I'm a complete sucker for jangly guitar, and thus The Wedding Present's back catalogue is a treasure trove for me. A great breakup song from a band with more than their fair share, "Brassneck" is available in two versions on the reissue of _Bizarro_ - the LP version and the single version (the latter of which was recorded by Steve Albini and is many people's favourite, but not mine). It isn't their fastest song, but the speedy, tendonitis-inducing guitar strum still leaves me slack-jawed.

I was shocked to see that no one had recommended anything by these Mancunian legends. The Fall could never be called proponents of over-production and this brittle recording is no exception. This song features basically one chord and a mostly one-note bassline, but still manages to be as propulsive as hell. The wry, wound up lyrics from vocalist Mark E. Smith are augmented by great backing shouts of "totally wired!" This is a complete classic from one of the most original and influential bands of the post-punk era.

This was originally released as a single in 1980 and is available on several different compilations.