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Thankfully, Kevin Shields puts together some great guitarscapes in Evil Heat -- maybe the best work he's done post Loveless. It's what saves this record, since Bobby Gillespie (as usual) tries to ruin some of these tracks with some pretty silly lyrics.
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The biggest detractor here is the band's lack of focus. The record is downright messy at times, even if the thick, murky quality does, in some instances, work to considerable effect.
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UncutEvil Heat doesn't exactly break new ground and often amounts to, strictly speaking, little more than pastiche. [Aug 2002, p.104]
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Evil Heat lacks a coherent vision and sounds, if anything, like Xtrmntr's cast-offs.
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MojoLess conceptually pure than its predecessor in terms of tone and motivation it may be, but Evil Heat's bespoke tailoring pays dividends time and time again. [Aug 2002, p.94]
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Q MagazineOn the down side, it's a record that fails to keep pace. [Aug 2002, p.133]
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A clear progression from 1997's broody 'Vanishing Point' and 2000's abrasive 'Xtrmntr', the seventh Primals album is genuinely their most diverse and consistently thrilling since 'Screamdelica'.
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As always, Primal Scream's sonics remain as thick as their hooks are slim.
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SpinDark, electroshocked eighth album from Brit rock's premier party people. [Jan 2003, p.99]
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Alternative PressSadly, the electro-plated Evil Heat is neither evil nor particularly molten. [Jan 2003, p.99]
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The Wire"Miss Lucifer"... [is] the first of many tracks on Evil Heat that cross rock 'n' roll and electro, only to get Sigue Sigue Sputnik. [#223, p.61]
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MagnetFor all its attempts at hipster currency, Evil Heat reveals the needle-shaped creative hole where the drugs used to be. [#57, p.102]
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Evil Heat... feels suspiciously like XTRMNTR outtakes, which isn't half as bad as it sounds; there's a sense of cohesion to the proceedings, and nothing, wisely, sounds remotely like the gossamer bliss-takes of Screamadelica.
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BlenderWhat could have been an awful mess is instead a glorious mess. [#12, p.151]
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Gillespie's lyrics will never win any Nobels, but the musical excitement generated here is impossible to deny.
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In many ways, 'Evil Heat' comes across as something of an amalgam of the Scream's many phases and, because of that, it doesn't necessarily take them forward as their work in the past has done.
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Not quite the apocalyptic inverse Screamadelica that XTRMNTR was, it’s still a damn site more radical, experimental and dangerous than anything produced by any other mainstream rock band this year.
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UrbWhile it misses the suicidal rush of imminent destruction, Evil Heat still sounds dangerously rash. [Jan 2003, p.76]
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No great leaps of faith, no huge style shifts, just more of what we've come to love them for. But a bit more laid back and, erm, druggy? If that's at all possible.
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Their catchiest, most compelling record yet.
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Bobby Gillespie and company come up short here.
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A letdown from the full-on intensity and imagination of their previous release.
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MixerUltimately, Evil Heat is more evocative than innovative, but why rewrite the book when it's already a compelling read. [Dec 2002, p.80]
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Where Kraftwerk, MC5, and Miles Davis used to tempt them to excess, here the production unites their diverse influences, every track attacking the speakers like an angry lunatic thrashing against the walls of a poorly soundproofed room.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 12
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Mixed: 1 out of 12
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Negative: 0 out of 12
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KidAMay 13, 2006Ooh baby, do it again, ooh baby, come on baby do it again Skull X, City, and Detroit are amazing Everything else is decent
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rexjDec 10, 2002
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BrunoAug 18, 2002Another masterpiece! 'XTRMNTR' was great but these records ('Vanishing Point' & 'Evil Heat') set real benchmarks!