“Fuck 'em… and their law!” God, what a truly amazing record this is, an artifact from when XL was strictly a rave label, decades before Adele and Radiohead had their feet up on the desk. Jilted strikes the perfect balance between the ‘ardkore purism of Experience (1992) and the big crossover sound of Fat Of The Land (1997). Like other Prodigy records up to this point, it's basically a Liam Howlett solo record, with a lone vocal contribution from Maxim Reality on “Poison.” There are subtle layers of guitars on a few tracks, but nowhere near the big beat rave-rock of “Breathe” or “Firestarter.” At first glance, there’s no *anthems* in the literal sense - nothing you can really scream along to, but the big trancey melody on “Voodoo People” is as anthemic as it gets. Chipmunk rave bombs “No Good” and “Break & Enter” are up there too. This music is strictly for getting, as they say, off your tits to. “Full Throttle,” “Speedway” and “One Love” are equally deadly. The album winds down mercilessly with aptly-titled acid breakbeat killer “Claustrophic Sting.” Gulp! I haven't raved at my desk like this in a long time. 2018 double vinyl repress on XL with printed inner sleeves, recommended.

• black double vinyl pressing
• printed inner sleeves
• originally released in 1994
• music label: XL Recordings 2019

reviewed by laughable butane bob 11/2019