Although the Buzzcocks are primarily noted as a singles EP style band, they had some decent major album releases as well. Pete Shelley led a group of five young men who were no doubt inspired by the then new Punk scene of the time. The Buzzcocks were obviously influenced by the likes of the Ramones, The Sex Pistols and The Clash, who were all highly respected by the Punk scene. This debut album was released in early 1978 with decent reception and reviews by critics and fans alike. Let’s observe the music of this album and hear if it still holds up today. This edition is the expanded edition, with four extra tracks added to it.

Fast Cars begins with an awesome set of dual-tracked guitar riffs, a two note guitar figure and a fast-paced tune. There is a brief breakdown followed by some intricate bass guitar playing that sounds awesome, followed quickly by the rest of the band. Singing about fast cars and how much he hates them, Pete Shelley certainly makes an impact on this song. Straightforward and simple music, this is a good introduction to both the Buzzcocks and Punk music in general. A great piece of music that showcases the white noise and bile of Punk, it ends with the repeated chorus, followed by a spacey sound. Not bad.

No Reply begins with the sound of a phone call being made, which is quickly followed by pummelling dirty guitars and a catchy melodic structure. It’s a gritty and abrasive tune aimed at a lover who just won’t pick up the phone. These guys do simple Punk anger very well. Fairly repetitive music, it does however do the job well if you ever feel annoyed with an ex-partner of your own. Simple, interesting and catchy, this does really nicely. Great music. It ends with a nice outro, which is fairly melodic.

You Tear Me Up begins with some rather random drum beats, followed by abrasive guitars and bitter singing from Pete Shelley. This has actually aged very well, and it sounds very surprisingly intense. A pure punch in the face musically, there are dirty sexual references throughout, which are actually quite humourous. A unique and excellent listening experience, it goes into a strange rhythmic change towards the end, before this speeds up and finishes. Great effort.

Get On Our Own begins with some slower guitar chords, before launching into another electrified Punk frenzy. This is awesome and electrified, and has some unique yelping on this track, which has not really been done before or since in the history of music. Nonetheless, the music on this song, like all before it, is straightforward, powerful and impressive. A decent piece of youthful aggression, the guitar solo on this is fairly manic. The yelping towards the end is quite hilarious, nice job dudes.

Love Battery begins with chaotic sounding guitars and some fast-paced drumming, along with some borderline shouted vocals. This is likely about a sex toy of sorts, given the song title, and sounds brilliant and witty as a result. An interesting subject and decent song to match, the Buzzcocks do wonderfully as a direct and to-the-point Punk group. A cool tune to hear, although it only runs for two minutes. Superb, witty and powerful listening.

Sixteen begins with a raspy and catchy set of guitar riffs, with snare drum rolls. Pete Shelley sings away nicely about youthful romance and lust, and about French kissing. An interesting and nicely played and sung tune, there is an interesting guitar solo on this piece which makes it sound more different than you’d expect. Very aggressive sounding and to the point, the Buzzcocks do superbly well on this song. The drumming in particular is very good here, with plenty of intricate fills being played. A strange section of intermission styled sounds is in the second half, which sounds very weird. It sounds like a random pastiche here. Random as heck, but it is an interesting part of an angry song, followed by a reprise to the main riff and concludes on what music Pete Shelley hates. Good stuff.

I Don’t Mind begins with a quick drum roll, launching into a decent Pop/Punk tune that sounds really cool and excellent. Pete Shelley does a great job on vocals, with his delivery of the song title in the chorus done perfectly. Again, although this is very short song-wise, it does work extremely nicely. A great listen from start to finish, it is good music to relax and vent to if life annoys you too much. There is a key change towards the end, and this tune concludes well. Great.

Fiction Romance is a longer piece at four and a half minutes long, although there is no way this is as long as your average Progressive Rock piece. It begins with a punchy kick 4/4 drum beat, guitar riffs galore and Pete Shelley’s angry sounding singing. Again, this music is good, although this song sounds like a bit of a rant, which makes it weaker as a result. It does progress nicely through the song sections and is seemingly about pornography here. Hence the name of the song. A quirky and interesting listening experience, this music is definitely worth your time if you like simple Punk Rock. A little repetitive and annoying sounding, however, but not outright bad. It is just rather repetitive. Interesting lyrics, even if the music wears out it’s welcome fairly quickly. The guitar riffs towards the outro are pretty cool, mind you. An interesting listen nonetheless. It ends rather oddly.

