Un - Chumbawamba Album Review

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Album Review

You have had your five minutes of fame; you have had your hit song ('Tubthumping') played more times than Dominoes on a Thursday night at the Flying Piglet, so what do you do next? Do you try and push your way in to scoff at the trough of D-list celebrity T.V. and attempt a dignity sapping extension of your fame? Or do you retreat back to your roots and do what seems to be the impossible these days and go back to producing bold, daring and most importantly authentic music. Chumbawumba have to their credit done the latter and it is as refreshing as a bucket of water of the head of the Deputy Prime Minister's head. This can be demonstrated recourse to the album's opening track; 'The Wizard of Menlo Park' featuring old style eccentric Chumbawumba instrumentals and lyrics that Mick Skinner would trade a lifetime of Doner Kebabs for;

"Old Thomas Edison mixing up the medicine, messing up time from Accrington to Amazon. See them all come with their wires and booms and their itchy little things saying 'Play your funky drum!'"

'Un' is a variety packed anarchic indie offering that highlights the fact that the wacky group fuelled by the chirpy vocals of Dunstan Bruce, seems to be just having fun and is relishing their time away from the public glare. There material is peppered with cutting edge lyrics and topical tirades against the establishment. 'On eBay' lashes out at the looting of Iraqi national treasures from under the noses of the US Forces. 'Un" contains typical Chumba idiosyncrasies, but most of all it is an insightful and compelling listen, with each number having its own merits. Therefore, there is no standout track to provide a distorted view of the band this time around.

David Adair