August 29, 2007

Public Enemy

How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul

6 / 10 Those of us who are paid by the word can only thank Chuck D and co for the unwieldy title of the latest PE effort, which, though displaying no evidence that the’ve listened to any hip-hop in the last 10 years, has a certain loud and unreasonable charm. Nowhere more so than on deafening rock-rap breezeblock ‘Black Is Back’ and the hefty ‘Frankenstar’. The leonine funk of ‘Can You Hear Me Now’, produced by Redman, is a standout track, while ‘See Something, Say Something’ rides on a Stax-style loop so slinky you could wear it as a scarf. There are clumsy moments too, notably the solemnly intoning children on ‘Sex, Drugs & Violence’. But the saddest feature of the album are the sample-snippets of vocals from PE’s glory days. When you constantly remind the world how great you were, it rather detracts from the good stuff you’re still capable of.

Pete Cashmore

Rate this album

Average rating

NEW! For the latest music videos and backstage interviews, check out our brand new sister site, NME Video.