Mclusky

Sound rigs seemingly made from cheese, droves of rubbish bands, largely unenthusiastic crowds. Yep, all of those regularly appear at festivals. Men who actually leave the house coupling the words ‘lightsabre’ and ‘cocksucking’, before making merry noise? Hang about.

Mclusky, it has been noted before, are a little bit special. They’ve become toilet circuit heroes, yet in reality, if they were American it would be all about cult status and infinite kudos for all-time and much, much more than a few hundred sweaty disciples every night. Lumped in with a million and six rock bands this country shits out every week, Mclusky are cut from a different cloth, fuckers. And it’s, erm, better than your cloth.

In the juxtaposed surroundings of the Compass Point festival – beautiful setting behind Cardiff’s stunning castle hosting something of a homecoming/field filled with near pre-pubescents who couldn’t afford to go to a ‘real’ festival – Mclusky still excel.

Main mouthpiece Andy Falkous rips tortured shards of energy from his suffering guitar, Jon Chapple goes predictably deranged when handed a bass, and new drummer Jack Egglestone adds a much more powerful, vicious, accomplished edge.

They don’t succumb to the temptation of changing the recorded lyrics of ‘She Will Only Bring You Happiness’ towards the more libellous former member bashing form it has been known to take, but they do smash through ‘Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues’ and ‘Whoyouknow’. And with such buzzing quick-fire super slabs to hand, all that can follow is a rather wide grin.