The Cleansing, the fourth album by ex-The Only Ones singer Peter Perrett, is a sprawling, enrapturing work from one of the punk-era’s master songwriters. This time around, Perrett sets the lens to his third act, an intention he makes explicit with songs Do Not Resuscitate and Crystal Clear. While there is a whiff of nostalgia on songs like All That Time, a tune about his delusional, drug-filled early days, his focus is primarily how the debris of the past affects the present. That said, don’t expect any soulful epiphanies or sage observations about life. He regards himself with the same contempt and caustic humor that’s been a trademark of his career, and seems to conclude that nothing he does particularly matters anyway. “It’s happened before and it’ll happen again // Everybody suffers in the end,” he opines on Less Than Nothing.

The double LP lives up to its name and functions as a purging of sorts for Perrett, in both length and content. Perrett’s backing band, featuring his sons and a bevy of high-profile guests (Johnny Marr and Bobby Gillespie, among others), trades in some of The Only Ones’ muscularity for a more textural, experimental, and sonically varied sound. Featured here are swaths of feedback, growly fuzz bass, twangy guitars, plaintive strings, and the occasional drum machine for good measure.

At 20 songs, this array of sounds becomes necessary to prevent the album from seeming overlong. Perrett’s voice, somewhat frayed by age, is still arresting: he drawls, coos, and croons his way through songs like he always has. His voice remains a focal point throughout the album but occasionally threatens to fade into the background and cede space to his collaborators, particularly on the title track. Perhaps this is his way of bowing out and not overstaying his welcome.

The Cleansing, produced by Jamie Perrett, is out now digitally, on CD and 2LP, trough Domino.

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