Xtrmntr, Primal Scream's sixth album, is apparently frontman Bobby Gillespie's attempt at a searing indictment of the United States' globe-spanning militarism and the apologist media frenzy that accompanies it. Yeah, he's a pretty angry man. Of course, as is the case with any political commentary from a guy who spends almost as much time stoned as he spends awake, this should be taken with a grain of salt. But the album's good (as our overseas friends have known for several months).

At the heart of xtrmntr is the killer single "Swastika Eyes", in which a throbbing, New Order-ish bass line is paired with frenetic beats, chugging guitars, lots of keyboard burbling and Gillespie's soaring/scathing vocal. It's the sort of song that gets absolutely everyone in a club onto the dance floor -- energetic, aggressive, almost revelatory. It deserves to be quite appallingly huge.

If anything impedes the success of "Swastika Eyes", it'll be the title -- isn't it funny how US media outlets tend to balk at the word "swastika" when it's used outside of a Jerry Springer context? Gillespie explains the title thus:

"That Americanization of the world? US international terrorism? I guess it's about that. We thought the swastika was the most powerful image of totalitarianism, and we thought it was a fantastic insult: 'you've got swastika eyes' "That was a good image. We thought those words were good words."

Yes, very nice, Bobby. Shut up and roll another one.

With one truly solid single, you'd expect the rest of Xtrmntr to rest on its laurels (or, as we critics like to say, "suck"). Encouragingly, it doesn't. "Kill All Hippies" is equally club-friendly, lacking only "Swastika Eyes"' Big Beat drum track. "Exterminator" punches up its militaristic rhythm with jagged guitar noodling. "Pills" gives Gillespie a chance to rap and rant -- then uses orchestral samples, thumping beats and scratches to help him pull it off.

"Blood Money" manages the most unusual coup, sounding for all the world like the sort of music the Cure could've been making in the year 2000, if they'd cared to try. It's dark, driving and intermittently jazzy.

My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields is a constant presence, occasionally threatening to bog the album down in deep puddles of melted/textured guitar, but also helping to birth tunes like the incandescent "Shoot Speed/Kill Light". If you believe Shields can do no wrong, you've probably already got a copy of xtrmntr on a gold chain around your neck. If you don't worship the man, you'll be pleased to hear that his fingerprints don't obscure every second of xtrmntr. Like drop shadow to a bad web designer, it'd be all too easy to overdo the Shields-isms, but they're kept within tolerable limits. Besides, there are a few dull bits towards the end of the album where even the most strident anti-Shields-ist would probably have appreciated a little more texture.

This is the best Primal Scream album in years...possibly ever. It's not perfect by any means, but it signifies an encouraging creative renaissance for Gillespie and crew. Let's hope that, at the end of the xtrmntr tour, they've all got enough brain cells left to craft a worthy follow-up.