The Primitives

Spin-O-Rama
The Primitives

Label: Elefant Records
Release date: 2014-09-01

The Primitives have enjoyed a marvelous renaissance since their reunion following bassist Steve Dullaghan’s death five years ago. Elefant have been at the forefront of that rebirth, releasing the band’s first album in over 20 years, the brilliant 'covers' album Echoes and Rhymes as well as last year’s ‘Lose the Reason’, which sold out almost as soon as it was released.

The band are back with another single, the title track from next month’s forthcoming album of all new material. Fans of their 60s-inflected bubblegum-pop, showcased on such seminal albums as Lovely andPure, and continued on Echoes and Rhymes, are in for more cotton candy perfection. Jangly guitars, handclapping giddiness, and Tracy Tracy’s girl-next-door vocals are as infectious as ever on this effervescent summer breeze of a pop tune. Perfect! 

The non-LP b-side finds them up to their old tricks, covering obscure oldies that music nerd crate-divers like Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and his ilk can appreciate. All of their reunion-era releases have included obscure cover versions (Echoes and Rhymes is full of them), but they’ve topped themselves here with the fuzz monster ‘Up So High’, originally recorded by an ex-Disneyland band called The What’s New and only released on a French EP way back in 1966. Where do they find this stuff?

Anyway, The Prim’s version, sung by guitarist Paul Court, improves on the weak vocals of the sloppy, garage rockin’ original, but is otherwise generally faithful in spirit to the simple, one-trick, punny lyric. (You can read all about the history and tragic end of The What’s New here.) Overall, a fine teaser for next month’s eagerly-awaited full length. Act fast, it's limited to 500 copies on clear vinyl.