Autonomy begins with some excellent drum beats, multitracked and abrasive guitars that are very catchy and a Dead Kennedys like chord progression. Pete Shelley kicks in with some soul-searching vocals throughout. The Buzzcocks do Punk Rock justice, without a doubt. A strange sort of tune lyrically and musically, but it is still enjoyable enough for what it is. A really cool and interesting piece of Pop/Rock from the late 1970s, the Buzzcocks had many different great songs in their catalogue. There is a rather weird sounding guitar solo towards the end of this song, and this piece does sound like a good-quality listening experience. It ends gradually.

I Need begins with a synchronised guitar and drum section, before quickly launching into a youthful expression of angst. It goes through the things that people desire at a very young age. It’s a good song, once again. It has a strange bridge section throughout and just articulates demands for a better life perfectly. A very good song, with a bass guitar solo in it, this is definitely underrated music. A unique piece of well-written and created Pop Punk, it is a great sub-three-minute song that concludes with: “I need you to love me back”. Selfish lyrically, but that is the point.

Moving Away From The Pulsebeat is a seven minute long piece, which is highly unusual for a Punk band to do. It begins with some Joy Division styled drum rolls, which are pretty cool. Soon enough, guitars enter and this whole piece of music sounds really excellent. A great Poppy piece of music, this does sound nicely constructed. There is a multitude of guitar parts here as well, which are rather weird sounding. Nonetheless, this is good for what it is. A very interesting and long piece of music, but it takes a while for it to get going. Still, it is good and is not overly boring, like some Progressive Rock releases out there. This does eventually drag on a bit though, despite the fact that this song isn’t the longest song out there to hear. It’s more focused on sounds rather than a Pop/Rock piece, which, although works for other bands, does not work for the Buzzcocks. Sadly this is the case. Nonetheless, it is a good listen, just unlikely a great listen. In the second half, the guitars are silenced for the drum loop to persist along nicely. This is actually really nice to hear and is something that The Chemical Brothers could sample at some point. The guitars eventually return, and this lengthy piece continues onwards. It ends early after five minutes and is followed by some silence for some time, about 30 seconds in total. Eventually, the band resumes playing and sounds quite good at what they are doing. There is an ascending keyboard sound to conclude this unusual music. It’s an okay tune overall but honestly could have been done much better. Seven minutes in length for this sort of music isn’t ideal.

Orgasm Addict is a brilliant piece of humourous music. “Well you tried it out once, just for some kicks, and now you find that it’s a habit that sticks, you’re an orgasm addict!” are the opening lines of the song. A powerful, punchy and politically incorrect, this has some amusing sexual based sounds throughout which are really funny. A great and hilarious piece of Pop Punk mastery with a fake orgasmic climax, this is absolutely funny. It’s not made for anyone specific, it is just a hilarious tune. Great to hear, and one for young teens out there. Brilliant, absolute gold.

Whatever Happened To…? begins with a warped bass guitar, some great melodic playing by the band and Pete Shelley sings about missing the things one is fond of. Again, this is a short, sharp and smart tune that powers along extremely well. A really powerful tune with the bridge line, “Your love is a cashed-in cheque!”, followed by more great musicianship. A great two-minute-long tune, it sounds really awesome and ridiculously good. An exciting and different listen.

What Do I Get? begins with some faded-in guitars, fast-paced drumming and heartfelt lyrics sung by Pete Shelley. This is classic Pop/Rock music that people of all ages can enjoy to this day. Punk still has huge relevance musically today, and the Buzzcocks fortunately was a competent band in this field. A very proto-New Order styled guitar solo emerges here, and the song is as fresh and energetic as it was in 1978. It recalls disappointment in the lyrics, particularly in relationships. A fierce and powerful statement, it has an unusual conclusion.

Oh Shit! is the last track here, and it is fantastic to listen to. Perfectly explained and articulated by Pete Shelley, the Buzzcocks make a hilarious and wonderful song for fans and Punk rockers to enjoy about things going wrong in a relationship. A really interesting and cool tune to enjoy, it is classy witticism and fury in an one and a half minute long song. Brilliant.

The Buzzcocks have made quite a good album here, but unfortunately not good enough to be an outright classic. Although most of the tracks here are worth your time and are youthful, witty, simple and clever, there are some poor moments that will test your patience upon listening. Moving Away From The Pulsebeat is Exhibit A in this instance. Otherwise, this is decent but a compilation would be a better bet to go for from these guys, which are available. Check out those before this album, and you may be happier that way.

Very good and energetic Pop Punk.

8/10