Zounds - The Curse of Zounds (Broken Rekids)

Removed from the context of the jumble that is the ’90s CD that has all of these tracks as well as those from the singles interspersed before and after it, The Curse of Zounds is a proper Lp in all the best ways. Though the songs (as befitting the album format) are in general longer, less immediate (though ultimately no less memorable or catchy) and heavier/weightier than their singles, this is an absolute beast of an Lp. Starting with the blistering “Fear”, which segues nicely into a medley featuring the harrowing “Did He Jump” and the rant “The Unfree Child” (featuring the vocal talents of The Raincoats‘ Gina Birch), this Lp pulls no punches and sounds as good in 2011 as I imagine that it must have in 1982. Other Zounds classics like “Dirty Squatters” and “Little Bit More” are also here.

All in all, Zounds are far and away my favorite anarcho punk band of the early ’80s (and in general) partly because I think they wrote the best songs and their ’60s melodies really stood (and stand) out. Lyrically, this stuff is far from sloganeering and Steve Lake deftly mixes heartfelt yearning, social criticism, anti-authoritarianism with a hint (OK more than a hint) of paranoia and then pertinent fear of nuclear war that permeated the tail end of the Cold War and the Reagan era.

The packaging is great, too, replicating the original artwork and inner sleeve with the lyrics, but because it’s 2011, you get a download code, too! If you buy one punk reissue this year, this should be it.