Buzzcocks

When a band’s been around for a few decades, their new releases often become more and more of a gamble — a risk that some see as best left to only the most devoted of fans. Fortunately, Flat-Pack Philosophy has the Buzzcocks returning with dignity. While the magic of the band’s heyday hasn’t been recaptured, the tracks here still glow with the Buzzcocks’ signature style of fast, popped-out punk and harmonic hooks. Although Howard Devoto isn’t in the current line-up, founding members Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle are front and centre, cramming 14 tracks into only 36 minutes to demonstrate that the Buzzcocks haven’t strayed too far from their roots. But Diggle and Shelley have done more than simply showing us that they can still make a song go down good and fast. Flat-Pack Philosophy is a critique of the current climate of consumer culture, a topic that fits in well with punk rock, and especially with a band who forged the way for DIY’s entanglement in the music scene. Although time is not always kind to bands, the Buzzcocks have proven to be immune.