Buzzkunst

by

Shelleydevoto

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To call this album an experiment is risky: the term might evoke bilious recollections of self-indulgent, misguided excesses like Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" or Neil Young's "Trans" or even Dave Edmunds' "Information." But experiments can also produce brilliant, revelatory outcomes, and when the alchemists are Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto, one can't be blamed for expecting a golden result.

The duo, paired for the first time since Devoto walked away from the Buzzcocks in 1977, doesn't disappoint on this dense, intriguing, smooth and very cool album.

Shelley and Devoto today have little left to prove, and are able simply to create. Create they do, with the instrumental tracks providing fascinating breaks between some of the most compelling and provocative lyrics of the century so far. The creative interplay between these two living legends of punk/new wave/alternative rock on "Buzzkunst" ignited a fire whose embers continue to glow (witness the triumphant new self-titled Buzzcocks album).

This album is required listening for any serious fan of modern music. So why don't I give it five stars? Well, there's an '80s-reminiscent faux-arty quality to Devoto's voice on some of the tracks that I just can't get past. Just personal taste, I guess! Still, I recommend this CD without hesitation.