More Light (Primal Scream album)

More Light is the tenth studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream, released on 13 May 2013. The single "It's Alright, It's OK" received airplay on national stations including BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music and Absolute Radio and on music channel MTV Rocks, whilst it has also been played on a number of smaller stations including 106.9FM WHCR and Kingstown Radio. It references influential The Gun Club singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce with a take on his song "Goodbye Johnny" and use of the track title "Walking with the Beast". This is their first album since Give Out But Don't Give Up (1994) to not feature bassist Mani.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10
Metacritic	77/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B+
The Guardian
The Independent
Mojo
NME	8/10
Pitchfork	7.7/10
Q
Rolling Stone
Uncut	7/10

More Light received highly positive reactions from critics and is perhaps their most critically acclaimed album since XTRMNTR. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 77 out of 100, based on 29 reviews. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph gave a positive review of the album, describing it as "mesmerising" and containing "big, monstrous, mantra-like, psychedelic grooves". He went on to add that More Light should do much to restore Primal Scream's reputation as one of the country's most creative and ambitious rock bands. The music is dense yet uplifting, creating its own tensions with Gillespie's dark, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. Songs like "2013", "Culturecide", "Tenement Kid" and "Walking with the Beast" convey an impression of a highly-strung, heartfelt assault on the inequities of the modern world, before building to the euphoric gospel release of closing track "It's Alright, It's OK".

Artwork

The artwork, designed by Scottish artist Jim Lambie, is based on the artwork from Scottish musician Momus's 1988 album, Tender Pervert.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Andrew Innes and Bobby Gillespie; except where indicated

More Light

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"2013"		9:01
2.	"River of Pain"		6:59
3.	"Culturecide"	Innes, Gillespie, Mark Stewart	4:36
4.	"Hit Void"		4:10
5.	"Tenement Kid"		4:46
6.	"Invisible City"		4:41
7.	"Goodbye Johnny"	Jeffrey Lee Pierce	3:29
8.	"Sideman"		3:54
9.	"Elimination Blues"		5:47
10.	"Turn Each Other Inside Out"	Innes, Gillespie, Dave Meltzer	4:35
11.	"Relativity"		7:29
12.	"Walking with the Beast"		3:58
13.	"It's Alright, It's OK"		5:09
Total length:			68:28

Extra Light

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nothing Is Real / Nothing Is Unreal"		5:07
2.	"Requiem for the Russian Tea Rooms"		3:14
3.	"Running Out of Time"		2:37
4.	"Worm Tamer"	Jim Sclavunos, Martyn P. Casey, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis	5:37
5.	"Theme from More Light"		2:29
6.	"2013 (Weatherall remix)"		8:20
Total length:			27:24

Personnel

Primal Scream

Bobby Gillespie – vocals, tambourine, handclaps, mellotron, electric piano, drums, percussion
Andrew Innes – electric, acoustic, and twelve-string guitars, bass guitar, six-string bass, keyboards, electric sitar, synthesizer, autoharp, dulcimer, drones
Martin Duffy – keyboards
Darrin Mooney – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

Fred Adams – trumpet
Marshall Allen – alto saxophone
Jay Bellerose – drums
Nicky Brown – vocal arrangements
Barrie Cadogan – guitar, backing vocals
Davey Chegwidden – drums, guiro, percussion, tom-toms
Keefus Cianca – bells, piano
Matthew Cooper – design
Rich Costey – mixing
Jason Falkner – bass guitar, six-string bass, guitar, synthesizer, engineer
Geo Gabriel – backing vocals
Michael Harris – engineering
Sharlene Hector – backing vocals
David Henderson – guitar
Max Heyes – engineering
David Holmes – engineering, producer
Jim Hunt – saxophone, flute
Eric Islip – engineering
Woody Jackson – engineering, guitar, orchestration
Sam Johnston – engineering
Chris Kasych – Pro-Tools
Jim Lambie – sleeve art
Brendan Lynch – production, engineering, mixing
Marco Nelson – bass guitar
Niall O'Brien – photography
Ladonna Harley Peters – background vocals
Robert Plant – backing vocals
Noel Scott – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Kevin Shields – guitar
Todd Simon – trumpet
Paul Stanborough – engineering
Mark Stewart – backing vocals, whistle
Steve Tavaglione – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Danny Ray Thompson – baritone saxophone
Valente Torrez – engineering
Masa Tsuzki – engineering
The Unloved – backing vocals
Tracy Wannomae – alto saxophone

References

Hilleary, Mike (23 April 2013). "Primal Scream Set U.S. Release Date For New Album, "More Light"". Under The Radar Magazine.
Daly, Rhian (8 May 2013). "Primal Scream stream second part of new album 'More Light'". NME. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
Barton, Geoff (4 June 2013). "Listen: Primal Scream – More Light". Classic Rock Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
Zap2it (11 October 2013). "Primal Scream: Bobby Gillespie talks 'More Light,' Kevin Shields, Andy Weatherall and touring while sober – Zap2it | News & Features". Blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Thomson, Graeme (June 2013). "Primal Scream – More Light". Uncut (193): 66–67. ISSN 1368-0722. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
""Like a portrait of someone in a bad situation": An interview with Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie". 21 October 2013.
"More Light by Primal Scream reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
^ "Reviews for More Light by Primal Scream". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "More Light – Primal Scream". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
Zaleski, Annie (18 June 2013). "Primal Scream: More Light". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
Hann, Michael (9 May 2013). "Primal Scream: More Light – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
Gill, Andy (10 May 2013). "Album review: Primal Scream, More Light (First International)". The Independent.
Wilson, Joe (June 2013). "Look on the bright side: Bobby Gillespie's men diagnose social ills in order to transcend them on 70-minute, double disc tenth LP". Mojo (235): 82. ISSN 1351-0193.
Beaumont, Mark (7 May 2013). "Primal Scream, 'More Light'". NME. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
Berman, Stuart (8 May 2013). "Primal Scream: More Light". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
"Primal Scream: More Light". Q (323): 97. June 2013. ISSN 0955-4955.
Gross, Joe (15 July 2013). "More Light". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
McCormick, Neil (11 May 2013). "Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie interview: 'drugs put my life in chaos'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2013.

External links

More Light at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)

v t e Primal Scream
Bobby Gillespie Andrew Innes Darrin Mooney Simone Butler Barrie Cadogan Martin Duffy Debbie Googe Gary "Mani" Mounfield Kevin Shields Phillip "Toby" Tomanov Robert "Throb" Young
Studio albums	Sonic Flower Groove Primal Scream Screamadelica Give Out but Don't Give Up Vanishing Point XTRMNTR Evil Heat Riot City Blues Beautiful Future More Light Chaosmosis Come Ahead
Live albums/videos	Live in Japan Riot City Blues Tour Screamadelica Live
Compilation/remix albums	Echo Dek Dirty Hits Shoot Speed – More Dirty Hits
EPs	Dixie-Narco
Singles	"Velocity Girl" "Loaded" "Come Together" "Rocks" / "Funky Jam" "Kowalski" "Star" "Swastika Eyes" "Kill All Hippies" "Some Velvet Morning" "Country Girl" "Dolls (Sweet Rock and Roll)" "Sometimes I Feel So Lonely" "Can't Go Back" "2013" "It's Alright, It's OK"
Related articles	Discography

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