Underrated and underexposed - we salute some of the unsung heroes of music past
On January 10th 2005, Andy "Falco" Falkous released the following statement on his band’s website: “The three piece rock band known as Mclusky have disbanded, as of Friday January 7, 2005. The reason for this parting is private, though probably not as entertaining as you'd imagine. Personally, I would like to thank all the people, places and times that occurred on or near us. I'm grateful for the love and, to a lesser degree, the hate. There'll be more music soon, from all of us.”
Now this may not rank up there with the break-up of The Beatles or Pink Floyd for many, but this just makes it almost as tragic for those who were fortunate enough to discover and therefore love Mclusky. The reasons for their split may well not be “as entertaining as you'd imagine”, but they’d have you believe that their conception certainly was.
Their story goes that they originally formed in 1996 when Falkous (vocals, guitar) and Matthew Harding (drummer, who left the band in 2003) met at the Blackwood Miners Institute, a venue in their home town from which they were both ejected for dressing as miners. The pair met Jonathan Chapple (bass, vocals) a short time afterwards at the Reading Festival when they caught him urinating on their tent late in the night. Anyone who knows of the band, will quite rightly take this tale with a lorry-load of salt. As well as producing some of the loudest, most interesting, corrosive and visceral rock music since Pixies (to whom they were often compared), they were also known for their great sense of humour.
They never took music too seriously, theirs or anyone else’s, and often used it as an opportunity to soundtrack their astute, if often bitter, observations of the world, and more specifically the idiots who inhabit it. As their tale of how they met is far more interesting than the more likely one, let’s just leave their conception at that, and move on. They changed their name from Best (after the ‘fifth Beatle’ Pete Best) to Mclusky in 1999, releasing their first full-length album My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours in 2000 on the Fuzzbox label. This was just the start of a discography full of brilliant, witty single and album titles that were almost as entertaining as the songs themselves.
Opening with the Nirvana-esque onslaught of “Joy”, it was an invasion of the senses; a vociferous fifteen-track statement of intent. Mclusky were here to rock your fucking toenails off, but listen good because they also have something to say that was worth listening to (if only for a good laugh). “Rice is Nice” was equally as raucous, but the album also displayed the band’s ear for a melody, with “Flysmoke”, “Rods On Crutches” and “(Sometimes) I Have to Concentrate” demonstrating this in a more down tempo way than anything else on the album. But it was their love for brusque noise, infused with great melody, allied with Falco’s shriek that drew the Pixies comparisons from all corners (listen to “When They Come Tell Them No” from this album in particular to see why). However, they gained nothing more than nodding approvals, and soon signed to UK Independent label Too Pure Records, who re-released their debut album in 2003.
Track listing for My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours:
Their follow-up, Mclusky Do Dallas, was recorded with legendary alternative rock engineer Steve Albini at the Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, Illinois, and released late 2002. Stronger songs backed by superior production, Mclusky Do Dallas saw the band produce what they threatened with My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours; a more consistent collection of unrelenting, meaty rock guitar hooks, all wrapped up in some memorable melodies, gift tagged with jocular song titles that now spilled over into the lyrics. “It's easy to say now their trainers seemed fine, and their hair was a fucking delight, but one of those bands got paid I heard, one of those bands got fake tits“ from “Collagen Rock” a case in point. At times they were definitely guilty of the lyrics being huge in-jokes, often ridiculing characters they knew, but attempting to decipher it all was part of the appeal. “All of your friends are cunts, your mother is a ball-point pen thief, notoriety follows you like beatings follow rain” from “Gareth Brown Says” being a particularlyscornful example.
Still, however, any measure of real success unjustly eluded them. You’d think they couldn’t give a shit, but seeing far less talented bands gain varying degrees of success clearly irked them; see the lyrics above from “Collagen Rock” and these from "To Hell with Good Intentions":"My love is bigger than your love, we take more drugs than a touring funk band sing it, my love is bigger than your love, sing it, my love is bigger than your love, sing it”.
Track listing for Mclusky Do Dallas:
Jack Egglestone replaced Harding in 2003, making his debut the following year on the band's critically acclaimed The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire. Albini was again on hand as producer, and again it pays dividends as between them they produce the highlight of Mclusky’s all-too-short existence. Opening with the awesome riff of "Without MSG I Am Nothing", the album sees Mclusky at their peak, with even stronger songwriting and lyrical content than Mclusky Do Dallas. It should have been the album that brought the band to a wider audience than it managed. It certainly turned more heads than their previous efforts, but their deserved audience sadly never arrived. The amusingly bizarre song titles continued with "KKKitchens, What Were You Thinking?" and "Your Children Are Waiting for You to Die", and the band continued to rock quite like nobody else.
Tack listing for The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire:
Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falkous and Chapple. The root of these tensions can be traced back to an incident in 2004 when all of the band's equipment was stolen on the Arizona leg of their American tour (this equipment - worth over £5000 - has still not been recovered).
