Black Grape - Pop Voodoo: Shaun Ryder’s melon is still a bit twisted

A third Black Grape album? There are many who would argue that a second was unnecessary, but here we are, 20 years after the release of Stupid Stupid Stupid, with a new clutch of songs from Shaun Ryder and co.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that there are some half-decent (albeit unprogressive) songs here, not least the laid-back trip-hop of Money Burns and the soulful funk-stomp of Shame, while the rambunctious title track defies you not to dance in your chair. Ryder's not afraid to get political; the opening track is a four-letter-word-strewn tirade against Donald Trump.

Other tracks are less considered, like the rhyming dictionary awfulness of Sugar Money. When all is said and done, the voodoo here is negligible - but nostaglia carries these pop songs through, for the most part.

[ blackgrapeofficial.com ]