The Prodigy: Invaders Must Die
Mild Prodigy?
I’m cool. No, seriously, I am – do you want to know why? ‘Course you bloody do…it’s because my first album, the very first one I parted with my hard-earned pocket money for, was the awesome, manly, chaotic bass-fest that was The Prodigy’s 'Fat of the Land'. I remember bouncing up and down on the sofa in my front room watching TOTP as the be-horned Keith Flint spat his way through 'Firestarter', showering the quaking, predominantly pre-pubescent crowd clutching their Boyzone posters with his creepy, taunting voice. My mum tutted and probably thought I was going to rush into the kitchen and begin piercing my face with a fork and raiding her jewellery box for earrings, but luckily this didn’t come until many years after…
So, yeah, I’m cool. Oh, you mean I have to tell the truth? Ok then…the first music I ever bought was, well, Boyzone’s 'Father & Son' and East 17’s 'Thunder'. Allow me to explain. When you’re young, the people only a year or two above you are cool as a guitar playing rock-star astronaut who plays up-front for England. They had girlfriends, could go to bed when they wanted, they smoked cigarettes for God’s sake! To ascend to those levels of coolness was the primary aim, and one thing they also did was buy music.
Hence there is little me, clutching my shilling and sixpence (or whatever it was then), stood in Woolworths and buying music. The actual music was irrelevant, the act of buying it the main prize. So, from this, you can pretty much understand why I stick to the first story about breaking your musical cherry. Incidentally, the first music I got bought for me was Edwyn Collins’ 'Girl Like You', which my auntie kindly bought me on tape, so I suppose this all balances out – doesn’t it? Ah well, the defence rests M’Lud…
Anyway, referring to the 'Fat of the Land' gives me a good jump off point. The Prodigy are back with their fifth studio offering, which has been given the rather siege-mentality based title 'Invaders Must Die'. After disbanding the initial line up for the rather limp 2004 album 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned', the main man Liam Howlett has brought back the motley crew of dancers and MCs that originally comprised the group for this attempt.
So, how is it? Well, as ever, Howlett has an almost preternatural ear for the cool sample, the catchiest synth line or an hypnotic vocal hook, and the album is a decent attempt at rendering some of the on-edge excitement of their original, rave-influenced recordings. The eponymous (and first) song on the album is a throbbing, almost menacing tune that takes a brooding tone, and is undoubtedly destined to be used by Sky Sports whenever they need music for a football montage where the players look in dramatically slow motion at the camera.
Several other tracks also stand out, such as the bouncy, driving 'Colours', the stunted breakbeat thrum and shouted ragga of 'Thunder' and 'Run With The Wolves', the latter of which features drumming from Dave Grohl. The main track for me though is the single 'Omen', which is a buoyant, kinetic piece with the xylophone sample and thudding drum the only thing holding together a riot of noise. It’s breathless and brilliant, and showcases all that is best about The Prodigy.
However, the album peters out somewhat, with the final two tracks 'Piranha' and 'Stand Up' being frankly horrible, the former sounding like a weak Hadouken rip-off (or, to borrow Charlie Brooker’s phrase, “a pinball machine malfunctioning on a bouncy castle) and 'Stand Up' sounding exactly like what would be produced if Take That’s current back-up band were let loose with some speed and a synthesiser.
All in all The Prodigy, for me, are much like Oasis, in that they are damned by their own brilliance. For 'Definitely Maybe' read 'Fat of the Land'. Much in the way Oasis are consistently decried for never producing another album as good as DM, despite turning out some brilliant music over their past few albums, the Prodigy are always destined to be measured against their immense 1997 album. 'Invaders Must Die' is a fine effort, and if it was made by the honestly execrable Prodigy progeny Pendulum we would probably hold it in higher regard.
Such as it is, 'Invaders Must Die' is a tidy, presentable slice of electro/drum and bass/rave/whatever it is The Prodigy too. It is at once shorn of the tenebrous edge of TFOTL and goes right back to the root of Prodigy, so great on the scene in the 1990s, with jangling arpeggios and shouted samples as well as thumping bass the leitmotifs. It is certainly a return to form, and one that has got me digging out my dungarees, glowsticks and smiley-face t-shirt in anticipation of the Second Coming of rave.
Oh, and one last thing; my brother’s first ever bought song was Robson & Jerome’s cover of 'Up On The Roof' – now that truly is shit.
7/10
Words: Paul Madill
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