Flat-Pack Philosophy

Performer: Buzzcocks
Engineer: Harvey Birrell
Producer: Tony Barber; Tony Barber
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Buzzcocks: Tony Barber (bass guitar); Pete Shelley, Philip Barker, Steve Diggle. Personnel: Pete Shelley, Steve Diggle (vocals, guitar); Philip Barker (drums). Audio Remixer: John A. Rivers. Recording information: Southern Studios, England. Arranger: Tony Barber . Thirty years after their 1976 formation in Manchester, England, the Buzzcocks released FLAT-PACK PHILOSOPHY, an album of invigorated punk tunes that sports the group's straightforward, streamlined sound. Fronting a lineup that has stayed consistent since the ensemble's 1993 reunion, founding guitarists/vocalists Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle offer up 14 melodic, hard-charging songs on this 2006 record. Though some songs mine personal territory (standard Buzzcocks lyrical fare), most notably the regretful "Wish I Never Loved You," which recalls the band's classic bouncy, pop-tinged aesthetic, much of FLAT-PACK PHILOSOPHY is concerned with skewering 21st-century consumerism, as revealed to greatest effect on the blistering "Sell You Everything" and the scathingly satirical "Credit" (which features playfully mundane samples of an automated check-out system). Although the disc can't compete with the band's late-'70s heyday, it honors that era, while confidently moving forward, making this one of the Buzzcocks' best latter-day albums. The Buzzcocks have had difficulty living up to the formidable legacy of their past on the studio material they've released since reuniting in 1989, but in the early years of the 21st century they've finally learned to make new records that don't need to stand in the shadows of Singles Going Steady. The darker undertow of 2003's Buzzcocks set it apart from their previous albums, and though 2006's Flat-Pack Philosophy isn't haunted by the same degree of angst as that album, it reflects the same degree of increased maturity that informed Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle's material on that collection. While the Buzzcocks are still trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of love, "Reconciliation," "God, What Have I Done," and "I've Had Enough" speak of the stakes and responsibilities of grown-up relationships rather than the teenage frustration of their salad days, and the larger world has also become a subject of keener interest to them on numbers like "Sell You Everything" and "Credit." Fast and loud is still the Buzzcocks' preferred mode of attack, but though there are hooks galore to be found on Flat-Pack Philosophy, the tempos have eased up a bit so that Diggle's and Shelley's guitar parts have more room to interact with one another, and bassist Tony Barber's production is clean and roomy while giving the melodies plenty of opportunity to show off their muscle. Very few bands made better use of their teenage mood swings than the Buzzcocks, but Flat-Pack Philosophy shows that they have plenty of compelling things to say about their adult lives, too, which is a good thing for a band whose career now spans four decades. ~ Mark Deming

Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With Shelley delivering his best songs in year....He sounds as heartbroken and grumpy as only an old punk can be." Mojo (Publisher) (p.p.88) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] solidly reiterates the archetypal Buzzcocks sound, with a brace of songs standing muster with the classics of yore."

They never achieved the status of punk peers the Sex Pistols and the Clash, but the Buzzcocks are one of the most influential rock bands of the latter 20th century. With a blazing guitar attack, bratty singing, and riff-happy songs built around a few simple chords, the Buzzcocks could almost be called England's answer to the Ramones. Crucially, they added wry, scathing wit and undeniable pop sensibilities. They created some of the greatest singles in rock, and generations of groups have subsequently borrowed or stolen from them.

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