The energy of MClusky cannot be denied on their second full-length asthey blister their way trough another group of songs that will astoundand confound even the staunchest fan. It's been a while since"Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues" and the dancing Flash kittens, andMclusky want the world to know that even though founding member MatHarding parted ways with the band, the essence is still here and thepurpose is still to destroy. There's a conscious effort, it seems, tomake the songs a bit longer on this release, where previous releaseswere chock-full of two minute masterpieces; and the material hascertainly veered more to the Dark Side of the Force for the moment.Neither makes a negative impact on the music, however, and Steve Albiniagain manages to stay out of the way of this band and just capturetheir live essence without need for much studio trickery. That is stillthe best way to experience Mclusky, it seems, as their shows tend to beplain incendiary in nature, and with an arsenal like this, there's notelling how many would survive the barrage. The cackles and roostercalls on the opening track meld well with the distorted guitars andhard-hitting drums. Andy Falkous is just as cockney and clever, andeven though he's claiming "everwhere I look is a darkness," he soundslike he hasn't had this much fun in years. He screams his lungs out,double-tracking everywhere and writing half-cliché and half brilliancein his lyrics ("Note to invading aliens: avoid this town like this townavoided us" is a personal favorite). Mclusky have a great gift formelody, where even the trashiest or thrashiest songs are catchy as allhell, and I couldn't help nodding my head as accompaniment. Overall,they're just as sloppy, just as unpolished, and just as purely comicalas always. Quite frankly, I'm glad they wouldn't have it any other way,as Mclusky are a breath of fresh air. Read More
