Velocity Girl: the song, not the band

Remember Primal Scream? Of course you do. Okay, maybe not, but you should. As usual, us Americans are oblivious to way too many excellent releases by British bands. At first, Primal Scream were a sort of Byrds-esque kind of band. But something happened with their third album "Screamadelica": they found dance music. The impact that Nirvana's "Nevermind" had on mainstream rock music in 1991 is very similar to the impact of "Screamadelica" on acid house, techno, and rave culture in the British mainstream. Combine that with the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, New Order, and the Charlatans UK, and you have a monster scene full of endlessly influential acts.

Three years later, Primal Scream's next record "Give Out But Don't Give Up" goes in a completely different direction. Screamadelica had a couple of tracks that were slightly rooted in American Southern rock, or a Stones/Faces kind of sound. "Give Out..." was an entire record of that sound. There was a problem, though. The production was so slick that it sounded too perfect. It was all too intentional and well-thought out to truly evoke the sounds of bands that make loose bluesy rock. "Vanishing Point" (1997), "XTRMNTR" (2000), and "Evil Heat" (2002) followed, and brought back elements of the band's folky roots, as well as the innovative electro sounds of Screamadelica and the blues-rock of Give Out But Don't Give Up.

There have been a couple of minor missteps, but the band has managed to stay influential and relevant all these years.

Now, here in the present, the Scream are back with "Riot City Blues," a return to the blues-rock sound of before, but they got it right this time. Because it's loose, the way the Stones or the Faces do it. The way that bands like the Mooney Suzuki forgot.

Click the album cover below to check out three new videos from Primal Scream.