It blows my mind that Primal Scream has been making music for close to 25 years. In that time they’ve had their ups and downs, both as a band and as individual members. They’ve done more drugs than found at last Saturday’s rave and gone from punk influenced indie pop to hippyish techno love gods to screaming devil rockers. And yet somehow they’ve always sounded like Primal Scream. Yes, a lot of it is to do with Bobbie Gillespie’s distinctive vocals and, since he joined in 1996, ex-Stone Roses Mani’s awesome bass playing, but even so, there’s no mistaking a Primal Scream song, whether it’s a lazy ballad, a disco throwback, or blues inspired rock song.

Beautiful Future is a celebration of the diversity of the band, and their ability to write damn good songs. The title track is probably their most unusual in that it’s the most poppy, with the bells that chime throughout making it feel rather Christmassy. Glory of Love is equally poppy but with a grimy, distorted bassline that belies the content of the lyrics. Uptown is a celebration of the weekend, and even though laid back, is catchy as fuck. Once in your head, it’s hard to get out.

Although never as angry as XTRMNTR nor Bluesy as Give Out But Don’t Give Up, in many ways Beautiful Future comes across as a best of album, even though they’re all new tracks. Suicide Bomb recalls the controversy of Swastika Eyes, but with a more laid back groove. Zombie Man and Necro Hex Blues (Feat. Josh Homme) are both rocking blues tracks, definitely reminiscent of Jailbird and Rocks. I Love To Hurt (You Love To Be Hurt) featuring Lovefoxxx is a bleepy dance track that harks back to Screamadelica.

All in all, Beautiful future is a solid rock album that dabbles in other genres, without being tryhard, and I think that pretty much sums up Primal Scream as a band in general. They may have been mellowed by age, and may not be as harsh and confrontational as they have been in the past, but with that comes a maturity and better understanding of music, which has led to Primal Scream putting out a damn good album.