Though their initial lifespan lasted just four years (1977 – 1981) and two studio albums, The Pop Group remain a seminal influence upon much of today’s more abrasive music scene, with their cultural stock arguably being as high as it’s ever been. Fusing elements of funk, dub and jazz together combined with the powerful agit-prop presence of frontman Mark Stewart, they remain one of post-punk’s figurehead bands, and one whose echo is felt discernibly today in artists as diverse as Primal Scream, Massive Attack and Thurston Moore. Following their well-received reformation shows in 2010, the band announced that they were recording a new album suposedly titled ‘The Alternate’, which never arrived. As a result the level of anticipation surrounding this long-delayed comeback album, now titled ‘Citizen Zombie’ is understandably high. Indeed the opening title track calls to mind Stewart’s recent ‘Culturecide’ collaboration with Primal Scream more than anything else as his distorted vocals reach out over a crunching backdrop of industrial-edged dub grooves and abrasive guitar bursts, in what’s certainly one of the most powerful bursts out of the gate here.
Elsewhere, ‘Shadow Child’ gets sinister and slinky, sending a shuffling funk drum groove rolling against jagged guitar flecks and thick analogue synths as Stewart’s distinctive nasal and hectoring vocal get tossed through reverb in one of the darkest dancefloor highlights to be found here. While the heavier tracks generally represent the stronger parts of this album though, it’s elsewhere that things start to come more unstuck. ‘S.o.p.h.i.a.’ offers up a P-funk flavoured slap bass workout that unfortunately calls to mind images of middle aged dads at the disco more than anything else, while ‘Nowhere Girl’ takes an ill advised wander into ballad territory, the gooey massed backing vocals adding to the sense of queasiness. While there’s certainly a satisfying level of crunch to the higher production values on display on ‘Citizen Zombie’, there’s often an overriding feeling that The Pop Group are frequently treading water here, with Stewart leaning upon repetitive sloganeering and all too obvious lyrical targets. Indeed it’s the longtime fans that are likely to be the most disappointed with this distinctly uneven return offering.
