The Cleansing

by Peter Perrett

Overview

Since returning to the recording studio in late 2017, Peter Perrett has been nothing short of brilliant, and never more so than on 2024's The Cleansing. The singer twists his sneeringly humane vocals around a set of songs that are eye-wateringly honest about his dangerous past, desperately emotional about the people he loves, and stand right in the center between bloody nostalgia and up-to-date missives from a still-beating heart. He peppers his straight to-the-point post-punk rockers and jangling trad rock ballads with bitter wit, hard-won wisdom, and a collection of bon mots, put downs, and declarations drawn from a life lived right up to the edge for more years than most could handle. He's joined by his sons -- guitarist/producer Jamie and bassist Peter, Jr. -- plus a cavalcade of guest stars like Johnny Marr, Dream Wife guitarist Alice Go, Bobby Gillespie, Douglas Hart of Jesus and Mary Chain fame, and Fontaines D.C. member Carlos O'Connell. Together, they whip up a sound that's perfectly in tune with Perrett's songs, twanging with gunfighter drama ("Survival Mode"), rocking out with glee ("Disinfectant"), swaying with graceful solemnity ("Feast for Sore Eyes), or conjuring up the ghost of the Only Ones ("Back in the Hole"). Twenty songs is a lot for any album and it could have been a grind if the band was content to mine the same sonic territory the whole time; luckily, Perrett and co. change things up from song to song and keep listeners on their toes by throwing in squalls of feedback, arrangements stripped down to their bare-bones, out-of-nowhere backing vocals, etc. -- the sounds are interesting but never distract from the star of the show: Perrett's songs and voice. He's probably never delivered a stronger set of songs, lyrically or melodically, and somehow his voice has never sounded better. He imbues the tales of wasted youth (and beyond) with brutal dollops of truth, never romanticizing or asking for sympathy, while delivering love songs with a warmth that can be attributed to being happy to still be alive to experience it. Despite the heavy thread of darkness that runs through The Cleansing, in the end the album is strangely uplifting and yes, cleansing, as he washes out the sadness, pain, and suffering he's been through and ends up on his feet, bruised but still ready to carry on. By the end of the record, listeners are liable to feel the same way. There are no barriers or guardrails here, it's an unblinking gaze into the abyss, and victory over that bleakness, that can be shared by anyone brave enough to tag along. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	11/01/2024
Label:	Domino
UPC:	0887828054312

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Wanna Go with Dignity
2. Disinfectant
3. Fountain of You
4. Secret Taliban Wife
5. Solitary Confinement
6. Women Gone Bad
7. Survival Mode
8. Mixed Up Confucius
9. Do Not Resuscitate
10. The Cleansing

Disc 2

11. All That Time
12. Kill a Franco Spy
13. Set the House on Fire
14. Feast for Sore Eyes
15. There for You
16. Art Is a Disease
17. World in Chains
18. Back in the Hole
19. Less Than Nothing
20. Crystal Clear

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Peter Perrett   Primary Artist