Peter Perrett: The Cleansing
(Domino)
LP | CD | DL
Out 1st November, 2024
Peter Perrett returns with his most ambitious project to date, a double album that ruminates on the passing of time while recalling and harnessing the energy of youth, one that casts an eye over a changing world while retaining a romantic soul.
The double-edged sword of the double album is a well-known pitfall of many an artist, one that the very greats are never spared the swift slice of fans eager to cut the wheat from the chaff. The problem lies in where, in how. What from the crop rises to the top? What stays on the cutting room floor? Debates rage for decades between the most ardent. Into the fray steps Peter Perrett with his new album, The Cleansing. Over twenty tracks he still proves that he has the knack to turn a phrase on a penny and pull at your heart, especially as his always brittle yet captivating voice reaches deep inside, demanding your attention at every moment for fear of missing something. Of course, over such an endeavour, he was never going to hit the right note every time, but there are plenty that shine so brightly to justify his reach for such an expansive whole, and the guests that join him help raise the bar further.
At the outset, on the opening two songs especially, he seems to focus on the possibility of leaving, of finding the perfect moment to bid his goodbye, pleading on the opening track to help him go with dignity. That he does it over a raucous track that kicks up a storm beneath, the occasional breaking bottle smashing in defiance rallies a chorus from the masses to stand against his desire. If this is what it means to sign off, then no, we will not allow him to go.
Since Perrett returned in 2017 so triumphantly with How The West Was Won, a bolt from the blue for his fans, something they never thought possible, aided by his sons, he has continued on a resurging wave, a power that was expected to dwindle in a far off deep sea distance now pounding the shores and reminding us of what we fell for at the outset of The Only Ones. There is still a romanticism of lives lost to the drama of the day-to-day, something that talks directly to many. He plays it across storming tracks like the single Disinfectant and over plaintive ruminations of Fountain Of You, the latter one of his most beautiful songs of recent years. And that folks, is just the opening triplet of The Cleansing.
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What is clear though is that the album is by no means focused on introspection as he turns his focus on various occasions outwards on a society that seems lost to disconnection. Nowhere is it more pointed than on Survival Mode, a song that rallies against the inability we have to communicate with dignity, to see the views of others as something to engage with. As the lyrics so deftly put it, we refuse to turn the page but rather respond with anger and rage. He takes the topic from both the interior and exterior, at times playing the affected masses before turning around to become the devil that pulls our strings against each other. He returns to the theme on World In Chains, bemoaning the shift to an automated world devoid of emotion. There is hope, however, as when we learn once again how to feel, so we realise that we can still love.
And that is of course what has run through the veins of Perrett’s work throughout the decades, for beneath the grime, the acridity, there is still the beating heart of a romantic, a man in search of a deep connection and a love that can bind and heal. On Set The House On Fire, he unveils a beautiful story over a sparse and chiming sole guitar before continuing through Feast For Sore Eyes and on to the spellbinding There For You, on which he revels once again in his adoration of Lou Reed. It is a song of two people coming together to lift each other up, the contribution of Kristin Kontrol on backing vocals elevating it further.
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There is also an air of finality on certain tracks such as I Wanna Go Out With Dignity and Do Not Resuscitate, the latter sounding close to a message to the world, to loved ones, to us all that there may be an end in his sight. Over a gentle melody, he softly lays out his wishes, one that also reflects on his past addictions, the need to float away on one final fix. He then follows it with The Cleansing, the lyrics talking of spreading our wings before burning out, a fatalism, a search for a better place and finally, when laid out on a slab, the rinsed and cleansed remains no longer reflect the life led.
Given that the title track closes the first part, it raises a question as to whether Perrett originally conceived the project as two separate albums but decided to release them together to ensure he sees the reaction. It is somewhat reinforced when taken along with the opening of the second part, the haunting string-led lament of All That Time, a song that reflects on a life wasted in states of self-destruction through the lens of wild abandon. He seems clearly to be looking back considering what might have been, bridging us lyrically between a distinct feeling of before and after.
It also showcases how his chosen collaborators on the album have raised many of the songs to such a high level. The plaintive piano and string arrangement here of Fontaines DC’s Carlos O’Connell is sublime in capturing the essence of the song, and Bobby Gillespie (who appears on various tracks) provides simple yet affecting backing vocals. O’Connell’s contributions, continuing on the following Kill A Franco Spy, maintain the dramatic overtures. His son Jaime also stamps his mark on many of the songs with some searing lead guitar lines. Be it Johnny Marr appearing on World in Chains and Solitary Confinement, Alice Go’s innocent backing vocals on various tracks, each adds to the whole to create something truly special.
As the album comes to a close, Perrett has one more piece of advice for us:
I want to make things crystal clear
If it ever comes to fruition
You got to own the choices you made
Looking back on his past, he has done just that and The Cleansing seems to be a summation of his acceptance of the life he has lived. At the outset of the album’s twenty tracks, we hear that he does not want to overstay his welcome and, as the final chord chime on Crystal Clear, he has done no such thing.
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Words by Nathan Whittle. Find his Louder Than War archive here.
Nathan also presents From The Garage on Louder Than War Radio every Tuesday at 8pm. Tune in for an hour of fuzz-crunching garage rock ‘n’ roll and catch up on all shows on the From The Garage Mixcloud playlist.
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