Review: Mclusky - The World Is Still Here And So Are We (Rich Piva)

Mclusky - The World Is Still Here And So Are We (Ipecac Recordings)

Credit: Damien-Sayell

Mclusky is one of my favourite bands of all time, but I was admittedly late to the very loud party. By the time I understood the band’s brilliance they were already done, with only the Mcluskyism career retrospective left to delver to their fans, the trio breaking up for what may have been infighting or something else, but it really doesn’t matter because they were done. I did not see frontman Andrew "Falco" Falkous the type of guy who would revive the band, given just his overall disposition and his work with his side projects. But then there was a tour which got fans very excited about potential new material.

Was I going to have my first new Mclusky material as a fan? Turns out the answer is hell yes, as the band signed to Mike Patton’s Ipecac (what a perfect match) for a new record, the aptly titled The World Is Still Here And So Are We. It is not the same lineup as from the classic records, but it is Falco, and it is Mclusky, so yeah, it is awesome. It has all of the same energy, heaviness, cleverness, and sense of humor as the past material and fits perfectly amongst the three classics the band has in their past.

If you are not familiar with Mclusky, I always describe them as Therapy? if they were heavier/rawer and had a better/different sense of humour, Nirvana if they went even more punk after Bleach and started doing nitrous instead of heroin, or the UK’s funnier Jesus Lizard. Anyway, the post punk rawness, combined with their wit and a hidden sense of melody is what makes Mclusky so awesome, and the thirteen tracks on The World Is Still Here And So Are We are all about those traits, which is what makes this band so terrific.

So how about the songs on The World Is Still Here And So Are We? Mclusky packs a lot in two to three minutes, but in a sneaky way. Heavy, raw, melodic, witty, and sometimes downright funny in a life is absurd sort of way, there is not a bad song on this record and the band is in top form, even compared to the first three albums. 

Starting off with The Unpopular Parts Of A Pig, which is a perfect Mclusky title, you get trademark Falco goodness in the form of a start-stop, heavy post-punk ripper driven by Damien Sayell’s bass and Falco’s sung then screamed vocals. A perfect way to start off their first record in 21 years. Cops And Coppers is as close as Mclusky is going to get to a Clash song, but is so very Mclusky. 

One of my favourite tracks is Way Of The Exploding Dickhead, which sounds like Fugazi if they just loosened up a bit but still really cared about shit, but somehow also like if Pavement grew some balls. The Battle Of Los Angelsea sounds like Helmet but less uptight and with quite the agenda. Another one of my favourites. 

People Person is pure brilliance, reminding me of something off of Mclusky Do Dallas and could hang with any of the tracks from that classic. Want some of that Mclusky melody? The Competent Horse Thief is for you, where the band sounds more like XTC than, say labelmates Tomahawk, and is wonderful. Which is perfectly followed up by a quick little ripper in the vein of Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues, Kafka-esque Novelist Franz Kafka.

I wish I was as clever as Falco to make a quip about The Digger You Deep, which is the closest Mclusky has ever come to a Faith No More song. Autofocus On The Prime Directive is Falco (to my ears) channelling Joe Strummer but heavier (love his vocals on this one) while Not All Steeplejacks is the quietest in sound but one of the loudest lyrically on the record. Early 80s post punk perfection.

I keep hearing The Clash in these songs, with Chekhov's Guns being another example. Please do not listen to this and say the songs nothing like The Clash. I get it, but if you don’t hear Clash undertones you are not listening close enough. What other band would have a song titled Juan Party-System and have it kill as much as it does? Hate The Polis closes this record so perfectly, with Falco almost crooning. Are those harmonies I hear too? Just when you think you know what you are going to get the record closes in such a weird and wonderful way.

Am I a little bias? Am I too much of a fanboy? Has my never having a new Mclusky record during my time as a fan made me love this record even more than I should? Maybe, but there is zero debate that Mclusky is back with The World Is Still Here And So Are We. It is cliché to say they have not missed a beat, but this record could have easily followed The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire in say, 2006, and it would have been praised like those previous records were. 

An amazing band that the world is better off having active again, Mclusky rules and so does The World Is Still Here And So Are We. Welcome back. 33 minutes and 19 seconds of pos