ALBUM: Public Image Ltd. ‘What The World Needs Now…’

Rating:

After a hiatus of twenty years, PiL finally returned serve in 2012 with their ninth studio LP, This Is PiL, a thrashy-dub filled masterpiece which snorted and belched from beginning to end. This September, Public Image Ltd. bring us their tenth installment in a career spanning almost 40 years.

The album What The World Needs Now… bursts into action, commencing its meandering voyage with single ‘Double Trouble’. This begins in Sleaford Mod fashion, with a thumping upbeat drum line, taboo filled curses, with a main subject matter of toiletry and plumbing problems.

Many elements flow perfectly from 2012’s This Is PiL, with Lu Edmund’s shattering guitar tones and playing style, Mr. Lydon’s wailing high pitch squawks, supported with tight to the beat drum lines and dub filled bass tones from Bruce Smith and Scott Firth.

The album traverses violently from Punk and New Wave, to American Country, Jamaican Dub, to glitchy Electronic. These diverse crossing points show off the unique musical talents of PiL, steering away from the hegemonic structured album, eradicating any notion of pandering to the pop market.

For this reason, if you’re looking for an album that’s aesthetically pleasing on the ears, I fear this may not be for you.

The top four tracks on the album to listen out for is firstly the catchy number ‘Spice of Choice’, lengthy eighties pop come dub track ‘Big Blue Sky’, ‘I’m Not Satisfied’ – the next potential single, and the first single off the LP, ‘Double Trouble’, which is available to download and buy now on 10” vinyl.

What The World Needs Now… is out on the 4th of September 2015 on PIL’s self-funded label PiL Official via Cargo UK Distribution.

Warren Allett
@warrenallett

Warren Allett

Warren Allett

A musician/music producer and music reviewer from Peterborough. Graduate of York St. John, studying BA (Hons) Music Production degree.
Warren Allett

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