Even though they're still alive and still touring, a lot of people are going to remember Chumbawamba as a bunch of rowdy anarchist shouters who fluked one hit record with "Tubthumping". Yet every single one of Chumbawamba's albums proves that wrong, including this one.



It is a lovely mix of catchy tunes (politics aside, they are simply great song writers) with literate and meaningful lyrics. It's not fashionable to be political in music nowadays (putting weak Live8 messages aside), but listening to this album you begin to think that there should be a lot more politics in music.



Every album of Chumbawamba's is subtly different in style from the last, and over the course of lots of albums they've shifted from being punk-rockers, to dance-pop-rockers (including "Tubthumper"), to folky dance-poppers (the brilliant "Readymades" and "Un"). Even though this album's called "Anarchy" and the cover is, erm, 'bold', this is not one of their punk-rock albums. This is a 1994 album when they have mastered pop beats, the sampler, and other slick production touches.



It's also very diverse. "Love Me" and "This Year's Thing" are quite full-on rock numbers. "Timebomb" is pure pop. "Georgina" is a doo-wop ballad about domestic abuse. MC Fusion (from Credit To The Nation) appears on some tracks, including "Enough Is Enough". "Mouthful Of S***" is the shouting frenzy that Chumbawamba now seem to be remembered for. "Rage" is a brief yet very moving Dylan Thomas-quoting outro (assuming you discount the hidden track). Many of the tracks are woven together by selected samples that suggest Chumbawamba aren't as stoically serious as they sometimes seem to be- for example the Simpsons quote "judging by his outlandish attire, he's some sort of free-thinking anarchist" "I'll call security, sir", or "I'm Danbert Nobacon, I'm the transvestite of the group." It's all got so much energy, it makes most of the other music out there at the moment sound like a passionless dirge.



It's hard to pick which Chumbawamba album is their best. I'd be tempted to say "Readymades", which came a bit later than this, as their later material does seem a bit more 'grown up'. And yet I can play this CD over and over.



The only thing missing from this album is the 'Sisters mix' of "Homophobia", which was the single version that you probably didn't hear on the radio. On the album the song is a near-acapella folk rendition, but the 'Sisters mix' (which was a complete re-recording in a different time signature at a different speed) turned it into the best Pet Shop Boys song that the Pet Shop Boys never wrote.



Chumbawamba deserve a lot more than they get, so buy this, so there.