newalb
32 • uNCuT • juLY 2019
PETERPERRETT’S
sudden,miraculous
reappearance,back
in2017,withhisfirst
soloalbumproper,
HowTheWestWas
Won, wasoneofthe
moresurprisingreturnsofrecenttimes.
He’dlongstood,inpopularmusic’s
mythology,forpeak’70sexcess– taking
andsellingdrugs,addictivepersonality,
wastedtalent,decadesofapparentnon-
achievement.It wasparticularlyhard
totakeforfansgivenPerrett’ssingular
songwritinggenius.Hislegendrests
onthethreealbumshemadeinthelate
’70swithTheOnlyOnes,whowerewith,
butnotof,punk– thesongsweretoo
articulateandlovelorn,themusicianship
toogood,thesounda littletoobeholden
torock’sclassictropes,toreallysit
comfortablywithinpunk’spurism.
Butwhiletheir 1978 single“Another
Girl,AnotherPlanet”is alwaysgoingto
bePerrett’sclassic,hisentryintorock’s
historybooks,listeningbackbothto
TheOnlyOnesandtheirprecursor,
England’sGlory,yougeta clearer,much
morenuancedpictureofPerrett.Equal
partsconsumptivepoetandromantic
tearaway,doomedandtragicbutwitha
switchbladesenseofhumour,Perrett’s
writingis remarkablyfull-bloodedand
fullyformed– here’ssomeonewhoknows
hiswayarounda greatmelodyanda setof
lyricsthattella storyjustso.It wasevery
bitasevidentduringhisshort-lived’90s
comeback with The One, whose 1996Woke
UpStickyis a masterclassofitskind,a bold
andconfidentwaytoreturntothefray.
Allthatbeingsaid,it’stakenPerretta
goodwhiletogetbacktohiscurrentform.
AnOnlyOnesreunionlastdecadehad
himgoingthroughthemotions;hespent
a bitoftimehangingaroundwithThe
Libertines,whomightseema littlelike
kindredspirits.Perrett’sframedhisrecent
returnaroundopportunityandsurvival
instinctkickingin,buteventhatcan’t
quiteaccountforjusthowstrongHow
TheWestWasWonwas,howgreatit was
tohearPerrett’svoiceagain– a slightly
strained,clipped,colloquialinstrument
that’sstillfullofcharacter,recognisable
fromthefirstlackadaisicalsyllable.(He
hasnowlostthattense,uncomfortable
tonehewassingingwithduringtheOnly
Onesreunionshows,too.)
Theverywelcomenews,then,is that
Humanworldis everybitasgoodas,and
atpointsevenbetterthan,itspredecessor,
asthoughPerrett’sfinally,almostfive
decadesin,foundhistruemétier.Aswith
HowTheWestWasWon, he’smaking
musicwithfamily,hissonsJamieand
PeterJr joininghimonguitarandbass,
andJamieproducing;thereareother
connections with the previous album,
too,suggestingPerrett’sfoundanother
comfortablelineuptoworkwith.They
seemtofallinwellwithhissongs,too
- Perrett’swritinghasn’tchangedtoo
muchovertheyears,a touchofVelvets
simplicityhere,someStonesswagger
there,somehangoverfromglam’smost
giddilyreductivepopsmarts,butthat’s
perfectgroundingfora grouptodevelop
itscollectivepsychology.
Thealbumitselffliespast– it’sbrief,
sharp,urgent, 12 songsclockinginat
around 36 minutes,eachsongpunched
inandoutwithbrittleeconomy.If someof
theproductiontouchesexpandtheremit
a little,withmorebackingvocals,more
keyboardsandsynthsfillinginthesonic
spectrum,somesharp,skirlingviolafrom
JennyMaxwellwindingbetweentheother
instruments,Perrettsqueezeseverything
intoperfectpopforms– “IWantYour
Dreams”opens,anincessantpulse
building,stealthily,steadily,cutbrutally
shortfor“OnceIs Enough”’stensileclatter
andstrum.Insongslikethis,Perrett’sgift
is compressingallthedramaoflife’sups
anddownsintosimple,unpretentiouspop.
Elsewhere,he’sasadeptaseverat
capturingblossomingromance,ason
thebeautiful“HeavenlyDay”,which
ridesona one-notearpeggiothat’spure
JohnCaleintheVelvets,orJosephine
WiggsinThePerfectDisaster– indeed,it
recallsthelatter’s“TV(GirlOnFire)”,and
ThePerfectDisasterwereoneofthefew
groupsoverthepast 30 yearswhotruly
understoodwhatPerrettwastryingtodo
withTheOnlyOnes.Perrett’srecentturn
tothepoliticalintheeverydayis here,
too,with“BelieveInNothing”’sscathing
pessimism–“Blackesthole’sdrawingus
in/Bleakestfuturethere’severbeen/It’snot
a timeofhope/Livingis a joke”– andthe
fiercescepticismof“WarPlanRed”.
Atmomentslikethis,Perrettskirts
carefullyaroundtheedgesofthe
dogmatic,neversubmittingtoany
tendencytoproselytise.He’sclear-eyed,
neverlosingtheconcise,plain-speaking
poetryattheheartofhiswriting,which
really,whenit comesdowntoit,is the
coreofHumanworld– aneveryday
observationalthatpansouttocapture
thecollective when need be.
PeterPerrett:”Life
haslostitsmeaning”
It’sgoodtohaveyou
backandworking
ata fastclip.what
arethethemesthat
informyoursongs
onHumanworld?
Theword“themes”suggests
premeditation.Thought
processesthatbecome
increasinglyfractured,result
in thereactiveratherthan
theconceptual.Reactingto
thestimuliofrandominput
- informedbyidiosyncratic
lifeexperiences...Sothe
themes are personal and
observational.Hopefully,
wordsthatsoundgood.
Nomeaning.Life has lost
itsmeaning.
I wasrecentlylistening
toyour’90slivealbum
withTheOne,Hearts
OnFire. It’sa great
performance.what’s
theliveexperience
likenow?In the’70sand
then,verybriefly,in the’90s,
playinglivewaseverything
tome.The“liveexperience”
hasa verydifferentdynamic
now,comparedto 20 years
agoand 40 yearsago.Still
enjoyable, though. Touring
getsmeoutofthehouseand
travelling.Bothfrightening
andexciting.
backin 2017,you
saidmusicfeltlike
unfinishedbusinessto
you.nowyou’reonthe
secondalbumofyour
secondwind.Howis it
feelingnow?
Haha!Lifefeltlikeunfinished
business!Andgiventhatmy
recreationalchoiceswere
extremelylimited,musicwas
theoneconstructiveactivity
I couldfocuson.Particularly
thewritingandrecordingof
songs.INTERVIEW: JON DALE
SLEEVENOTES
1 I WantYour
Dreams
2 OnceIs Enough
3 HeavenlyDay
4 LoveComes
OnSilentFeet
5 ThePower
Is In You
6 Believe
In Nothing
7 WarPlanRed
848 Crash
9 WalkingIn Berlin
10 Love’sInferno
11 MasterOf
Destruction
12 Carousel
Producedby:
JamiePerrett
Recordedat:Snap
Studios,London
Personnel:
PeterPerrett
(guitar,vocals),
JamiePerrett
(guitar),Peter
PerrettJr(bass),
JennyMaxwell
(synthesiser,viola,
backingvocals),
LaurenMoon
(keys,drums,
backingvocals),
JakeWoodward
(drums)
Q&A
PETER PERRETT
Humanworld
DOMINO
8/10
Asecondgem,equallyunexpected,from
the returning Only One.By Jon Dale
STEVE GULLICK
