Review by Dan:

Norman Cook’s alter ego returns with an album whose title comes from Marlon Brando’s monologue in 1954’s “On The Waterfront”. 4 years in the making following “Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars”, this continues to nudge the boundaries of experimental dance, Cook even picks up his bass for the first time since his Housemartins days. Highlights for me would be “Slash Dot Dash”, which nods at the original trip hop of “Rockafeller Skank”, the break-heavy, buoyant “Wonderful Night”, featuring a feel-good rap from Lateef, and the soothing sax and vocals of “North West Three”. Blur’s Damon Albarn provides some lazy guest vocals on “Put It Back Together”, and the crazy interpretation of the well known, percussion heavy, phonetic “Jing Go Lo Ba” makes you want to jig about. “Palookaville” is rounded off with Bootsy Collins guesting on a cover of Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker”. Different? Yes. Innovative? Yes. Boring? Definitely not.