The Way
Thirty-six years after their debut album, The Buzzcocks released just their ninth studio album. Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle remain from the original lineup, with bassist Chris Remington and drummer Danny Farrant providing the rhythm section. Dave M. Allen (The Cure, Depeche Mode) produces here, with an ear toward straightforward representation. “Keep on Believin’” kicks off with the band\'s old speed and aggression. “In the Back” steps up The Buzzcocks\' pop end on the choruses, while “Third Dimension” and the title track settle into punk midtempos appropriate for older rockers whose live sets are still jammed with fast-paced classics.
Buzzcocks perfected pop-punk before it even existed. Their best songs contained the nervy balance between happy and sad: smiling and frowning weren’t an either/or, but layers of a single gloriously conflicted expression.
It’s been eight years since the Buzzcocks’ last studio album (Flat-Pack Philosophy), and The Way shows them to be in fine…