Though she’s sometimes dallied around the music world since the exuberant days of X-Ray Spex, new work or appearances from Poly Styrene are rare enough to be an event. So it’s with a frisson of excitement that we lay our hands on this record.
Are we disappointed? Well, mainly we’re not, but it’s that nagging hope for something as soaring as The Day The World Turned Day-Glo that just leaves a bit of a pang. This is a damned good record, though. Stripped of her punk inflections, there’s a beauty to Poly’s voice. She might have occasionally let slip that it was there back in 1977, but it’s now the centre around which this album is built. The discourse on consumerism is inevitable, wailing from the opening I Luv Ur Sneakers, but there are newer subjects now, such as the internet, that you know Poly would have relished challenging back in the day.
It’s really all about those two components: the voice and the sharp humour of the message. While the music’s high energy street vibe pumps along, it varies little. No matter, it’s the uniqueness of the Poly Styrene identity that burns strongly.
