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Album Review
by SashaS
15-10-2001
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| Playgroup |
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Playgroup: 'Playgroup'
(Source)
Playgroup present tunes to funk your body, capture your soul and kick-start a whole new life
Being a journalist these days has become not only a battle with flood of information but also being bombarded with hype, aggressive-promotion and general media blitzkrieg whenever a half-major release is about to hit the market. In such circumstances it is difficult not to form an opinion about something before actually holding or playing.
Thus, it is a great relief, nay – delight, to receive an album without actually knowing much about it. That’s what happened with Playgroup and the eponymous debut album and the surprise was thus much greater. There was no pre-notion what this could be and it is – midnight music for any time!
The parade of 12 tracks starts with ‘Number One’, such a huge steak of a song, fattest of basses driven, rhythmically hypnotic, compelling you to get up and have a jig. It is funk as Prince used to make it some 15 years ago, or Sly and The Family Stone, all of three decades ago, with added rock guitar. It’s that good, in the same damn league.
‘Pressure’ pulls a notch back to allow female vocal to toy with jagged rhythm for a cyber-funker that grows into a sonic feast of clashing elements. It gets more technological on ‘Front 2 Back’ for a confident rap, it gets even more industrial on ‘Medicine Man’. ‘Make It Happen’ is the sexiest song on the record with a touch of jazz horns. There are so many details here, even the annoying mobile phone interference on ‘Surface To Air’.
Soul and funk are not the only currency here and there are a couple of brilliant takes on the reggae/dub genre: ‘Surface To Air’ sails on the blunt-wave but the truest gem is the reworking of Paul (Happy 60th for the other day, man!) Simon’s ’50 Ways To Leave Your Lover’. It is simply a brand new song, almost giving it a new meaning! A reclining classic.
This plethora of sounds required an army of guests and among them are Scottish indie pioneers Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice) and Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) are here, singer Kathleen Hannah from Original riot grrrls Bikini Kill & now of Le Tigre and Happy Mondays mainstay Rowetta; there is also the punk reggae producer Dennis Bovell. The mastermind of this opus sings on ‘Overflow’.
Behind Playgroup is Trevor Jackson, a producer and remixer (U2, Massive Attack, Unkle and Death In Vegas), also known as Underdog. Taking everything he loved about music while growing up he placed it in a cauldron, laboured over it for a year and here is the product, an aural elixir.
Get your dancing shoes out and start enjoying the rest of your life. No one has much time left, however young.
8/10
SashaS
15-10-2001
Playgroup’s album ‘Playgroup’ is released 15 October 2001 on Source
Playgroup’s single ‘Number One’ is out now on Source
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