Artist
Magazine
Howard Devoto's post-Buzzcocks project, featuring John McGeoch's guitar and Dave Formula's keyboards. McGeoch, who later joined Siouxsie and the Banshees, brought an experimental approach that Johnny Marr praised as shaping the Smiths' sound. Shot by Both Sides (1978) and Secondhand Daylight (1979) showcased art-rock ambition within post-punk's experimental framework, drawing from krautrock and progressive rock while maintaining punk's energy. Devoto's lyrics were literate, oblique, miles from punk's sloganeering. McGeoch's guitar work influenced a generation of players who wanted texture over power.