There was a time when the boisterous pop punk of The Spangles was as fresh as the proverbial daisy. That time was, of course, way back in the days of Thatcher’s Britain yet it was surprising, and downright welcome, just how refreshing the twelve songs that make up “#SweetFA” turned out to be.
If you are looking for arthouse sensibilities or songs about bunny rabbits then this album won’t be of much interest to you and you may now duly go off to GAP and buy yourself a new pair of chinos. If, however, you worship at the altar of roughhouse guitars, volume overload and songs that make more sleazy sense the more you drink then prepare to worship at the altar of The Spangles.
It’s not just a case of keeping it loud and raucous though, for The Spangles also have an obvious sentimental attachment to the heyday of American pop punk and, with plenty of singalong harmonies to complement the riffs, songs like “Growing Up” and “Hold My Hand” soon make their way from your bleeding ears to your achy breaky heart.
So, you can’t really go wrong with “#SweetFA” whether you have more grey hairs than you wish you had or whether you are from a generation desperately in need of release from the aural imprisonment of the autotuned sequencers.
Oh, and if still in doubt, drink some more beer and listen again for The Spangles will get you in the end.