Note Générale : Ce second album du groupe fond©♭ par Howard Devoto, risque, encore aujourd'hui, de faire crisser quelques oreilles les plus int©♭gristes. A des lieues de l'instantan©♭it©♭ et des jets pop de sa formation initiale, The Buzzcocks, il ©♭labore ici (en compagnie de quelques futures figures de la new wave ©  venir : Barry Adamson, Dave Formula) un chapelet de compositions associant chant bilieux, propos apocalyptiques et ©♭criture aux d©♭veloppement tortueux, presque virtuoses. Se dessinent ici les lignes de forces d'une sorte d'art punk (on oserait l©Øcher le terme pomp punk ) qui encapsulait la rage de son temps dans une enveloppe glaciale et un cadre narratif, un dispositif bien loin d'inviter l'auditeur ©  toute activit©♭ propice au d©♭foulement physique et psychique. Mal-form©♭ et mal-aim©♭ d©·s sa gen©·se, ce disque ©  l'enveloppe incertaine intrigue pourtant encore aujourd'hui et quelques artistes de maintenant, de Radiohead ©  TV On The Radio, lui doivent probablement quelque chose. JdNOne of the most astonishing and powerful albums of all time, Secondhand Daylight contains nine songs of twisted, bleak, funny, weird, disturbing and exciting music that are far, far more ambitious, near-epic in scale than anything Magazine had attempted before: three pieces here; Feed the Enemy, Cut-Out Shapes and Back to Nature take the grandeur of the last album's Parade to the logical limit and succeed incredibly. Howard Devoto builds on his role as tortured, sniping, harsh poet to staggering extremes here, while the band, including ace new drummer John Doyle, are a stunning combination of energy and rhythm. The band were taking post-punk as far away from the origins of punk as possible, even (whisper it), embracing some prog-rock tendencies as they moved on; think about it, extended intros, complex playing, an unashamed love of the keyboard...yet, Devoto's lyrics are as far from prog as possible, bringing it all back down to Earth with unparalleled regret and bitter cynicism. http:www.rateyourmusic.com