A Different Kind of Tension

Buzzcocks’ first singles and EP were standard-issue punk rock (in a just world, singer Howard Devoto would have paid Johnny Rotten royalties), but even then, you could hear the pop inclinations peeking through the cracks in their rough-and-ready sound. By A Different Kind of Tension, the tension you were hearing was between punk roots and pop aspirations. Consider, for example, how the thrashing chorus of “Sitting ‘round at Home” serves as a rebuttal of the straightforwardly rockish verse; consider, also, the aggressive but still pure pop of “You Say You Don’t Love Me.” Equal parts sinus-clearing aggro punk and prototypical power pop, A Different Kind of Tension finds Buzzcocks mapping out a unique musical path using nothing but familiar tools.