Mclusky
My Pain And Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours

"I don't wanna talk about... I don't wanna talk about it... I don't wanna talk about it..NO!"

This is the refrain that Andy Falkous sings for a whole minute flat on the (quite brilliantly titled) 'Rice Is Nice'. And he's lying. For there is no one that wants to talk about _it_ more that Andy Falkous. Or at least, there's no one who wants to shout, scream, lash and punch about it more than Andy Falkous.... On record anyway.... Love it or hate it, this debut, which has been re-released due to popular demand, is far more centred on its singer's musings than the subsequent 'Mclusky Do Dallas'... The riffing isn't as defined... The music has less moments of theatrical brilliance... It is less consciously 'no wave'... But it makes the lyrics all the more potent. Bitty, scatty, sickly accessible (how a band who came up with such a piece of rock n roll 'art' in 2002 clocked up this many 'pop moments' is beyond me). Essentially no more than a sum of its parts, unlike its much lauded follow-up, this is Mclusky in sketch book form, and it's quite something to experience.

"...This the theme from M*A*S*H, this is a call, realisation that your appreciation meant nothing at all..."

I don't know quite why, but this is the lyric that sticks out the most from the whole album. Mclusky have a superbly original way of taking popular culture references. And they're just a little bit leaner, a little bit meaner, than most other bands when it comes to dishing the cynicism. This album doesn't quite raise as much of a smile as the more focused and incendiary later album, but it does detail a slightly less defined, raw band, who then went on to great things, which makes it pretty essential.