Yeah, The Buzzcocks, them ones from the ‘70’s who did Ever Fallen in Love With Someone? They’re back with a new album, which I had absolutely no idea about until it plopped out of the parcel onto my desk.

Now, with a band reappearing thus, you could be afraid that they’ve reincarnated themselves as a dodgy electro-project, but don’t worry, they’re pretty much the same as they ever were. Singer Pete Shelley sounds noticeably old, but you can’t really blame him for that.

In 36 minutes, they tell you in 14 songs that IKEA is bad. Ok, not quite as blankly as that, they’ve actually written proper songs about our over the counter lifestyles. Personally, I’m rather fond of IKEA, it’s full of cheap stuff, and you could fit out your whole house for about £7.48, but anyway, Buzzcocks seem to be quite good at taking the piss out of people like me.

I have to say, I really didn’t know quite what to expect from this album, but I quite like it. It’s got those good old rock guitar riffs you would expect Buzzcocks to have, and they’re singing about stuff everyone moans about these days. It’s even got a sample of a Tesco self-service checkout. Fantastic.

I’m still in shock that Buzzcocks are back, to be honest, and apparently this is their eighth studio album, my god I’m out of the loop…

Yeah, this is good, it’s catchy music, it’s dance-able, it’s… dare I say it… summery music. I can imagine whizzing along country roads with the windows open because my car is too stuffy with this blasting out of the windows. If only fewer of the rock gods were dead, then we could have more bands return to grace our ears with good old songs, instead of that Arctic Monkeys rubbish, but I won’t get into that now, we’ll be here all day…

Oooh, and look at that, the old gits are embarking on a tour and everything! Go to their website for more details.

Label: Cooking Vinyl
Website: www.buzzcocks.com
Release date: 6th March 2006

Tracklist:

1. Flat-pack Philosophy
2. Wish I Never Loved You
3. Sell You Everything
4. Reconciliation
5. I Don’t Exist
6. Soul Survivor
7. God, What Have I Done
8. Credit
9. Big Brother Wheels
10. Dreamin’
11. Sound Of A Gun
12. Look At You Now
13. I’ve Had Enough
14. Between Heaven And Hell