24 years ago I saw Pop Will Eat Itself play the Aston Villa Leisure Centre in Birmingham – they were great, with Clint Mansell especially stealing the show… and now they’re back… kind of.
What do PWEI look like almost a quarter of a century later? Not much like the classic Stourbridge grebo quartet to be honest, with only Graham Crabb (originally the drummer, lest we forget) remaining to front a ragtag bunch of former also-rans from Gaye Bykers on Acid, Gary Numan’s band, and Killing Joke).
It’s a bit like The Jesus and Mary Chain reforming with only Bobby Gillespie linking them to the past. Yes, Graham was one of the vocalists in the original band, but he always seemed to me to be a bit like the performing chimp in the background. I’m aware that’s probably extremely unfair, and I’m conscious that he’s actually a pretty talented chap in his own right, but it still feels a bit like we’re left with a Pop Will Eat Itself tribute act that just happens to have lucked into getting an original member on board.
Musically things are as you remember them, if you’re particularly fond of the later, more industrial PWEI, fans of the earlier more humorous and playful material will find little to engage them. Ironically the Poppies have ended up sounding like they’re ripping off Wolverhampton’s The $hit, a band that were the true heirs to the ‘white guys rapping in Black Country accents’ crown, but not (for me, at least) as good.
I can understand why the temptation to use the PWEI brand for this project was so strong, but I can’t bring myself to think of this as being anything other than a new band that happens to share influences and one member – perhaps returning as a new act would have been better, but things are as they are.
As an aside, this is my first review for the site in almost a decade, so feel free to tell me below that you also prefer my older material.
(Album available at http://shop.popwilleatitself.net/collections/anti-nasty-league)
I appreciate that this is your first review in 10 years, but only 1 sentence “Musically things are as….” actually talks about the album. The rest of the review is just your personal opinion on the reformation of the band without the other members. I understand this is an important issue but perhaps next time you could focus a bit more on the music being made and not the people making it as it makes for a more entertaining review and sounds less like an attack on the band. Just a friendly suggestion.