Stiff Little Fingers
Guitar and Drum
(Kung Fu)
While Stiff Little Fingers have put records out for the last 15 years, this is the first disc to really equal what the band was doing in its heyday (1981-82). SLF’s brand of punk is many shades poppier than the Clash or Husker Du, but it always contained an edginess that newer bands don’t have. The best track is a touching yet raunchy ode to Joe Strummer (“Strummerville”). It’ll leave a Doc Marten-sized lump in your throat long after it fades out to a chorus of “clash, clash…clash city rockers.”
—Dave Hayden
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.