When mclusky called it quits a couple of years back, a generation of music fans wept. Or, they should have. The disbandment of the Welsh rock pigs was a tragedy for two reasons. One was that it robbed the British music scene of one of its most humorous, intense and intelligent voices; the other that it passed almost unnoticed. Despite inspiring fierce loyalty in their followers, mclusky’s fanbase never acquired the numbers their exquisite racket deserved. Now though, two-thirds of the band have joined forces with one member of fellow defunct Welsh noisemongers Jarcrew to redress the balance. So with the chance of redemption for the record-buying public at hand, have the trio delivered the goods?
Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes. ‘Curses’ is a punishing, infectious and downright side-splitting listen, every bit as good as anything committed to tape by their previous incarnations. Better, in fact. Stunning opener ‘The Lord Hates A Coward’ finds nosebleed bass, mountainous drums and shards of tuneful yet unfeasibly aggressive guitar noise underpinning Andrew Falkous’ cry of “Violence, she solved everything”, while band switches between dissonant tumbling and a vicious groove with almost casual disdain. ‘Plague Of Onces’ follows; a taut, explosive popcore blast laden with Les Savy Fav-style terrace chants and squalling guitar lines.
This record doesn’t just pummel, though; it also swings, bounces, jerks and floats, sometimes in the same song. Cuts like the loping, circular splurge of ‘Fingers Become Thumbs’ or the Satan’s barber shop quartet mantra of ‘Kept By Bees’ are playful in the same fashion as Battles, while the hilarious Hooray Henry-baiting ‘Fuck The Countryside Alliance’ is a sardonic, bass-led kick to the buck teeth which out-Shellacs Steve Albini. Closer ‘The Contrarian’ is a real departure, built on lilting piano stabs, subtle percussion and some uncharacteristically restrained vocals.
As brilliant as the music is, though, the star of the show is still the acerbic wit of Andrew Falkous. Take aforementioned toff-basher ‘Fuck The Countryside Alliance’, which finds the deadpan singer intoning: “Tories, Tories/Thanks for the Tories” and “take a man to his nightmares in a Land Rover”. Or how about the synth-led ‘Suddenly It’s A Folk Song’, in which he boasts of “making a living from contract bridge” and panics that “suddenly folk songs are part of our future”. Then there are those song titles: ‘My Gymnastic Past’, ‘Team: Seed’, ‘Manchasm’ – great names, and every song a gem. It’s great to have Falkous back, and when he bellows, “We are still operating!” at the end of granite-heavy disco funk workout ‘Real Men Hunt In Packs’, you can’t help but punch the air along with him.
Words_Lee Gorman
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DOWNLOAD: ‘The Lord Hates A Coward’, ‘Fingers Become Thumbs’, ‘Suddenly It’s A Folk Song’
FOR FANS OF: Les Savy Fav, Shellac, Battles
Posted on: 27th January 2010
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