They do show just how good they are on this album.
Terrorvision are primarily a movable party these days; they delighted us with music, they shaped a lot of fans' formative years and now they roam the land bringing the love and nostalgia back to them. They deserve to be given the accolade and they should be allowed to work when they want because they do show just how good they are on this album.
Recorded on the 'Britpop Must Be Destroyed' tour of 2016 where they were revolving headliners with The Wildhearts and Reef, I was lucky enough to see them finishing off their Manchester show and what a sing-along it was, just as it is on this release. A tough 'Discotheque Wreck' shows the intention early, then the singing starts with 'Friends & Family' and it never gives up as it carries on through the massed voices chanting 'Alice, What's The Matter'; Tony Wright even asks the crowd to sing "With You!", but he needn't have bothered because they're there already. The explosion at the heart of 'Didn't Bleed Red' always seems to take the breath away, and when they throw in the successful "whales and dolphin" chant during 'Perseverance' at the midpoint of their set, you know they've got great music to spare.
This is why they leave 'Tequila' off the menu. Speaking to Wright recently, he seemed surprised it wasn't there, but then they've always had a bit of a strange relationship with the re-mixed track that became an unlikely hit and it does make a statement – "look at what's here, will you miss it?" Not with a punky 'If I Was You' where Mark Yates comes over all Steve Jones-like (Sex Pistols), but to hit us with the one-two of 'Our House' and 'Some People Say' is a knockout. For the band to then follow with a rambunctious 'Celebrity Hit List' and 'Perseverance' featuring that "whales and dolphins" moment is phenomenal; missing 'Tequila' yet?
In that case, have a go on a magisterial 'Middleman', agitate with the rush of 'Demolition Song', delight in the sweet chorus of 'Josephine' and try to breathe in the g-force of 'D'You Wanna Go Faster'. It all ends with two crowd favourites from all the crowd favourites; 'Pretend Best Friend' includes the required trumpet in the middle and Wright almost tripping over himself during the smart-mouthed rap, while the close harmony and infectiousness of 'Oblivion' brings the curtain down to a huge cheer.
The sound is rough and energetic, the voice is at least 75% there and the feeling is warm; we're all "shit hot", they're "Terrorvision from Bradford" and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Steve Swift