There is typically talk of a ‘second coming’ but much less, if at all, of a ‘third coming’ but that’s what Perrett’s third album The Cleansing epitomises. Following the second coming of its two predecessors – both unexpected given his 2017 solo debut How The West Was Won was Perrett’s first album in almost 30 years, whilst his pattern of vanishing from sight was broken by 2019’s follow-up Humanworld – The Cleansing doesn’t only match his best work but expands it: an ambitious double album comprising 20 songs, with his uniquely narcotic and alluring melodies, gorgeous South London drawl and ravishing rock dynamic now allied to a wider span of musical arrangements and lyrical concerns. Alongside his trusted team of sons Jamie (guitar / production) and Peter Jr (bass) plus members of his live band, Perrett is assisted by a roster of starry guests including Johnny Marr, Bobby Gillespie and Fontaines DC’s Carlos O’Connell. With The Cleansing, the saga of Peter Perrett can finally, and irrefutably, move on from his first coming with The Only Ones, one of the most distinctive and charismatic of all new wave bands.
