mvm.

This legendary Manchester punk band needs little introduction. 

77’s Spiral Scratch. 78’s Love Bites. 78’s Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Three landmark albums. Matched with their melodic punk-pop proving irresistible with hit singles; paving the way with British punk as one of the earliest releases, the band are back.

Largely eschewing politics, they instead brought an intense, brilliant vigor to the three-minute pop song, powered by Shelley’s alternately funny and anguished lyrics about adolescence and love – backed by melodies and hooks that were concise and memorable. The two album releases in 1978 ultimately tightened up their sound but their hastened pace of their careers – who can forget Ever Fallen In Love – ultimately led to their breakup in ’81. Thankfully, they reunited in 1978 and have been going strong ever since, tours and albums-abound.

Sadly, singer Pete Shelley passed away in 2018, however co-founder and all-round co songwriter/singer Steve Diggle has been keeping the flag flying high…

A momentous marking for the band, Sonics in the Soul was released earlier last week on the 23rd via Cherry Red – led by emphatic single, “Manchester Rain.”

“It was pouring with rain,” says vocalist Steve, “and they were telling me about the band they were starting. I thought ‘This is where I’m from, this is where I was, in a band in my late teens.’” Manchester Rain, a song about hopes and dreams, is a poignant turning point for the band, both from their origins as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene and their untethered love of British punk works.

Sonics of the Soul also features eclectic favourites of Sense Out of Control, Just Got To Let It Go and Experimental Farm, all of which are divinely ‘Buzzcocks‘ in their making, an echoic timeless group stamped as one of the influentials.

Sonics In The Soul is the band’s first full album since the loss of Pete, recorded by Steve Diggle (guitar, vocals), Chris Remington (bass) and Danny Farrant (drums), and recorded at Studio 7in London, co- produced by Steve and Laurence Loveless.