Buzzcocks

Along with the Sex Pistols and the Clash, Buzzcocks essentially invented British-style punk rock. The Manchester quartet lacked its peers' political worldview, relying on high-octane energy to mold brilliant pop songs that -- for better or worse -- helped pioneer the now-waning Sum Green-182 movement. Dispirited by ongoing record-company battles, the group split in 1981 at the height of its popularity, briefly reuniting near the end of the decade.

In the '90s, founding members Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle introduced a revamped incarnation with a new rhythm section. This edition of Buzzcocks issued a string of critically marginalized efforts throughout the '90s, but recent commercial use of the outfit's trademark single, "What Do I Get," sparked fresh interest in the 'Cocks' hooky horseplay. Unfortunately, Buzzcocks won't do much to return the group to glory. "Sick City Sometimes" (a puzzling wholesale rewrite of the Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy") could inspire a lawsuit, but unoriginal pranksters such as "Jerk" and "Driving You Insane" only encourage yawns.

Buzzcocks suffers from a case of Rolling Aerosmith Disease: it isn't overtly bad, but it pales in comparison to the band's seminal efforts. The tempos are mindlessly zippy, the lyrics appropriately wry and the melodies hummably simple, but these ingredients, which once made Buzzcocks irresistible, now seem like the albatross of a band that refuses to evolve.