PiL’s return to the live stage this year was a major disappointment: John Lydon playing with sundry lawnmower parts rather than moving heaven and earth to get Jah Wobble and Keith Levene back on stage with him again.
Amazingly, this collaboration between Wobble and Warp’s Julie Campbell (aka Lonelady) summons up the questing eclectic post-punk spirit that PiL laid down on their first two albums. Opening track Tightrope is hard-assed dance, whereas the title track sees the deployment of Wobble’s secret weapon – Keith Levene – who absolutely goes to town on Phantasm’s Rise. Paired with Wobble’s fleet bass and Campbell’s stinging vocals, it could have fit snugly into Metal Box. Rainlust manages the impossible feat of recalling Eno/Byrne’s My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts with memorable pop elements not far from Pet Shop Boys. Bare Square is a juicy musical peach that opens with a wonderful groove and then simmers down to near silence before revving up again. Its elements of post-punk, electronica and occasional lyrical snaps recall those wonderfully percussive tracks of the early house movement, contrasting beautifully with the wonderfully blissful Isaura. Emotive and restless, Psychic Life demands repeat listening. More please.
