photo: Fabrizio Rainone
You can't sound dated when you stick to the unique sound you invented. Poly Styrene was a key member of the legendary UK punk band X-Ray Spex, a band that had more musical chops than was regarded as cool at the time. She has been a Hare Krishna devotee after the band broke up (a very hippie and un-punk thing to do) and was recording intermittently as a solo artist throughout the Eighties, before dropping off the radar until 2007 when the 30th Anniversary of X-Ray Spex' only album Germ Free Adolescents was celebrated at the Roundhouse in London with a special a concert.
And now she is back with a solo album. Generation Indigo has very up-to-date lyrics, embedded in a mixture of punk, rock, ska and reggae. Styrene remains a sharp observer, with to the point songs about a cyberspace (Virtual Boyfriend), global warming (White Gold). She can be cocky (I Luv Ur Sneakers) and slip into big city bravado (Trash City), but there is only one word to catch the mood of this album: danceable. Play really fucking loud.
Generation Indigo is released on Future Noise Music. USA release date: April 26.
Tracks:
- I Luv Ur Sneakers
- Virtual Boyfriend
- Generation Indigo
- Kitsch
- White Gold
- L.U.V.
- Ghoulish
- Code Pink Dub
- Colour Blind
- Thrash City
- No Rockefeller
- Electric Blue Monsoon
MP3: Poly Styrene - Trash City
Video: Poly Styrene - Virtual Boyfriend
