#171
By Chris Kouzes
April 12, 1980
The Undertones
Hypnotised
Genre: 80s Pop Punk
Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Chris’ Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Highlights
My Perfect Cousin
More Songs About Chocolate and Girls
There Goes Norman
Girls That Don’t Talk
So “Teenage Kicks” is pretty great and iconic. But that’s pretty much where my The Undertones history starts and stops. There’s nothing that hits that high on this, their second album, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable and a worthwhile listen.
If you know TK, then that basic formula of family-friendly “punk” is on full display here. Of the 15 songs, only two break the three-minute barrier. After looking over my notes, I found that “My Perfect Cousin” was easily my favorite of the bunch and only afterwards read that it was one of the two singles released at the time (“Wednesday Week” being the other and not nearly as good). The first two tracks are also very good. The rest of the album swims in the same pool as that of The Buzzcocks and a pop version of PIL. Speaking of, I didn’t realize just how Lydon leader singer Feargal Sharkey can sound. He’s not doing an impression, but sounds like he heard The Sex Pistols and thought, I can do that too.
The only reason I’m not giving it at least 4 stars is because of the inclusion of a terrible cover of “Under the Boardwalk.” Seriously, their songs are all 2-3 minutes. They couldn’t have squeaked out something…anything…that would have been better than “Boardwalk?” Maybe it was a punk rock choice, but it’s stinker….
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Yk98WBeFh20pqDPyE0kHd?si=4o38XYc8Q-mRfhoy9jOzcA
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