Attitude Adjustment

Eight years on from the death of Pete Shelley, the Buzzcocks, the U.K.s first and finest pop-punk band, are still a going concern, though not everyone will recognize them as such. Shelleys witty, razor-sharp songwriting and reedy, passionate vocals were a vitally important part of their best work, and while guitarist Steve Diggle wrote a number of fine songs for the group, he was the Buzzcocks George Harrison, a very good songwriter in a band that already had a great one. It was to be expected that the band sounded different on 2022s Sonics in the Soul, their first LP with Diggle as lead singer and sole songwriter, and their second post-Shelley album, 2026s Attitude Adjustment, follows suit. The clean energy of the classic Buzzcocks has been dialed down a bit, with calmer tempos and a less aggressive tone; this music is mature, spirited pop thats tuneful and well-crafted with plenty of chunky guitar, while the lyrics concern themselves with human frailties and the complexities of relationships, religion, the military, and personal freedom. Its all fine and good, but it lacks the excitement of the Buzzcocks salad days. Its foolish to imagine that a 70-year-old Steve Diggle will sound as strong and forceful as he did in his twenties, but in a band where a furious, melodic attack was their trademark, the more measured approach makes Attitude Adjustment play like something that never quite matches the danger and ambition of the music that made the Buzzcocks famous. As on Sonics in the Soul, for Attitude Adjustment Diggle is joined in the studio by bassist Chris Remington and drummer Danny Farrant, a solid and serviceable rhythm section that hold down the tempos with no small degree of skill and muscle, yet they cant push their bandleader to hit harder or put more fire into his performances, and like Sonics in the Soul, this sounds like a Steve Diggle album, not like something from the Buzzcocks. Of course, Diggle has every right to record under the banner of his band of nearly fifty years, and only a fool or a curmudgeon would claim otherwise. That said, calling the group the Buzzcocks sets up expectations the album just doesnt satisfy; the Steve Diggle Group likely wouldnt move as many units as the Buzzcocks, but using that handle doesnt give an entirely clear picture of what this talented singer and guitarist is doing in 2026. ~ Mark Deming