Recorded at The Surgery, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England.

Personnel: Pete Shelley, Steve Diggle (vocals, guitar); Philip Barker (drums).

Recording information: EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England (06/1999).

Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan.

Despite the punk revival of the '90s, the Buzzcocks operated somewhat under the radar. They were an undeniable influence on many bands, including the chart-topping crossovers Green Day, but they were rarely cited as such, and even though a reunited incarnation of the group was surprisingly strong, their albums and concerts largely went unnoticed. Such was the case for their 1999 album for Go Kart, Modern. The title isn't entirely in jest -- the group tests out some electronics and drum machines, particularly on Steve Diggle's material. These experiments aren't entirely successful, sounding a little forced. Consequently, Diggle's songs sound a little weaker than Pete Shelley's, but when he concentrates on straight-ahead pop-punk -- as he does on "Turn of the Screw" -- the results are quite good. Shelley pretty much follows the straight and narrow throughout Modern, turning in catchy, tightly written punk and pop songs. There are no surprises among his songs, but they're strong and reliable -- good tunes performed with energy by the band. Admittedly, this a minor triumph and nobody will confuse Modern with Singles Going Steady, but the Buzzcocks not only sound better than any of their punk peers on Modern, they sound better than most of the young punk revivalists. And at the very least, that's somewhat noteworthy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

It's a curious fact that by the time of this album the reformed Buzzcocks had been together longer than their original life span. All comfortably middle-aged, they found themselves on a fashionable American punk label, perhaps in search of a new audience, and with a shiny new album, MODERN.

All the components are in the right place, though perhaps presented at a slightly more mature pace. Pete Shelley's distinctive vocals still sound great as part of the classic Buzzcocks sound on three-chord strumathons such as the album's opener "Soul On A Rock" or the excellent "Thunder Of Hearts." While Shelley has obviously retained an ear for three-minute pop songs, the Steve Diggle-written numbers find the band veering from the formula in favor of a more experimental direction, and the occasionally eccentric production attempts to incorporate all manner of electronica. MODERN holds enough reminders of what first made the Buzzocks so popular to sate the faithful.