Public Image Ltd – This is what you want… This is what you get (1984)

December 29, 2024

A surprisingly streamlined and focussed effort from PiL, who have thusfar been getting more and more abstract with each passing studio album. Their 4th does not eschew all of their postpunk weirdness, but the rigid, military-precise backbone of 80s synth pop underpins most of the songs here. The band have had tight rhythm sections in the past, but you could set your watch by this one. John Lydon also has a lucidity to his presence that has not existed before.

The question remains whether This Is What You Want is better than the previous albums? Honestly, they are all on par with each other. I’d say the songs here are objectively better than the previous album – which was a completely and utter mental breakdown in musical form – but as far as PiL albums go, I’d say I’ve enjoyed them all equally (so far).