| Always an incendiary live proposition but latterly a lame duck in the recording studio, punk vets the Stranglers have drawn breath and duly re-emerge having given themselves a collective leathery kick up the backside. Norfolk Coast is the rather exceptional result, a record that finds the "Meninblack" the unlikely beneficiaries of renewed music industry confidence (they've re-signed to EMI) and quite possibly qualifies as their finest album in two decades. Indeed, at times, thanks to the fresh powerhouse clarity of Mark Wallis and Dave Ruffy's contemporary production, old times seem rendered anew. Jean-Jacques Burnel's pernicious bass snarl and Dave Greenfield's swirling, lysergical keyboard embellishments rank higher in the band's priorities than at any time since 70s classics such as "No More Heroes" or "Black and White" while new guitar recruit (and active song contributor) Baz Warne and singer Paul Roberts darken the mood with an economical but disquieting relish. Suicide, psychosis, crime-of-passion, bereavement, self-immolation and extra-terrestrial intervention is familiar topical ground but the songs rediscover the pop quirkiness that has kept pieces such as "Always the Sun", "Peaches" and "Golden Brown" evergreen in the public consciousness. To this effect, "Big Thing Coming", "Lost Control", the bouncing Iraqi WMD protest of "I Don't Agree" and the self-effacing mischief of "I've Been Wild" (a look back at some of the band's pugnacious altercations with the rock literati) are full-on radio-friendly pop rockers. Gentler, jazzier moments such as "Dutch Moon" and "Sanfte Kuss" (featuring Levellers' fiddler Jon Sevink) and the sullen intrigue of "Long Black Veil" reconfirm the band's breadth of vision. Norfolk Coast generates a rationality, a vigour and a melodic proclivity that may undermine the bunker mentality of those who persist in sanctifying the early albums with Hugh Cornwell. Frankly, those who thought the Stranglers had already written all their greatest songs may well have to think again. --Kevin Maidment |
