The debut album by New York retro-punks
Shock Nagasaki (following a split EP with Portland's thematically similar
Straitjacket) is a thoroughly enjoyable trip back to the streets of London circa 1978. Second wave punk bands like the
Cockney Rejects,
999,
Chelsea, and
Sham 69 (all of whom, plus several others, are cleverly namechecked in the album's press kit) took the disparate sounds of
the Clash,
the Sex Pistols and
the Damned and turned it into a more rigidly defined sound, look, and attitude. This tightening of the stylistic parameters -- not the more experimental and freewheeling early days of the scene -- is what has gone on to define punk musically, even if more modern-day bands pledge allegiance to
Sid Vicious than
Slaughter and the Dogs. This is not to downgrade the achievement of
Shock Nagasaki, because
Year of the Spy is every bit as enjoyable as the best second wave punk albums of the '70s. Singer Jamie Coville bears a distinct vocal resemblance to the mighty
Joe Strummer, yet he manfully resists the temptation to slip into a lazy imitation of same, and the album's 12 brief songs flow together perfectly into a seamless mix of pop hooks and punk thrash, complete with the requisite anthemic shout-along choruses and glam-inspired guitar riffs. There's little new or different about
Year of the Spy, but when a band can channel the sound and spirit of a bygone time and place without sounding like mere copycats, it's an impressive achievement. ~ Stewart Mason