End of World

by John Lydon, Lu Edmonds, Public Image Ltd., Scott Firth, Bruce Smith

Overview

An eight-year gap separated 2015's What the World Needs Nowâ?¦, the second album from John Lydon's 21st century lineup of Public Image Ltd., and 2023's End of World, and for a change the time away from the studio and John Lydon's crankiness can be easily explained -- his wife, Nora Forster, died in April 2023 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease, with Lydon serving as her primary caregiver in her last years. If anyone thought the experience might mellow the former Johnny Rotten a little, they're a tiny bit right -- the closing track, "Hawaii," was written for Forster, and it's a rare moment where he writes and sings from a place of compassion, offering an image of comfort and serenity to someone slipping into the darkness. Otherwise, End of World is clearly the work of British rock's leading cranky ranter. If there's a slightly more rueful tone in some of the other 12 tracks, "Pretty Awful," "L F C F," and "Down on the Clown" suggest he has no more use for humanity now than he ever has, and anyone who was not pleased with his endorsements of Donald Trump and Brexit should skip "Being Stupid Again," where he spits bile at activists and students. (Though how many are really shouting to Ban the Bomb or Save the Whales in 2023? Does Lydon know what year it is?) Musically, End of World marks the first time PiL has had the same lineup for three albums in a row. While subtle is not an adjective often applied to this band, guitarist Lu Edmonds, bassist Scott Firth, and drummer Bruce Smith play together with an authority and sense of communication that's audible in the sinewy groove of "Walls" and the off-kilter late-night rhythms of "Dirty Murky Delight" (the latter suggesting Lydon has been listening to his old Ian Dury records recently) as much as the louder, more ferocious attack of "North West Passage" and the title track, which hit hard without overplaying their hand. End of World isn't as immediately satisfying as the two albums that preceded it, but unlike lesser first-era PiL releases like 1984's This Is What You Wantâ?¦This Is What You Get and 1992's That What Is Not, here Lydon has ideas and sounds focused on making them into something, and he has a band capable of giving him all the support he needs. It's not entirely successful, but it's not lazy, either, and at this stage of Lydon's career (and given a very trying situation at home), that's to be commended. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2023
Label:	Pil Official
UPC:	5060446128008

Tracks

1. Penge
2. End Of The World
3. Car Chase
4. Being Stupid Again
5. Walls
6. Pretty Awful
7. Strange
8. Down On The Clown
9. Dirty Murky Delight
10. The Do That
11. L F C F
12. North West Passage
13. Hawaii

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Public Image Ltd.   Primary Artist
Bruce Smith   Primary Artist
John Lydon   Primary Artist
Lu Edmonds   Primary Artist
Scott Firth   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

John Lydon   Artwork,Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Lu Edmonds   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Scott Firth   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Bruce Smith   Arranger,Composer,Producer
James Towler   Mixing,Engineer
Brendan Davies   Mixing,Engineer
John Rambo Stevens   Producer,Photography
George Perks   Assistant Engineer
Danny Thomas   Assistant Engineer