Magazine – No Thyself

Boasting a résumé which includes founding seminal punk icons The Buzzcocks before dropping out to lead the post-punk forays of cult heroes Magazine, Howard Devoto has left a fine legacy in his wake.  As such, his decision to resurrect Magazine and release their fourth LP some thirty years later is rather daring, given that to truly justify their return after such a hiatus, No Thyself needs to be seriously good, possibly even great.

Initially reassured by a degree of fidelity to their past and a decent first-foot with Do A Meaning, an element of irrelevance gradually emerges, exposing over the course a significant gap between their past and present work.  Tracks such as Hello Mister Curtis and Holy Dotage feel out-of-step with the contemporary scene, seriously lacking the pioneering edge of such classics as Shot by Both Sides. It would certainly be unfair to expect Magazine to return with the fervour of their youth, though setting such unrealistic expectations aside; this is still a disappointing reprisal.