Into every year, a little pop-punk must flow, and if 2014 hasn’t exactly been a banner year for the form (round these parts at least), it’s nonetheless good to have a group as efficient as The Love Triangle working the mill.

A classic Brit-punk proposition, variously recalling Alternative TV, Buzzcocks, The Adverts, Wire, Sham 69 and even a dash of early TV Personalities at different points in this LP’s run-time, one may legitimately wonder how the band manage to hit these well-worn bases without ever sounding tired, irrelevant or subject to accusations of pastiche.

The answer, basically, is that they just bloody get on with it. There’s no winking at the crowd here, no strutting, no style – just a breakneck, heads-down tempo, clear no-nonsense recording, fierce, clean-toned chord-riffing and lyrical themes that emerge as both personal and contemporary once you get a minute to pick them apart - but kept subservient to the musical momentum, where they belong.

It’s there if you want it, particularly on the two closing tracks, which crack the shell a bit to offer reflections on mortality and depression (cf: TVPs comparison). But, largely, subject matter sticks to the basic perennials of bad sex and eating toast, music offers a solid kick up the arse, and if you’re just looking to find a soundtrack for getting to the post office very fast on the cold morning then rest assured, you’ll find few better.

Listen and buy from Static Shock.

Labels: best of 2014, The Love Triangle