There’s nothing more jarring than stasis, so it’s a pleasure to hear how Palookaville, Fatboy Slim’s latest album, diverges from its four-year-old predecessor. Mercifully Fatboy has flowed with the passage of time, waving a brave farewell to what brought him worldwide DJ fame as he exchanges solitary computer sampling for writing and recording with real live musicians.
The result is a wide range of traditionally-structured songs against a strong dance background. In typical Fatboy fashion, Palookaville makes you want to drop everything and rush out to party, but there’s a human element that his heavily sampled, abstract and joyfully frenzied stuff lacks. Don’t get me wrong; I still love listening to Fatboy’s old dance tunes: there’s an intelligence and exuberance that marks them out from the herd, but I’d be disappointed if he produced another album of pure dance.
On Palookaville Fatboy collaborates with serious talent. ‘Long Way From Home’ was written by Brighton-based up-and-comings Jonny Quality, while the uplifting ‘Push and Shove’ features Justin Robertson warbling Manchester-style. Blur’s Damon Albarn provides lead vocals on the brilliant ‘Put It Back Together’ and San Fran rapper Lateef guests on two tracks, including the party-time future single ‘Wonderful Night’, with its lyrics about super models, David Beckam and chemicals that make you feel invinvible.
The couple of dancefloor numbers on Palookaville are a bit dull, and the downside to all the variety is a lack of thematic cohesion – small drawbacks to an otherwise quality album.