"Operator's manual tells me what to find, and how to make adjustments when you tamper with my mind."
Buzzcocks are a powerful reminder that the British Punk movement of the late-seventies was so much more than the three chord thrash template copped from The Ramones and used to great effect by The Sex Pistols. The Buzzcocks' debut, Another Music in a Different Kitchen, while a Punk album through and through, stood apart from the sound of other Punk bands of the period by integrating a strong Kraut-Rock influence. With their second album, Buzzcocks, who by this point had lost their lead singer Howard Devoto, began to push into new musical territory, and while still a Punk album in many ways, Love Bites is also a first rate pop album with a very pop-oriented obsession: love gone bad (which is probably why it bites). "Ever Fallen in Love" is perhaps the most well-known song on the album, and the distinction is well-deserved, as it's quirky melodic quality and emotionally perfect vocals by Pete Shelley ensure that this song will never age a day. Another track that deserves special mention is the instrumental, "Late for the Train," which stands as a Punk vis-a-vis Kraut-Rock tour-de-force. Love Bites is a sprawling, emotionally direct album that is just as good if not better than anything recorded by The Buzzcock's contemporaries in the Punk movement, and as such, is not to be missed.
