Thirty years on and
Cock Sparrer
is still exactly what you'd want them to be. Exploding out of the speakers with all the energy and anger of bands one-third their age, but with the experience to know that you need more than that to survive,
Here We Stand
is defiantly first-wave punk, but shot through with the kind of balls that actually make you glad it's 2008. The opening
"Too Late,"
all chiming
Buzzcocks
guitar and factory-fodder lyrics, gets things off to an astounding start -- imagine
the Small Faces
if
Steve Marriott
teamed up with
the Clash
; and then imagine they made an entire album together, because that's where
is heading.
"Gotta Get Out,"
"True to Yourself,"
"Better Than This"
-- most albums kick off with a frenzied one-two punch, but
not only keeps it up for song after song, they up the ante as well;
"Did You Have a Nice Life Without Me"
isn't simply an exhilarating noise, it also packs a sentimental punch that will leave you wondering where the rest of your own life went. Fourteen songs and not a sour note in sight. Back when
was a fledgling band, you could say that about a lot of records. These days, well, thank God somebody still remembers how to do it. ~ Dave Thompson