Search - Mclusky :: Mclusky Do Dallas

The perfect antidote to the latest Bright Eyes album.

Shotgun Method | NY... No, not *that* NY | 10/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Indie rock is a largely boring genre these days. You've got lots of annoyingly precious lo-fi pop, emo outfits whose lyrics consist of bad diary passages, Sonic Youth clones, and bands intent on ripping off the past glories of far better acts (The Strokes, Interpol, and Franz Ferdinand, anyone?).



McClusky is absolutely none of those things. Sure, you can hear some echoes of The Pixies and The Jesus Lizard in their sound, but these Welsh boys would rather rip you a new one than show off their record collections.



Do Dallas is balls-to-the-wall, hiliariously lowbrow, no-holds-barred RAWK in a way that hasn't been delivered since Bon Scott was fronting AC/DC. Punk as all get out, but without the politics. Clever as hell, but totally unpretentious. Ferocious enough to tear paint off walls and drive your parents to seek refuge in a nursing home, but crammed with enough hooks and jagged melody to make you hum these songs for days. Crazy f--king good, this.



Lightsaber C-cksucking Blues is a sledgehammer of an opening track, with Andrew Falkous' deranged screaming and eardrum-blasting guitar squalls (crazily enough, the song IS in a loosely blues format, though the end result is probably nowhere near what Leadbelly originally intended). No New Wave No Fun careens along the same manic path, while Collagen Rock, Dethink To Survive, Day Of The Deadringers, and Gareth Brown Says boast supremely catchy melodies amid the shards of feedback and distortion. F--k This Band is downright subdued, almost serene despite the goofy self-deprecating lyrics. Best of all is To Hell With Good Intentions, a smartass sing-along anthem par excellence. "My band is better than your band/we take more drugs than a touring funk band, sing it."



The lyrics...ah the lyrics. If you can't at least giggle at lines like "Nicotine stained on account of her crutch/and I'm achin' from f--king too much," "Your mother is a ballpoint pen thief," "If it wasn't for the Decepticons/they'd rule the f--king world," and "The world loves us and is our b-tch," you're a complete stiff. And of course everyone knows that Welsh accents rule. Steve Albini does a great job on production as well, just raw enough to preserve the band's intensity without sounding like a demo tape.



Enough rambling. Just buy the bloody thing or consider yourself lame forever."

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Mauricio | 03/19/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, let it be said: This is a GREAT album. But, sorry, I don't hear the Fall, I don't hear Nirvana, and I don't hear The Clash. I do hear the hyper-stuttering, sometimes falsetto vocal stylings of Travis Morrison thrown in a blender with the classic David Yow howl. I do hear some Joey Santiago styled guitar plucking, and I do hear the sledgehammer-with-hooks guitar buzz of Shellac. From the opening riffs of the first track, Albini's touch on this album is unmistakable. Keep in mind that this album will not gain very many points in the areas of new or groundbreaking, but their moments of derivativity (is that a word? It is now) are more than balanced with the uppercut of rock they use knock you on your keister. I've gotten into quite a few new records over the past few years, but this is the first time in a LONG time that I've had my socks blown off by a greasy, sweaty rock-n-roll record. Highly recommended for fans of The Jesus Lizard, Pixies, Big Black."

Your mother is a ballpoint pen thief.

Mike K. | Massachusetts, USA | 08/28/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine The Jesus Lizard as a drunk party band, or what the early Pixies would've sounded like if Frank Black was a big fan of Bon Scott-era AC/DC and The Sex Pistols. Nothing quite mindblowingly original, but it's got a lot of what modern rock today tends to lack: visceral thrills without sacrificing hooks (you'll almost have to catch your breath after the 2 minute opening track "Lightsaber "C*cksucker Blues", and yet it's catchy enough that it'll give you the urge to yell it's refrain of "I'm fearful I'm fearful I'm fearful ah flyin', and flyin' is fearful ah me!" in public places; almost all of the rest of the album follows suit), a sense of humor (the lyrics are frequently hillarious, and of course there's "The World Loves Us And Is Our B*tch", one of the best song titles ever), and most importantly, personality (mainly due to Andrew Falkous' unhinged, charmingly over-the-top vocal performances). If you're interested in the "garage rock" scene but wish most of the bands involved would take themselves less seriously and rock out a bit more, this is a must-hear."