Modern (Buzzcocks album)

Modern
Studio album by Buzzcocks
Released	7 September 1999 (1999-09-07)
Recorded	22 June–13 August 1998, 14 September–13 October 1998
Studio	The Surgery, Barnet, Herefordshire; mixed at Woodbine Street Recording Studios, Leamington Spa
Genre	Pop punk art punk[1] new wave[2] electropunk
Length	40:43
Label	EMI (UK) Go-Kart (USA)
Producer	Tony Barber
Buzzcocks chronology
All Set (1996) Modern (1999) Buzzcocks (2003)
Singles from Modern
"Thunder of Hearts" Released: August 1999[3]
Alternative cover
Alternative US cover

Modern is the sixth studio album by English pop punk band Buzzcocks. After the critical success of the band's previous album All Set (1996), the band became disillusioned with trying to be a rock band and set out to become more "modern," thus birthing the project. Recording the album in Chipping Barnet with the band's bassist Tony Barber producing, Modern sees a strong electronic music influence, with electronic instruments and drum machines featuring on the songs, especially those written by Steve Diggle, who wrote five of the album's songs whilst Pete Shelley wrote the other eight songs.

Although the album was recorded with the idea that it sounded contemporary, the album's sound was said to emulate new wave music from the early 1980s, including from Pete Shelley's solo career, and was also categorised as sounding like the art punk band Magazine, formed in the late 1970s by former Buzzcocks member Howard Devoto. One critic said that "rather than destroy the pop song they [deconstruct] it, playfully reinventing it as a catchy, self-conscious pastiche of itself." Shelley's lyrical content express explosive angst and irritability coupled with lingering discomfort and frustration.

The album was released in September 1999 in the UK by EMI and in the US by Go-Kart, their first release for both labels. In the UK, CD copies were paired with an enhanced CD compilation entitled A Different Kind of Product, featuring early singles by the band and computer elements such as a slide show and video compilation. Although not a commercial success, Modern received generally favourable reviews from critics, being referred to by Allmusic as a "minor triumph" and by another critic as "a very good record." Nonetheless, the record did have some detractors. According to Mick O'Shear, Modern ""served to affirm that Buzzcocks could still appeal to a global audience while still remaining true to their original ideals."