SPILL RETRO REVIEW: SEX PISTOLS – NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE’S THE SEX PISTOLS

SEX PISTOLS
NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE’S THE SEX PISTOLS
VIRGIN RECORDS

ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 28, 1977

We arrive at the punk of punk albums. You’ve likely heard numerous references to this album and have likely seen it somewhere. The punk band the Sex Pistols released their debut album in 1977. While the album has impressive production and use of instruments at its disposal, its vocals and songwriting at points make it feel like you are hearing an album from the 1970s. Though, not in a good way.

This album kicks it off literally with “Holidays In The Sun”, which is a mostly full-brazen punk song if there was one. The vocals possess a unique and catchy quality, and the unabashed embrace of punk is evident in every utterance of the lyrics. As the album progresses, the seemingly monotonous, uninspiring vocals begin to overshadow all this. Simply put, the vocals start to feel the same. There is a lack of originality in the way the lyrics are delivered, and they begin to sound repetitive. Rather than creating songs that stand out on their own, the production struggles to maintain momentum, while the vocals continue to perform in the same style with minimal effort or variation. Not to say the vocals aren’t startlingly popping, but it is as though they don’t do more than that. They are just popping vocals, with no sight of anything more.

What holds this record back is that it simply feels out of date. The lyrics aren’t timeless and feel lacklustre, with the vocals mostly decent but nothing exceptional. It is a band that, while possessing some magnificent qualities, lacks a strong sense of quality and more punkness throughout each passing track.

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols is a mostly decent debut, with its most iconic element being its pure punk energy. It is a record that radiates its genre to a core that most albums never have. It is, quite simply, punk to the max. Despite this, it does not make up for a lack of strong songs, decent production, and, at times, dull lyrics that feel like jumbled-up concepts of a better crop of tracks. It is respectable but lacks strong merits.

Despite not living up to its reputation in terms of pure quality or cohesiveness, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols is a mostly average debut, with its excessive embrace of punk evident in every line.

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