Evil Heat

In many ways, Evil Heat is a simplified sibling to its monolithic predecessor, 2000’s XTRMNTR. It was recorded around the time that The Strokes and electroclash emerged, and it uses a similar back-to-basics approach. The songs are mostly short, catchy and simple — the single “Miss Lucifer” isn’t much more than a bassline, beat and electronic screeches. But the juxtaposition of traditional pop song structures with the sound the band had been working with for a couple of years at that point — an industrial and electronic update of P-Funk — results in excellent tracks like the paranoid pulse of “Deep Hit of the Morning Sun,” the frigid gospel of “Space Blues #2” and the blues shuffle of “The Lord is My Shotgun.” The centerpiece of Evil Heat is “Rise,” an anti-imperialist screed that was titled “Bomb the Pentagon” until 9/11. The sloganeering lyrics and pounding, electronically treated garage-punk beat exemplify the album as a whole — a sleazy, cynical restatement of XTRMNTR with pop sensibilities. It’s not Primal Scream’s best work, but it’s close.