I consider PM Dawn to be my "guilty pleasure". I know it's a bit cheesy, but I can't help it because they sound so good. As you probably know, they had a big hit a few years back with a song called "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss," which borrowed the undeniably catchy riff from "True" by Spandau Ballet. That seems to be half of PM Dawn's philosophy; take a great tune from an old song, add some soul-searching lyrics, and whip up a hit song. The sad thing is, I fall for it every time, hook line and sinker.
This time out the group is sampling hot and heavy, lifting grooves from Joni Mitchell, Deep Purple, and 808 State among others. The results are the usual successful mixture of rolling 70's/80's pop melodies with contemporary beats and sound production, and the lyrics of course are still out there as far as ever. Prince Be AKA Reasons, is the head honcho lyricist of the group, and he's decidedly different. I just read in an interview that he decided not to talk for three weeks last May when he turned 25. Another time he was at a radio station and he claims he asked the listening audience to come take his unlocked Pathfinder truck if they wanted it (apparently nobody was listening, because it was still there with the keys in it when he came out). He goes out of his way to turn his brain inside out when he writes his songs. Love, souls, religions, it's all here...after two albums of goofy searching, our pals have embraced Christianity, and they aren't shy in devoting every second of the album to it.
Now, I'm hardly the most religious fellow on Earth, but for some strange reason I like this album. A lot. It's a combination of things, I guess. First, my favorite 808 State song is "Pacific," and PM Dawn has chosen that as one of their samples. Second, nearly every song, though pretentiously deep in the lyric department, embeds itself in your brain, causing you to sing it all day. Third, the last song on the new album is an 8-minute medley of Prince's "1999," Talking Heads' "Letting the Days Go By," and the now-classic song "Coconut". Lastly, in their mandatory incomprehensible intro track, they include a sample of Linus from a Peanuts cartoon, talking about the Great Pumpkin (a thinly veiled reference to God, no doubt).
So what if they're too serious for their own good? So what if they borrow the tunes for the first 5 songs from other groups? PM Dawn does it with style...and Jesus Wept is a smooth, stylish ride indeed.
