Review: Review: The Alarm, ‘Superchannel’ Feb 6 2006

Superchannel – The Alarm (EMI)

Just as 45RPM roared its defiant way into the top 40 on the back of some stealth bombing by Mike Peters and his army of devoted Alarm fans, so Superchannel, similarly brim full of belligerent punk fire, looks to detonate in the upper echelons of the charts. And in doing so hopefully ripping a hole in people�s preconceived perceptions of Peters and his music.

Stripped down to the bones, raw and wired and possessing of a heartfelt purity rare in these days of cynically manufactured, mass market musical skullduggery, The Alarm are standard bearers for the new way. No slavish devotion to trends, no pandering to record labels� stylistic demands and no attempt to crave contrived credibility like an attention deficit disorder child. What you see is what you get, and what you get feels right.

Special mention too for extra track Over which roars like The Manic Street Preachers navigating a Mig Fighter straight into your pulsating heart. Or something. It’s stadium-friendly huge.

So you know the brief . . . race to your local record shack and demand Superchannel and if you see any James Blunt records you have my permission to burn them.

4 out of 5

Dave Owens, icWales

Publication::Publication: icWales
Author::Dave Owens