mclusky – The World Is Still Here and So Are We (Ipecac/Mushroom)
Welsh post-hardcore trio mclusky have gone through a lot of bassists, they are on their fourth iteration. And of the original trio, only Andy “Falco” Falkous (vocals, guitar) remains, alongside 2003 inductee drummer Jack Egglestone and 2014 newbie Damien Sayell (vocals/bass).
mclusky* (the asterisk a reference to missing members, now dropped) have played once in Aotearoa, 2020 at the Tuning Fork. It was, one of the coolest, exciting and entertaining punk/hardcore/post-rock shows I’ve ever seen.
After two decades of an on-again, off-again existence, mclusky have got their shit together and released a new album, The World Is Still Here and So Are We. Intensity and whimsy are cornerstones of any mclusky song. This is the band that wrote such absurdist songs as She Will Only Bring You Happiness and Undress For Success. On The World Is Still Here and So Are We, from the start of unpopular parts of a pig, until it ends, both are evident in droves. While Way of the Exploding Dickhead, is jammed full of Falco guitar machinations, reminiscent of past efforts.
But The World Is Still Here and So Are We is not just a retrofitted beast, there are dubbish rhythms on Cop and Coppers, post-punkish melodies that swing big on The Competent Horse Thief, and then there is the vaudevillish crooning by Falco on the albums final offering Hate The Polls.
On The World Is Still Here and So Are We, mclusky have once again, flourishingly shared their ability, to efficaciously journey hardcore from its consequential roots. Perspicaciously inferring an insight, rather than being vexatiously blunt. I wish mclusky would come back and play in Aotearoa again.
Simon Coffey
mclusky – the world is still here and so are we
Out May 9 via Mushroom Music / Ipecac Recordings
