The Vibrators
Energize

I've thought about it a bit and then I said to myself, "Yeah, let's write it..." and you know why?

Because I'm listening to the Mudhoney concert in Turin from two years ago that some good soul uploaded online, where I went and downloaded it, and for two-thirds of it, I didn't like it at all. Very flat. It's picking up a bit now towards the end, but I wouldn't know by how much.
Instead, the other night when I went to see the Vibrators (also in the former Savoy capital), I really enjoyed myself from start to finish.

So I said to myself, I owe them a review, also because on Debaser there was nothing about these guys - who may be "one-hit wonders," but with a couple of things, they've contributed to writing the history of punk.

Certainly, the other night at their concert, nothing new under the sun. The "deus ex machina" Knox wasn't even there, so theoretically it was a minor night, but the three old punks (Eddie, Nigel, and Pete) put in the effort, and at the end of the evening, I bought their latest CD, "Energize." Eddie was at the table with a towel around his neck, and he signed the cover for me, and I went home happy. Also because I then listened to the plastic disc in question and enjoyed it once more.

"Energize" is the fifteenth studio album by the Vibrators ("Punk pioneers since 1976" as they define themselves) and dates back in production to 2001, with Pat Collier (original bass player) producing and John Ellis (original guitarist) playing on two tracks. The bassist was still Robbie Tart before being replaced by Pete from No Direction (a friendly Finn). It's a jumble of punk '77 songs, each more trivial than the last, each dumber and older than the last, each more beautiful than the last. Like the Rolling Stones: always older, always uglier, always the same, always worth listening to.

In the 16 tracks of the album (plus a hidden track featuring a strange and fun version of "Baby baby"), there are little masterpieces that cannot and must not go unnoticed: "Brand new" above all (immense), where echoes of "Pumpin' for Jill" from Iggy Pop's memory reverberate in my ears, and then "So far down", "Tears are falling", "Shine", "No more" but also "Rock the kids", "Animals", and "2night" with thumping basslines and the right guitar riffs under the choruses. All infectious, I couldn't name a bad one.

In short, what can I say, '77 has passed, and we certainly don't have "Puremania" or "V2" on our hands, but these dinosaurs, in their own way, hold up. They defeat the passing time with the old that endures.

Want to travel back in time? Certainly: I used to have more fun back then... With records like this, I still enjoy myself a little even now.