The Adicts

Reviews

The Adicts Smart Alex LP reissue

Another ADICTS reissue from Puke n Vomit, this time their 1985 LP Smart Alex. This LP marks a bit of a turning point for Monkey and the lads, as they began to sand off some of the rougher edges and incorporate more new wave elements. Unfortunately, along with those rougher edges, they lost a lot of their charm, and this album feels a bit pointless and anaemic rather than anthemic. A lot of plodding MOR nonsense makes up the filler on this album which really drags in parts. Not a particularly stand-out record by any stretch, and I would suggest broadly for completists only.

The Adicts The Sound of Music LP reissue

The clown princes of clockwork punx are back…in reissue form! For the longest time, I actively avoided engaging with any of these droogy bands for the simple reason that the fans got on my tits to an almost cosmic degree—crystalised by one legendarily punishing pisshead at a COCK SPARRER show in Leeds, replete with plastic bowler hat and jockstrap. I, quite naturally, assumed it was annoying joke music for dickheads. Was I wrong in that assumption? To a certain extent, yes. While there is space for some joke music on The Sound of Music with a paean to Chinese takeaways, it’s an enjoyable camp romp through the poppier side of UK82, like the BLOOD and PETER AND THE TEST TUBE BABIES had a scrap in a circus tent.

The Adicts This is Your Life LP

This album features the upbeat pop-punk of the ADICTS with 15 tracks recorded in 1979. These songs possess the same aggressiveness as the material on their debut LP, though the truly outstanding material here is re-pressed from their fine debut EP Lunch with the Adicts, long out of print. There’s a fair allotment of strong material on this album, and that should be good news for ADICTS fans.

The Adicts Bad Boy / Shake, Rattle, Bang Your Head 7″

“Bad Boy” is an incredibly boring CLASH-type “rock” song which is best ignored; the flip is a much faster pop-punk number with some sparkle to it. I still think the ADICTS are rapidly in decline, but it’s a bit too early to be certain.

The Adicts The Sound of Music LP

A fabulous cover design on the ADICTS’ second album doesn’t help an affable, yet insignificant, collection of pop-rock ditties reminiscent of a cross between the early ADICTS and ADAM & THE ANTS. The single (“Chinese Takeaway”) is catchy enough but most of the songs have a cloying style and no thematic depth or personality. It’s OK for parties, I suppose.

The Adicts Chinese Takeaway EP

A letdown. The ADICTS’ newest funnypunk release is neither as funny nor as punky as their earlier efforts. The band is clearly capable of making entertaining music, but on this EP inferior material and overly clean production result in yawns rather than laughs. That doesn’t bode well for their new album.

The Adicts Viva La Revolution EP

The three supremely infectious pop-punk compositions on this EP are matched, unfortunately, but rather generic themes of teenage rebellion. “Steamroller” and “Numbers” ripple with fast melodies and enormously clever lyrics, and undoubtedly “Viva la Revolution” could have been a classic if only they hadn’t run the chorus into the ground. Very entertaining, but not very important.