The Good Ship Rediscovery: Mcluskyism

We all forget about the older stuff from time to time, in our quest to stay up to speed with the latest and greatest. But one should always respect their elders. So don’t forget about them, y’hear?

Of all the bands I’ve ever loved like fury and lost, Mclusky is one of the ones I miss the most. Ok, so they’re not really all that “old”, but they’ve been defunct for a little while now so I’m throwing ‘em into the Rediscovery circus. Sure, Andy Falkous is busy these days with the phenomenal Future Of The Left, but it’s not quite the same. Mclusky was a really special band to me. It was a perfect storm of savagery, each of the three members bring their own special brand of spitfire to the band to create a truly severe, raging sound. Falkous was the driving force with his teeth-baring voice, the kind that could peel paint with its vitriol and the kind of voice that just screams spittle, not to mention that whole Frank Black comparison thing. Coupled with his sawtooth, razor-sharp guitar, Falkous in Mclusky was unstoppable. Bassist Jon Chapple brought an unbalanced, unstable fire, with backing vocals as bratty as the day is long to compliment the fearsome snarl of Falco. And then there were the drums. Mat Harding, original drummer for Mclusky, not only got his kicks beating the living daylights out of his poor drums, but was also responsible for my love of drummers. The first song I ever heard was called “Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues”, and it just got better from there.

Mcluskyism, the 3-disc retrospective of the band’s repertoire, is a great little compendium of the Mclusky sound and perfect for a neophyte. You of course should already own the band’s full-length records, covered by the A-sides on the first disc. However, the B-sides disc has a wealth of gems, filthy and furious and fantastic. The C-sides disc is all live, all the time, and gives just a hint of the intense hellfire rage of the Mclusky live experience. I was lucky enough to see the band three times, and I can definitely tell you that this band was one of the best I’ve ever seen in the flesh. In person and on record, they had It.

Mclusky, may they rest in peace, had bite. Lots and lots of bite. Their songs were searingly clever, shatteringly loud, and incandescently killer. And I miss them like crazy.

mp3: whiteliberalonwhiteliberalaction (Mclusky from Mcluskyism)

mp3: No Covers (Mclusky from Mcluskyism)

mp3: The Salt Water Solution (Mclusky from Mcluskyism)