Band: THE UNDERTONES Who: Power pop punks from Northern Ireland, formed in 1975 fronted
by vocalist Feargal Sharkey. When left in 1983 (after 4 LPs) the band
called it a day, but regrouped in 1999 with another frontman and still
have Teenage Kicks today.
Nobody made punk sound that terrifically rousing, punchy and down-to-earth with
tons of sickly sticky tunes about daily, recognizable topics, like this dynamic Irish engine.
It made THE UNDERTONES stand out of the rest in those exciting times. They released
their second, stupendous LP ‘HYPNOTISED‘ 40 years ago, on 21 April 1980, recorded in
a studio in The Netherlands and London. A record full of teenage sing along kicks. The album reached No 6 on the UK’s albums chart.
ALL MUSIC wrote: “It’s hard to follow-up a classic… But ‘Hypnotised’ is only barely less perfect than the debut. The album contains 14 punky pop classics, with a slightly tougher edge than the unfailingly sweet-natured debut. The giddy love rush of the title track is matched by some of Feargal Sharkey’s most exuberant vocals, and the snotty ‘What’s with Terry?’ and ‘My Perfect Cousin’ are yet more perfect slices of adolescent frustration.” – Score 4.5/5
THREE TOP TRACKS:There Goes Norman / My Perfect Cousin / Girls That Don’t Talk