In February 2006, a compilation of the band's singles, Mcluskyism, was released; a limited-edition version came with two largely impressive additional CDs of B-sides (labelled as B-sides and C-sides), rarities and live recordings from their final headline performance at the University of London Union (the band would make one further live appearance on 01/12/04 supporting Steve Albini’s Shellac at the Scala in London). This compilation was, without doubt, the final chapter in Mclusky's nine-year saga, as Falkous informed in the Mcluskyism liner notes, "that's it, then. No farewell tour... no premature deaths (at time of writing), no live DVDs...". With the revelation in 2007 that Falkous and Chapple had not spoken since 2005 (and are no longer on the same side of the equator – Chapple is in Australia with his new band Shooting at Unarmed Men), it is probably safe to assume that there is no possibility of a reunion any time soon – probably ever.
The one thing we can be thankful for is that the band largely live on in two thirds of Future of the Left (completed by ex-Jarcrew singer, Kelson Mathias), who are receiving a little more attention than Mclusky did, although more people now discover Mclusky through Future of the Left. The band retain many of the components that made Mclusky such a great band: the huge riffs, the big hooks and witty song titles and lyrics such as those of "My Gymnastic Past", "Suddenly It's a Folk Song" and "Real Men Hunt in Packs".
Even prior to the split of Mclusky and the inception of Future of the Left, if you popped in to any alternative rock website forum and asked what its members thought of Mclusky, the response would have been swift and positive, which makes their lack of commercial success a little more bewildering. It could be down to poor marketing, it may be that many of their songs we lyrically unsuitable for daytime radio play, or it could simply be down to the band not really having the desire for commercial success. Who knows, and, sadly, who really cares? Not nearly enough of you.
“Fuck this band
Yeah fuck their holes
But if they split up
You're responsible”
From “Fuck This Band”, Mclusky Do Dallas
Now this may not rank up there with the break-up of The Beatles or Pink Floyd for many, but this just makes it almost as tragic for those who were fortunate enough to discover and therefore love Mclusky. The reasons for their split may well not be “as entertaining as you'd imagine”, but they’d have you believe that their conception certainly was.
Their story goes that they originally formed in 1996 when Falkous (vocals, guitar) and Matthew Harding (drummer, who left the band in 2003) met at the Blackwood Miners Institute, a venue in their home town from which they were both ejected for dressing as miners. The pair met Jonathan Chapple (bass, vocals) a short time afterwards at the Reading Festival when they caught him urinating on their tent late in the night. Anyone who knows of the band, will quite rightly take this tale with a lorry-load of salt. As well as producing some of the loudest, most interesting, corrosive and visceral rock music since Pixies (to whom they were often compared), they were also known for their great sense of humour.
They never took music too seriously, theirs or anyone else’s, and often used it as an opportunity to soundtrack their astute, if often bitter, observations of the world, and more specifically the idiots who inhabit it. As their tale of how they met is far more interesting than the more likely one, let’s just leave their conception at that, and move on. They changed their name from Best (after the ‘fifth Beatle’ Pete Best) to Mclusky in 1999, releasing their first full-length album My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours in 2000 on the Fuzzbox label. This was just the start of a discography full of brilliant, witty single and album titles that were almost as entertaining as the songs themselves.
Opening with the Nirvana-esque onslaught of “Joy”, it was an invasion of the senses; a vociferous fifteen-track statement of intent. Mclusky were here to rock your fucking toenails off, but listen good because they also have something to say that was worth listening to (if only for a good laugh). “Rice is Nice” was equally as raucous, but the album also displayed the band’s ear for a melody, with “Flysmoke”, “Rods On Crutches” and “(Sometimes) I Have to Concentrate” demonstrating this in a more down tempo way than anything else on the album. But it was their love for brusque noise, infused with great melody, allied with Falco’s shriek that drew the Pixies comparisons from all corners (listen to “When They Come Tell Them No” from this album in particular to see why). However, they gained nothing more than nodding approvals, and soon signed to UK Independent label Too Pure Records, who re-released their debut album in 2003.
Track listing for My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours:
- "Joy" - 1:11
- "Friends Stoning Friends" - 4:21
- "Whiteliberalonwhiteliberalacti on" - 2:58
- "Rice is Nice" - 1:06
- "Flysmoke" - 3:36
- "Rock vs. Single Parents" - 3:07
- "She Come in Pieces" - 1:52
- "(Sometimes) I Have to Concentrate" - 2:56
- "When They Come Tell Them No" - 1:16
- "You Are My Sun" - 2:59
- "Rods on Crutches" - 2:31
- "Problems Posing as Solutions" - 3:49
- "mi-o-mai" - 0:58
- "Medium is the Message" - 2:51
- "World Cup Drumming" - 3:13
- "Evil Frankie" (hidden track) - 2:35
Their follow-up, Mclusky Do Dallas, was recorded with legendary alternative rock engineer Steve Albini at the Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, Illinois, and released late 2002. Stronger songs backed by superior production, Mclusky Do Dallas saw the band produce what they threatened with My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours; a more consistent collection of unrelenting, meaty rock guitar hooks, all wrapped up in some memorable melodies, gift tagged with jocular song titles that now spilled over into the lyrics. “It's easy to say now their trainers seemed fine, and their hair was a fucking delight, but one of those bands got paid I heard, one of those bands got fake tits“ from “Collagen Rock” a case in point. At times they were definitely guilty of the lyrics being huge in-jokes, often ridiculing characters they knew, but attempting to decipher it all was part of the appeal. “All of your friends are cunts, your mother is a ball-point pen thief, notoriety follows you like beatings follow rain” from “Gareth Brown Says” being a particularlyscornful example.
