One has to think that the punk rock class of ’77 would never have imagined a day when not only is punk a multimillion-dollar concern, but that someone like The Damned’s Captain Sensible would be yucking it up on late night TV. In that burn fast, burn hot environment, it’s doubtful anyone had a five-year plan, let alone a vision for nearly 40 years in the future. It’s hard to picture anyone standing still that long to be introspective, but there are those people who had it in them to play until they dropped. Sonny Vincent is one of those people. He may be best known for his first band, Testors, but after they broke up he formed another band. And another, and another. Whether with a proper band or a line-up formed to support a solo record, Vincent has never stopped. It’s never been a matter of if Vincent will put out another record, but when and with whom. The 2014 answer has arrived with Sonny Vincent & Spite’s Spiteful (Ultramafic Records).

Even for someone who has worked with a bunch of heavy hitters, the members of Spite are still fairly impressive. The band features the Sex Pistols’ original bassist Glen Matlock, Rat Scabies of The Damned on drums, and Stooges’ sax player Steve MacKay. Thankfully, Spiteful lives up to every hope one might have. Recorded on tape through a bunch of vintage studio gear, it has a rawness and immediateness that’s almost shocking. It’s like you’re being shoved up against the stage in a bar of dubious reputation. Just on sonics alone, it conjures up the feeling of a New York that doesn’t exist anymore. But this is no nostalgia trip; instead, Vincent and Spite tap into the rawness that made the records of the classic punk era great.

What else makes Spiteful great is that Vincent is a pretty evocative songwriter. Whether singing about the evil mind control powers of a “Dog on the Subway” or the mentality of border control agents on “Borders,” he puts you there. But he also spends as much time with matters of the heart as he does with the more political and surreal elements. Considering that most of the songs are under three minutes, it’s a remarkable display of economy, and everything about Spiteful is instantly engaging. It’s damn near a master class in not burning out or fading away.