Early Warning: Primal Scream

Later this month, Primal Scream comes to Chicago for the first time in years. Their latest disc, Beautiful Future, abandons the classic rock cliches that dragged down their previous effort and finds the group regaining a more solid dance rock stance. The aggressive tendencies displayed on XTRMNTR and Evil Heat are still there but now it's again tempered by a groove provided by thrumming basslines and propulsive rhythms as on dreamier works like Vanishing Point. Through it all there's a deft nod to '80s pop holding the whole stew together, allowing various influences to slop out from its borders and spill over the listener.

We suppose we have Austin's SXSW music conference to thank for the band's Stateside return, since their tour seems based around that appearance, and not the domestic release of the excellent album described above. We say that because at this time, inexplicably, there is no set date for Beautiful Future's release in the U.S., making their Metro stop even more of a must-attend event since we suspect it's the only place you're getting the album without paying exorbitant import pricing!

Primal Scream plays at Metro, 3730 N Clark, March 22, 8 p.m., $27.50, 18+

Photo from the band's MySpace