New Noise Designed By a Sadist is the latest album by Pop Will Eat Itself (PWEI), but in many ways it is the debut album by PWEI Mark II, with Graham Crabb being the only original member, but essentially the main writing force behind the original incarnation. Those fans of ‘The Poppies’ who hoped to take a stroll down nostalgias lane might have found themselves slightly disappointed as the once kings of ‘Grebos’ paid most attention and loving care to tracks from their new album playing no fewer than eight tracks from it.
Not that this appeared to matter as the reaction of the audience at Trinity in Bristol on Friday, October 21st was to continue to bounce all evening and visually the band seemed to enjoy the evening. The massive beast frame of Jason Bowld (former drummer with electronic metal band Pitchshifter), even 
paying a compliment to the Bristol fans, describing them as “animals.” This apparently was in stark contrast to the south coast gig at Bournemouth the evening before.
The MKII PWEI have the feel of a ‘super group’ with Tim Muddiman guitarist (of Gary Numan and Sulpher) crunching around with his guitar, perfectly executing the PWEI sound whilst flicking back an impressive fringe. There was the tall dreadlocked bass guitarist that is Davey Bennett, who left the hard rock instrumental band Rise to go full time with PWEI. Jason Bowld, as mentioned, and finally Mary Byker (former frontman of the legendary Gaye Bykers On Acid), who took over with ease the mantle of original member and now successful composer, Clint Mansell, with some style.
“Ich Bin Ein Auslander” saw Mary and Graham bouncing off each other as the more industrial feel of the album it hails from. “RSVP” from the Dos Dedos Mis Amigos was also well received. “Wise Up Sucker” saw Crabb armed with a megaphone, and in a week where Colonel Gadaffi came to a grizzly end, the cheecky chap dedicated “Get The Girl Kill the Baddies” to the formal Libyian dictator.
PWEI finished the set with “Nosebleeder” from Sadist, a wild and mad combination of electro, industrial, punk rawchous delight leading the stampede amongst the audiance as chaos reigned. The midlanders left the stage with the crowd instantly shouting for more. They returned to the stage with another track from Sadist “Captain Plastic”, a song for today’s generation, a song about how the frivolent spending on plastic had for so long created a society that wasn’t prepared to live in reality.
The Poppies finished with two old classics in “There’s No Love Between Us” and the amazing two-fingured salute to those who would control us as one massive pogo broke out to “Their Law”, a track PWEI penned alongside The Prodigy. A perfect ending to a great evening that suggests the Pop Will Eat Itself are only just starting out on the next chapter of preaching to the peverted. Amen.
-photos by RichBoxFrenzy and Clicking&Screaming
