Buzzcocks
"All Set" CD (I.R.S.)
Depending on how old you are, the name Buzzcocks either invokes deep reverence for a highly influential, yet criminally neglected punk band, or more likely, a youthful, "Who?". Always a critics' fave and a major influence on Hüsker Dü, Green Day and Nirvana, the Buzzcocks are the last original punk band alive. Granted, guitarists/songwriters Steve Diggle and Pete Shelley are the only remaining original members. But as anyone who has seen the band can attest, this is no anything-for-a-buck band - the Buzzcocks remain (loud) romantics who believe just exactly what they play. Their second post-reunion album, "All Set" is a loaded howitzer aimed at the curse of love. The opening salvos, "Totally From The Heart" and "Without You" are classic Shelley - a lonely, buzzing, high-volume plea, punctuated with staccato drums and delivered with an appropriate sneer. Like a lot of us, he's a fool and he gets dogged all the time. In fact, many times he comes off as the jilted lover whose going to even the score with loud guitars and a stack of amps. Fuckin' cool! (ERIC)