Not my cup of tea, these Stranglers. I received the album in the mail and my first thought was why me? Why do I get an album filled with gayish country music that wouldn’t do bad on the special olympics?.

But as it often is with preconceptions, I thought wrong. The Stranglers actually aren’t that bad. Still not a album I will put on every day, not even every month, but I can imagine people that listen to bands like The Reverend Horton Beat, UB40 or the Levellers will.

To my surprise, the Stranglers are together for over 20 years. And still popular, still selling out venues in England (now even with crowdsurfing teenagers!), and are currently doing a sold-out tour with old lads UB40.

About the album Norfolk Coast: It counts 11 tracks with a lot of variety. From folk music (the Levellers link) to some reggea sounding music. There is even some R&B (not the pop-shit!), skiffle and country influences on this album. Like I said, a lot of variety. You can almost feel the pleasure these five guys had in making this album. Together in the original line-up, they are trying it again. Respect for that.

I guess Norfolk Coast is especially interesting for the older Rockezine readers. But if you want to sniff up some roots, this album is perfect for that. But like I said, it’s not my cup of tea, and it’s hard to rate this album.