Still, however, any measure of real success unjustly eluded them. You’d think they couldn’t give a shit, but seeing far less talented bands gain varying degrees of success clearly irked them; see the lyrics above from “Collagen Rock” and these from "To Hell with Good Intentions":"My love is bigger than your love, we take more drugs than a touring funk band sing it, my love is bigger than your love, sing it, my love is bigger than your love, sing it”.
Track listing for Mclusky Do Dallas:
- "Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues" – 1:51
- "No New Wave No Fun" – 2:19
- "Collagen Rock" – 2:52
- "What We've Learned" – 1:54
- "Day of the Deadringers" – 3:01
- "Dethink to Survive" – 1:58
- "Fuck This Band" – 3:38
- "To Hell with Good Intentions" – 2:25
- "Clique Application Form" – 1:53
- "The World Loves Us and Is Our Bitch" – 2:23
- "Alan is a Cowboy Killer" – 4:09
- "Gareth Brown Says" – 1:50
- "Chases" – 1:47
- "Whoyouknow / Reviewing the Reviewers" – 3:53
Jack Egglestone replaced Harding in 2003, making his debut the following year on the band's critically acclaimed The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire. Albini was again on hand as producer, and again it pays dividends as between them they produce the highlight of Mclusky’s all-too-short existence. Opening with the awesome riff of "Without MSG I Am Nothing", the album sees Mclusky at their peak, with even stronger songwriting and lyrical content than Mclusky Do Dallas. It should have been the album that brought the band to a wider audience than it managed. It certainly turned more heads than their previous efforts, but their deserved audience sadly never arrived. The amusingly bizarre song titles continued with "KKKitchens, What Were You Thinking?" and "Your Children Are Waiting for You to Die", and the band continued to rock quite like nobody else.
Tack listing for The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire:
- "Without MSG I Am Nothing" - 2:57 (Falkous, Chapple, Harding)
- "That Man Will Not Hang" - 3:00
- "She Will Only Bring You Happiness" - 3:27
- "KKKitchens, What Were You Thinking?" - 1:50
- "Your Children Are Waiting for You to Die" - 3:54
- "Icarus Smicarus" - 1:51
- "Slay!" - 2:54
- "You Should Be Ashamed, Seamus" - 4:40
- "Lucky Jim" - 2:02
- "Forget About Him I'm Mint" - 1:46
- "1956 and All That" - 2:24 (Falkous, Chapple, Harding)
- "Falco vs. the Young Canoeist" - 2:12
- "Support Systems" - 7:50
Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falkous and Chapple. The root of these tensions can be traced back to an incident in 2004 when all of the band's equipment was stolen on the Arizona leg of their American tour (this equipment - worth over £5000 - has still not been recovered).
In February 2006, a compilation of the band's singles, Mcluskyism, was released; a limited-edition version came with two largely impressive additional CDs of B-sides (labelled as B-sides and C-sides), rarities and live recordings from their final headline performance at the University of London Union (the band would make one further live appearance on 01/12/04 supporting Steve Albini’s Shellac at the Scala in London). This compilation was, without doubt, the final chapter in Mclusky's nine-year saga, as Falkous informed in the Mcluskyism liner notes, "that's it, then. No farewell tour... no premature deaths (at time of writing), no live DVDs...". With the revelation in 2007 that Falkous and Chapple had not spoken since 2005 (and are no longer on the same side of the equator – Chapple is in Australia with his new band Shooting at Unarmed Men), it is probably safe to assume that there is no possibility of a reunion any time soon – probably ever.
The one thing we can be thankful for is that the band largely live on in two thirds of Future of the Left (completed by ex-Jarcrew singer, Kelson Mathias), who are receiving a little more attention than Mclusky did, although more people now discover Mclusky through Future of the Left. The band retain many of the components that made Mclusky such a great band: the huge riffs, the big hooks and witty song titles and lyrics such as those of "My Gymnastic Past", "Suddenly It's a Folk Song" and "Real Men Hunt in Packs".
Even prior to the split of Mclusky and the inception of Future of the Left, if you popped in to any alternative rock website forum and asked what its members thought of Mclusky, the response would have been swift and positive, which makes their lack of commercial success a little more bewildering. It could be down to poor marketing, it may be that many of their songs we lyrically unsuitable for daytime radio play, or it could simply be down to the band not really having the desire for commercial success. Who knows, and, sadly, who really cares? Not nearly enough of you.
“Fuck this band
Yeah fuck their holes
But if they split up
You're responsible”
From “Fuck This Band”, Mclusky Do Dallas
