More Light (Deluxe Version)

Primal Scream has been on the edge of so many scenes that its identity is now its own. Fans often assume the moment that they started listening reflects Primal Scream's true personality, with all other permutations reflecting from there. In truth, Primal Scream is often of the moment; the opening track here is called "2013," and it's quite the nasty history lesson. More Light and its 13 tracks (19 on the deluxe version) reflect its sessions at Das Bunker in London and Vox Studios in Los Angeles, where the songs of Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes weren't given any limits. The group's mix of hard rock and meltdown psychedelia is denser than it was on 2008's Beautiful Future, with the additionally processed sounds—produced by David Holmes—giving a kinetic lift to the instantly catchy "Invisible City" and a perfect meditational bed to the deceptively soothing "River of Pain," which obscures the paradoxes of modern life. Robert Plant visits on the grinding "Elimination Blues." Among the deluxe edition's bonus cuts, the pulsing "Nothing Is Real/Nothing Is Unreal" is further Primal Scream goodness.