The Prodigy announce new single/new album

[iamneorev]

E-mail sent out announcing "Need Some1" single premiere on Annie Mac tonight as well as video premiere on YouTube afterwards...


No Tourists album title and cover art announced on their Instagram...


And you didn't believe me.

[iamneorev]

Preorder: https://theprodigy.tmstor.es

[holden]

Slightly less annoying than anything on Invaders Must Die, but...sigh...same old (and tired) sounds. Is that really a glass breaking percussion hit? C'mon,Liam, you're better than that. Or are you, considering the style hasn't changed since Fat of the Land?

Yeah, I realize Prodigy have always been aggressive rave/rock, but whereas Jilted and FoTL seemed cutting edge and a little dangerous, everything since has been in the same vein and less exciting as a result. I can't listen to Invaders or TDiME without hitting skip because it's just an onslaught of nonsense and big beats without any of the melody or build of their 90's tunes like Climbatize or Narcotic Suite ( ok, AONO had a few interesting tracks like Girls and Memphis Bells, mostly because they were different from the shouty Keith and Maxim nonsense and it was after the backlash of the truly awful Baby's Got a Temper, a.k.a. Firestarter 2.0)

Points for consistency. I'm sure this will go down great live.
Negative marks for creativity.

[iamneorev]

A new clip of a Prodigy track...

[holden]

Originally Posted by iamneorev

A new clip of a Prodigy track...

Voodoo People v. 2018. Yawn. But then, what's old eventually comes around again as cutting edge.

[iamneorev]

Originally Posted by holden

Voodoo People v. 2018. Yawn. But then, what's old eventually comes around again as cutting edge.

You mean Their Law, he's using the Their Law synth preset, but playing different notes. The rest of the clip sounds absolutely nothing like Their Law or Voodoo People.

If this is bothering you now, then you haven't been paying close attention. Liam has been reusing/resampling sounds since the beginning.

- The opening of Smack My Bitch Up goes all the way back to Crazy Man in 1992
- Out Of Space bells have appeared in Diesel Power and Omen
- Everybody In The Place roll effect in The Big Gundown
- Rhythm Of Life and Break And Enter and his Jesus Jones remix shares bits and pieces

...just to name a few. There's little sounds ripped out and reused all over. Liam has always been about sampling, not just others but also himself.

Pay close attention.

[holden]

Originally Posted by iamneorev

You mean Their Law, he's using the Their Law synth preset, but playing different notes. The rest of the clip sounds absolutely nothing like Their Law or Voodoo People.

If this is bothering you now, then you haven't been paying close attention. Liam has been reusing/resampling sounds since the beginning.

- The opening of Smack My Bitch Up goes all the way back to Crazy Man in 1992
- Out Of Space bells have appeared in Diesel Power and Omen
- Everybody In The Place roll effect in The Big Gundown
- Rhythm Of Life and Break And Enter and his Jesus Jones remix shares bits and pieces

...just to name a few. There's little sounds ripped out and reused all over. Liam has always been about sampling, not just others but also himself.

Pay close attention.

Sampling oneself is fine (see Chemical Brothers), I suppose, and i know Liam has dug deep with other people's sounds to create new tunes. I'll withhold further judgement until I hear the full album. I'm just not impressed by Need Some 1 or really anything beyond AONO. It just is all in the same vein of tough guy aggro with hardly any melody or progression. prodigy wasn't like that in the 90's, so I know what they're capable of achieving. Maybe No Tourists will be a progression of style after all. But till it's out, I reserve the right to opine that these clips sound like ground already covered.

[iamneorev]

Originally Posted by holden

Sampling oneself is fine (see Chemical Brothers), I suppose, and i know Liam has dug deep with other people's sounds to create new tunes. I'll withhold further judgement until I hear the full album. I'm just not impressed by Need Some 1 or really anything beyond AONO. It just is all in the same vein of tough guy aggro with hardly any melody or progression. prodigy wasn't like that in the 90's, so I know what they're capable of achieving. Maybe No Tourists will be a progression of style after all. But till it's out, I reserve the right to opine that these clips sound like ground already covered.

It's all good, I haven't been blown away by an Underworld album in full from front to back since Beaucoup Fish. They've written some great songs since, but no albums that have enthralled like their big 3. All these legendary 90s electronic artists seem to have their big 3. Sure, I can put on any Underworld and listen to it. I don't mean that they suck and I hate it. It just doesn't excite me as much as say Dubnobass or Second Toughest or BF, but still not terrible albums.

Personally, I have enjoyed more material off The Prodigy's AONO to TDIME than Underworld's AHDO to BBWFASF. But hey, to each their own. It depends on the mood you're looking for. I have the same feeling for Chemical Brothers. They have never matched the greatness of EPD, DYOH, and Surrender. I LOVE Surrender. But for the most part I can put on any Chem Bros album and not hate it. But many of these artists don't match the greatness of their earlier stuff, but still enjoyable to me.

I enjoyed IMD and TDIME, AONO was 50/50. Have they had as much of an impact on me as Experience, Jilted, or Fat? No. But I still enjoy them. Prodigy are all about playing live now. It's where they make their money. So they write music that hits hard live... and these new tracks work live.

As for Chems, Push The Button and Born In The Echoes are on the bottom for me. Barking and BBWFASF are on the bottom of my Underworld list. Again, I don't hate these albums, just don't enjoy them as much as the others. But they don't want to make me claw my ears out like a Creed or Nickelback or David Guetta or Katy Perry album.

Shockingly, I thought Orbital's Wonky was their best album. I know, blasphemy, but I really enjoyed that album. I also love In Sides and Snivilization. Excited to see how Monsters Exist turns out.

[iamneorev]

The Prodigy debuted their new track "Light Up The Sky" on Sunday at Electric Picnic. This is the same song featured in the tour announcement video.

[joethelion]

I thought that 'Ghost Town' was actually supposed to be on AONO (not that it was a FOTL track), plus - Tricky's version came out in '95... and they played it live a few times during that weird period when the AONO was supposed to come out (but didn't).

I could be mis-remembering (it's easily been 10 years since I've heard the recordings), but I think "Ghost Town" used to transition into "Medusa's Path"

Plus, I’d say that “Back 2 Skool” was an AONO song (not FOTL), b/c it was used on their website to promote the original version of the album.

...and as far as "Climbatize" ... I'm a bit confused about your timeline:

"Liam met with Perry who asked them to play Lollapalooza at the time. Sadly, their schedule was full with writing the new album and shows they already booked. Liam had to turn him down, so Perry responded by telling him he couldn't do the track."

...because the Prodigy actually did headline Lolla in 1997*
(* I remember wanting to go back then, but I had no chance - as I was 14, and I don't think it toured anywhere near where I lived)


FOTL was/is also my favorite album of theirs, but I think something happened to Liam/the band that just fundamentally shifted their confidence (and their sound) around '99 / '01. I mean - there were several songs recorded (and even played live) for AONO, which still haven’t been released, including: another Kool Keith song, Gun (Reprise), Nuclear, Benny Blanco, No Souvenirs… just off the top of my head. The original “Shoot Down” is also leaps and bounds better than the released version.

(edit)
also, thanks for mentioning "Carmen Queasy" - I totally forgot about that track! Just popped it onto my iPhone