live stuff: scritti politti at the scala, 11/7/06

Green Gartside's Scritti Politti have got a fair amount of press coverage recently describing how they're back from the 80s wilderness. In fact, they had an album out as recently as 1999. Some tracks from Anomie and Bonhomie get an outing tonight but songs from the recently Mercury Music Prize-nominated White Bread Black Beer take up most of the set. The only exceptions that I can spot are "The Sweetest Girl" from 1982's Songs to Remember--I'd forgotten until I just looked it up on Google that this was covered by Madness--and their big "hit" "Wood Beez", last song of the night. In contrast to material from their 80s heyday, some songs on the new album seem quite spartan, three chord jobs (well, maybe four) with acoustic guitar accompaniment. They don't get the most tumultuous reception I've ever heard, but they're pretty slick and have still got some good tunes...