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Disclaimer
Some might say
that Mcluskyism shouldn’t qualify for a Records That Time
Forgot honor, because one, it was released in 2006, so not
enough time has passed for anyone to forget it, and second
because Mcluskyism is not an actual release but a
compilation of the best work of this excellent Welsh band. But
the original idea behind this section of the zine was not only
to highlight the underrated and overlooked particular work of a
band, but also to highlight a band that we feel deserves
continuous exposure, regardless of its active or inactive
status. So here it is…
The Band
Mclusky was a
punk rock trio formed in 1996 in the capital and largest city of
Wales, Cardiff.
The group was comprised of guitarist/vocalist Andy “Falco” Falkous,
bassist Jonathan Chapple and drummer Jack Egglestone. The first
band to be formed was Best, named after The Beatles’ Pete Best
and it consisted of Falco and drummer Matthew Harding. At the
time the two were playing with bassist Geraint Bevan and during
a show they shared the stage with a band named Myrtle whose bass
player was Jon Chapple. Best, with Chapple in its ranks, would
sign to Seriously Groovy Records and release a 3-track single
called Huwuno. In 1999, the band changed its name to
Mclusky.
The Record
Mcluskyism
was released in February of 2006 and is a compilation of the
band’s singles. There are two versions floating the streets; a
one disc version that nicely presents the best and most
obnoxious work of the band and a limited edition two-disc set
that includes B Sides, what’s labeled as C Sides as well as live
recordings and rarities. For matters of length and because I
don’t have the limited edition version, this piece only
considers the first disc.
Mcluskyism
starts off with “Joy” and “Rice is Nice”, two cuts out of their
2000 Fuzzbox Records debut My Pain and Sadness is More
Painful and Sad Than Yours. The elements of the band
are nicely laid down here. Mclusky’s music is very obnoxious and
loud and abrasive. These two cuts in particular are straight up
punkers with a thin and sharp guitar sound and the belligerent
vocals of Falkous going apeshit in the second (“Rice is Nice”)
repeating, ‘I don’t wanna talk about it’ basically
throughout the whole song. “Whoyouknow”, the last cut out
of their second full length Mclusky Do Dallas presents a
cleaner but not for that less mean sound. The basics presented
on their first album are still here, but Mclusky now sounds
professional and as keen to draw from both nice indie melodies
and super obnoxious noise chorus lines. “Lightsabre
Cocksucking Blues’ is without a doubt one of the best songs this
band ever wrote. Here Falco between screaming and singing atop
cymbals and guitars. True, the structure has been heard before
but the sheer force with which Mclusky delivers this track is
impressive. The drums are super loud and when the song gets into
loud mode, it sounds as if the band had suddenly gone mad.
Absolutely wonderful; this is the quintessential indie punk
promise that Mclusky presented to the world back in 2002.
“To Hell With Good Intentions”, also out of Mclusky Do Dallas,
is another massive cut; huge drums, obsessive bass sound,
strident one note noise rock guitars and Falco’s almost spoken
vocals proclaiming that ‘my love is bigger than your love’
and that ‘my dad is bigger than your dad he’s got eight cars
and a house in an island’.
 In
contrast “Alan is a Cowboy Killer” does sound like a very
electric indie rock band. Only until it gets super noisy of
course, but for the most part Mclusky is clearly mixing up some
of the somewhat dimmed and subtle melodies of nice indie rock
and mixing them up with the volume of Shellac and Jesus Lizard.
“There Ain’t No Fool in Ferguson” is brilliant with Falco
delivering another one of his fantastic rants while the band
rocks out another yes guitar/no guitar attack. “1956 and
All That” on the other hand sounds totally deranged. Picked out
of the Steve Albini engineered 2004release The Difference
Between You and Me is That I Am Not on Fire this song
features trebly guitars and a final minute that just screams of
madness, while “Undress for Success” is a bit of a change.
Featuring strummed and controlled guitars this presents not
necessarily a more calmed side to Mclusky but a breather for the
listener after such relentless ear attack. “That Man Will Not
Hang” uses an insistent bassline and a locked drum part
Only to give us
Falco’s screamed deadpans once again. The last two songs
included in Mcluskyism are “She Will Only Bring You Happiness”
and “Without MSG I am Nothing”; the first one out of The
Difference…. Is, like much of their other material,
quite irreverent but in sound it at least doesn’t try to grab
you by the back and slam you to the floor. “Without MSG is
Nothing” is an amazing closer; the guitars remind me of snake
charming flute playing, while Falco goes madly, ‘do, do do do
do do do do…everywhere I look is a darkness.’ Another
quintessential cut by Mclusky.
The After
Mclusky broke
up in early 2005. There wasn’t much fuzz about it but apparently
the relationship between Falco and Chapple had deteriorated.
Since then Chapple has been playing with his band Shooting at
Unarmed Men first in England and then reforming it under the
same name in Australia; while Falco and Egglestone formed Future
of the Left with Kelson Mathias of the UK noise band Jarcrew.
As unceremonious as their end was, the break up of Mclusky
signified the end of one of the most talented indie noise punk
bands of the last few years. Like Falkous writes in the liner
notes of Mcluskyism, ‘that’s it, then. No farewell tours, a
thpusand TDK c-90s, various piss-poor attempts at merchandising,
no premature deaths, no live DVDs, one serious road accident and
several semi-serious ones, heart monitors, thirty five broken
guitars, a world of touring, great friends, greater friends,
having all of our shit stolen on presidential election day
2004..’. Copies of Mcluskyism go for as low as
$2.00 on Half.com.
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