Television Personalities - Are We Nearly There Yet?

One of the few remaining original punk rock bands, Television Personalities revolves around the fragile psyche of Dan Treacy, whose talent for writing simple yet infernally catchy songs is still intact some 30 years after his first hit, "Part-Time Punks" (bouts of mental illness and a spell in prison notwithstanding). However, despite the snarky observation of "The Peter Gabriel Song" and the sing-song childish innocence of the title track, there's a distinct sense of adult insecurity in songs like "I Get Scared When I Don't Know Where You Are" and the confessional "You Are Loved."

Treacy sounds like he's having fun doing punk rock karaoke on the faux-rap "The Eminem Song," but the lyrics are deadly serious, and "All the King's Horses," which again sounds like karaoke, has an air of despondency. On the bright side, two enjoyable covers, of Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind" and the Killers' "Mr. Brightside," find the band in full punk rock effect, and the gorgeous "If I Could Write Poetry" is a classic, punk-flavored slice of synth-pop.