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So would it be wrong to offer Stiff Little Fingers front man Jake Burns a tumbler full of whiskey and razor blades upon arrival at Trees? No harm intended–it’s just that Burns’ voice has lost some of its scratchy charm since the gutters-to-gold days of 1977, and anyone Gen-X or younger hasn’t exactly heard the seminal punk band all snarly and proper in a live setting. The Irish outfit’s relevance waned as the ’80s wore on, but their debut LP, Inflammable Material, is full of social/political venom and jagged guitar hooks, and it stands today as an underrated classic. Some gravel-gargling would come in handy on a blistering anthem like “Suspect Device,” but expect to hear more from the band’s newest record–titled Guitar and Drum, complete with former Jam bassist Bruce Foxton in tow–which is a serviceable (at best) reclamation of the glory days.
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