Carbon/Silicon

Carbon/Silicon

The Last Post

[3.5/5]

For the past few years, ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones and former Generation X bassist Tony James have pursued their version of the musical future as Carbon/Silicon. Long before Radiohead let the market dictate the price of their art, Jones and James were giving away their tunes online, embracing the idea that “MPFrees” could liberate creativity, not eliminate it. Now that the duo are selling the results of their experiment on an old-fashioned compact disc, it turns out they were right. The Last Post may be no London Calling-or even The Globe-but Jones sounds reinvigorated, reclaiming the dance-rock fusions of the Clash and Big Audio Dynamite, making them simpler and more direct on chant-along gems like “The Whole Truth” and “Why Do Men Fight?” His optimism, which always leavened the Clash’s agitprop, is alive and well at age 52; his vision of a better world on “The News” might seem naïve, but set to a churning, Chuck Berry-inspired riff, it’s also hard to argue. This hopefully won’t be the last post from a punk pair with plenty left to teach the kids. (CAROLINE) Dan LeRoy



ROCKS LIKE:

Big Audio Dynamite’s No. 10, Upping St.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Dress For Excess

Pop Will Eat Itself’s This Is the Day…This Is the Hour…This Is This!

Categories: