Review Summary: In a scene dominated by mohawks and liberty spikes at the time, The Adicts brought something new and diverse, not always political and with a far more "glam" appearance than any other band, brought them a cult status with their image and upbeat punk rock
The Adicts are a very popular 80's Punk band from the UK. They are well known for their "droogie" image, and joker make up worn by singer Monkey. As one of the only original punk bands still active with all founding members, they have been touring constantly for the past few years performing songs from their incredible back catalogue.
In a scene dominated by mohawks and liberty spikes at the time, The Adicts brought something new and diverse, not always politically, and a far more "glam" appearance than any other band, brought them to a cult status with their image and upbeat punk rock anthems.
With their second album
Sound of Music released in in 1982 by Razor Records. They picked up where they had left of with their debut, delivering an upbeat, catchy punk rock spectacle that grabs your attention from the get-go and takes you on a sonic ride through the crazy world of the Adicts, from comedic tracks like "Chinese Takeaway" to the politically based "Johnny Was A Soldier" to the almost ballad like "Eyes on the back of your head" the Adicts deliver a very diverse and pop-like record. You could say this was the pop-punk of the classic punk wave. pop-punk with balls!
So my little brothers, your humble narrator would like you to viddy well at this real horrorshow review of Sound Of Music by a group of malchicks named The Adicts.
Track by track
1. How Sad – Starts with a sample of a fairground jingle, before blasting into some fast punk riff, when the vocals kick in over a palm muted guitar riff helping drive the lyrics along leading into a short yet catchy sing-a-long chorus. There is a few breaks feature other group vocal parts, and a nice break towards the end where the guitars vanish and we get the vocals, bass and drums driving the chorus. This leads directly onto ‘4321’. 3/5
2. 4321 – coming right off the end of ‘How Sad’ this is a favourite of mine. Very fast paced, with nice dual guitar work, and another catchy chorus. The verses feature nice shouted backing vocals. 5/5
3. Chinese Takeaway – Not sure on why this track is even here… perhaps they got hungry in the studio? On the plus side its very poppy, lovely bass parts under the verses and over-all this song is pretty hilarious. Problem faced here is I am currently skint, and listening to this really makes me crave a good old Chinese take away. But that aside, good classic song, showing a very humorous side of the Adicts. 4/5
4. Johnny Was A Soldier – This song starts with a powerful bass riff, where the bass remains prominent through out, with the lovely punk riffs over it, this is a great pop-punk track of old. With another catchy chorus (see a pattern here?) and nice clapping parts making this very chanty. Something I’d love to hear live. Lyrically this as you may have guessed, is political and is a great contrast to the comedic effort before it. A solid 5/5
5. Disco – Starts with the sounds of a crowded room and someone blurts out “here lads, fancy going down the disco?” before exploding into a melodic riff and pounding drums. This isn’t a very stand out tracks, the verse pretty much includes people being asked if they “wanna go” and “hey you! Doncha wanna go?” but I suppose its good for what it is. Another little comedic break, done in true Adicts fashion, as it still remains catchy. 2/5
6. Eyes In The Back Of Your Head – starts of with a nice acoustic riff before the bass and drums kick in. the bass is very powerful and driving throughout the intro. During the verse a guitar starts creeping in leading into a full on Adicts punk assault, which breaks away again into a soothing acoustic part, with lead guitars playing over it, and then again the speedy chorus comes in. Good song, but not as catchy as previous tracks, but certainly shows the talent of the Adicts as musicians. 3/5
7. Joker In The Pack – Opens with pounding drums, followed by guitars and bass and then vocals. Another catchy number, with some fantastic punk riffs, and the catchy melodies of Monkey. Towards the end of the song a violin seems to appear from nowhere, and plays some wonderfully melodies. Seems to be some dueling violins going on for a bit before the chorus kicks back in. Great song with some unexpected instrumentation 5/5
8. Lullaby – kicks in from the get-go with a speedy riff. This everything you expect from an Adicts song. Fast, catchy, a chant-a-long chorus. Great track! 5/5
9. My Baby Got Run Over By A Steamroller – I really hope that isn’t a man screaming during the intro… this is another silly track, but punk wise its great, fast-paced heavy riffs, that same pounding drum beat, and another catchy (but bizarre) chorus. 3/5
10. A Man’s Gotta Do – A favourite of mine. Catchy chorus, sing along verses, great guitar parts, the bass is brilliantly prominent. Nice little lead guitar licks thrown between chorus and verse. 5/5
11. Let’s Go – starts with a chant and bursts into a punk assault on the ears. The vocals seem a bit far back in the mix however, but the bass sounds great in the verses, followed by nice guitar riff in the chorus. As you may have guessed another catchy track, complimented by backing vocals through the chorus and bridge sections. 4/5
12. Easy Way Out – Starts with dischordal guitar part, and is joined by the drums and a little guitar melody between. The verse is made up of a great bass groove, and those scratchy palm-muted dischords. This seems a head of its time with the use of dischords. The chorus of course is catchy and another sing-a-long. 4/5
13. Shake Rattle Bang Your Head – This is an upbeat, fun and catchy track. Very fast paced, and the backing vocals through the chorus, insight another sing along. The guitars have those sneaky little melodies drifting in and out of different sections, becoming somewhat of a signature on this record. 4/5
14. You’ll Never Walk Alone (bonus) – a cover of well know song that I can only associate with football, Liverpool and Celtic to be precise. Very punked up version without being too speedy, making for a nice drum and vocal driven track. It doesn’t get more sing-a-long than this, being that the original song was written specifically for this purpose as far as I know. Brings that pub feeling onto a record. 5/5
15. Too Young (Bonus) – not sure if this is a cover or not being it’s the title of many songs. But it makes for a great sing along track and its very fast paced. 4/5
16. I Wanna Be Sedated (Bonus) – A ramones cover, and very well done. They manage to make it their own. Adding a nice Adicts vibe to the classic punk track. With the drifting backing vocals and that dark guitar tone they use even in their most upbeat tracks. 5/5
