Thru' the Flowers: Revisiting The Primitives' "Lovely"

The Primitives

It was 1988, and I was a summer exchange student in Belgium.  Before I returned to the United States, I made a mix tape of music that was popular while I was there.  There were a few Belgian New Beat tracks, all the rave the, on there, as well as French artists like Stephan Eicher, France Gall, and Etienne Daho.  Then there was the single "Crash", a vibrant jangle by the British noise pop group, The Primitives.

When I got back to the States, I decided to buy their entire debut cassette, "Lovely".  I loved that tape, wore it out, still have it.  But I saw The Primitives for what they were.

A couple of years earlier, I - along with everyone else - fell in love with "Psychocandy" by The Jesus & Mary Chain, with its '60s-tinged wall-of-sound style and subdued vocals.  This was the birth of noise pop and the precursor to shoegaze, a scene still strong today.  It was influenced by Joy Division, as well as '60s acts like The Shangri-Las and Phil Spector acts like The Ronettes.  It was evident that The Primitives, also taking a page from the mid '60s, were taking a page from The Jesus & Mary Chain.  They were the music industries answer to that swirling music, trying to capitalize on a "sure thing".  Following the release of "Psychocandy", The Primitives were not the only band to catch this proverbial wave.  There was Transvision Vamp, The Darling Buds, Voice of the Beehive, and even The Stone Roses.

But that is not entirely fair to The Primitives, because they produced a really good album, a really sparkling pop jewel with buzzsaw guitars and Tracy Tracy singing sweet lyrics that were reminiscent of another decade.  But whereas The Jesus & Mary Chain were kind of dark and mopey, The Primitives are almost the polar opposites.  They are light and sweet, almost saccharine.  There is nothing heavy about this record.  It is not serious and very fun.

"Crash" is followed by "Spacehead" with a driving drum beat and furious Ramones guitar riffs offset by Tracy's giddy chorus of "Sha la la la."  "Carry Me Home" is the next song, a light-hearted song with Paul Court taking lead vocals.  I have always found his voice too nasally, and I definitely prefer Tracy's pipes.  "Shadow" with its Indian beat is a psychedelic song that takes a page from The Beatles, and it really seems out of place on this record.  "Thru' the Flowers" has always been my favorite song, and perhaps the song that resembles The Jesus & Mary Chain, possibly "The Hardest Walk" with its highly distorted guitars balanced by Tracy's angelic voice.  "I'll Stick With You" and "Out of Reach" are perhaps among the most '60s sounding of the songs, "Stop Killing Me" cranks the fuzz back up to 11, along with another doo wop chorus.  "Out of Reach" and "Run Baby Run" will never be considered overly contemplative, but they are sharply written pop songs.  "Ocean Blue" is their attempt at a ballad.  "Don't Want Anything to Change" is so '60s you need a beehive hairdo to listen to it.  The album ends with "Buzz Buzz Buzz", going off format with a rockabilly song, with Tracy and Court sharing vocal duties, and yet it turns out to be one of the best songs on this collection.

The digital copy of this album includes the single "Way Behind Me".  I'm glad it's here, because it is the only song off of their second album, "Pure", that I would really care to own.  It saved me a download.  But The Primitives are on form with a jangle pop tune that even starts out with snapping.

This whole album is catchy and fun.  It was an important record to me in my teen years.  It is interesting to own this record now as an adult to see where it fits in the chain of music I loved from yesteryear until today, influencing the music I love today.  If you have not heard of The Primitives, it would be well-worth it to check this record out.