Leisure (1991)

Wheeee! Here come three new releases from the teen technodance bin (Jesus Jones division), all of them combining scintillating rhythm tracks with a kaleidoscope of hooky musical styles — dabbles of house music, rap, synth-pop, and for the old folks, good ol' rock & roll. Blur's Leisure is the standout here, plastering a Carnaby Street drawl and psychedelic guitars over some very modern, man-and-machine backing tracks. Don't miss the throbbing chorus to ''She's So High'' or the acid-house-meets-British-Invasion beats of ''Fool'' or ''There's No Other Way.''...The musical palette is a bit broader on Screamadelica, the first full U.S. release from Primal Scream. My personal favorite is the band's cover of Roky Erickson's ''Slip Inside This House''; with their wound-up house-music version, they pull off a nice aural pun. Elsewhere you get everything from thoroughly modernized Stones (''Movin' On Up'') to a thoroughly rocked-up take on the percolating black pop of Soul II Soul (''Don't Fight It, Feel It''). Ultimately, though, the pastiches backfire a bit; the dizzying array of styles keeps the band from developing a consistent personality.... Ned's Atomic Dustbin, believe it or not, is aptly named: Stylistically, God Fodder contains everything but the kitchen sink, all done nuclear strength. The music is dancified, but there's some punk here as well — the guitars attack your speakers (and ears). ''Kill your television,'' they holler in one song, and there's even a nicely sarcastic look at what used to be called the generation gap. The guys in Ned's actually seem to have something to say. Leisure: A-; Screamadelica: B+; God Fodder: B+

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