SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BUZZCOCKS – ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT

BUZZCOCKS
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
CHERRY RED RECORDS

Attitude Adjustment, the new album from the Buzzcocks, shows that Steve Diggle and company are very serious about keeping the legendary Buzzcocks name and music alive and kicking. As with the previous album, Sonics In The Soul (2022), the Buzzcocks remain a trio featuring original and co-founding member Steve Diggle (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Chris Remington (bass) and Danny Farrant (drums). Sadly, having lost Pete Shelley in 2018, this is the second album with this incarnation of the band. And although he has nothing to prove, Diggle (who wrote all the songs on the album) demonstrates that he is a powerful force in music.

The Buzzcocks were always a very melodic punk band, often incorporating pop music into their sound, with very reflective lyrics. Once the initial wave of punk had receded, the band easily fell into the New Wave and post-punk genres and over the years produced some of the most memorable and brilliant albums of the past 40 years. Attitude Adjustment continues the tradition. Diggle’s voice is strong and emotive, while he is provided with the perfect musical backing. Songs like “Poetic Machine Gun” and “Tear of a Golden Girl” provide opportunities for the band to take a turn at more punk sounds, while “Queen of the Scene” is closer to pop with a little bit of rockabilly thrown in for good measure.

And the rest of the album is all points in between. There are even some more experimental songs like “One of the Universe” Parts one and two. Just short bursts that seem to come out of nowhere and bookend the heavy “All Gone to War”. It neither detracts nor enhances the album, but it is interesting and nice to see the band working outside of whatever box they have placed themselves within.

But it is the songs like “Jesus at the Wheel” that brings everything together. It is melodic with lyrics that make one tune in to listen. And songs like “Break That Ball and Chain” uses some Motown vibes to provide strength and a voice to the listener. It brings to mind Style Council circa 1985. The diversity of sounds throughout the album is one of the brilliant things about Attitude Adjustment, because one is never really sure where Diggle is going next.

Attitude Adjustment is not so much worldwide politics, but rather a personal album about relationships. Diggle wrote the entire album, and although he is not reinventing the Buzzcocks, he does bring some new elements to the band and album. The band does work together as a tight unit, and they have a great deal to live up to. The Buzzcocks changed music in the late 1970s, and although Attitude Adjustment is not going to be a game changer, it is an innovative and fascinating album. It is very different from the previous studio album but still has that trademark Buzzcocks sound (“Just a Dream I Followed” could be a lost gem from A Different Kind Of Tension), and in the end, Attitude Adjustment is simply a brilliant album.

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