type of Cubist picture of the current state of the world.
Picasso tried to capture all sides of an image within the confines of a two dimensional canvas. PiL's canvas stretches over the length of their CD and they use every means at their disposal to create their portrait. While all the familiar sounds of popular rock music are employed in their songs–searing guitars, synthesized sound waves, and almost everything else you can think of–contextually they never fit into the neat patterns we expect from pop music.There's nothing comfortable or safe about PiL. They won't make you feel better about yourself, nor is this a disc you're going to want to play to fall asleep to. Yet for some reason, just the thought that PiL are out there pushing boundaries, kicking conventions, and doing their best to make sure people are awake gives me more hope than I've had in a fuck of a long time. Genius is never easy, art is not always pleasant, but that somebody still cares enough to be using popular music to create both is reason for celebration. Hopefully we won't have to wait another twenty years for their next creation.
Article comments