In years gone by, at least one hack paid the price for slagging off Guildford's men in black by being wrapped in tape and suspended above the stage at a Stranglers show. Nowadays, battling middle-age spread, they'd probably struggle to chuck a shoe at you. And they're struggling to come up with decent material, too, as this dismal effort at keeping their collective pulses racing demonstrates. In the past, The Stranglers could at least come up trumps with scorching singles like 'Something Better Change', 'Skin Deep' and latterly 'Always The Sun'. In 1998, having lost the services of singer Hugh Cornwell, they sound like they can't even be bothered to carry on the battle.