a pale imitation of the past

As much Happy Mondays as it is Black Grape, Uncle dysfunctional, the first new Mondays album in 15 years, is a rampaging disappointment. Ten years since he last released an album (excepting the 'spoken word' mess that was Amateur Night In The Big Top), "Uncle Dysfunctional" has cynically stole the Mondays brand name and Ryder and Co. have created what can charitably be described as a competent album of dirty white funk. Sadly though, compared to the Mondays glory days, this is a poor imitation.

With any group, the configuration of their lineup is undoubtedly going to affect the music within. What's missing here is... everything that made the Mondays a compelling proposition. The fluid, hypnotic bass lines have been replaced by forgettable rumbles. Guitars fail to capture the languid, filthy suggestion of the original era. Overall, what's missing are the tunes. There's nothing memorable here. In fact, it sounds like Ryder has hired a Mondays cover band to create a new record but instead produced a pale imitation of the past.

Lyrically, Ryder's genius is absent as well. Instead of the stream-of-consciousness that made Tony Wilson proclaim him the finest poet alive, the lyrics are just rhymed gibberish, repetitive nonsense words about nothing, and overall it seems as if the muse has deserted him. It's not all bad - "Uncle Dysfunctional" is a passable, vaguely enjoyable romp, but utterly meaningless, and lacking in everything that made the Mondays stand out miles beyond their contemporaries.

Instead of the intruiging ambigious wordplay that was welded to the best white boy grooves of all time, "Uncle Dysfunctional" is a poor replacement. Ryder has become a foul mouthed  ip-dip-dog-shit rhymer devoid of any redeeming features retreading tired and old ideas, whilst the music is merely... mediocre and forgettable - with the lowest point being an apathetic cover of Debbie Harry's "Rush Rush" from the Scarface soundtrack. It's not all bad, but it's certainly not all good.

"Uncle Dysfunctional" is not worth the wait, and easily the worst thing Ryder has put his name to since the underwhelming and characterless Mondays debut. Must try harder.

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