When a band splits up, it can sometimes lead to situations akin to that of when a couple of your friends go their separate ways. You feel like you shouldn't take a side, but eventually you're going to have a preference.
Many people out there (more than you'd think) are still lamenting the loss of Mclusky (sp?) a few years ago, but whilst the fans would kill for that particular reunion gig, the main players have moved on. It seems unfair to compare, and we should be able to separate bands from their pasts, but that's easier said than done.
In one corner, there is Future of the Left (guitarist Falco's new direction) - perhaps the choice for those truly missing Mclusky. For them, it's a similar shouty-punk sound mixed in with humour - but it feels a little more polished and certainly has the potential to appeal to more people than the previous band ever did. They've attracted a loyal fanbase and it could be argued that they've taken the Mclusky sound to the next level.
Slightly more prolific are SHOOTING AT UNARMED MEN, featuring bassist Jon Chapple, who are already on their third album. For those that liked the parts of Mclusky that were outright comedy as opposed to being a little bit weird, then perhaps this is the way to turn. Overall, their sound is further removed - somewhere between the most vitriolic Sex Pistols moments combined with Monty Python style delivery. It's essentially punk rock, but it's not as simple as that.
'The Conventions of Stopping' might be described as prog-punk rock, if such a term had been coined. Starts out fast and shouty - quite Clash-like. Then it gets stuck on the line "got a head like a sore bear" (a fair example of the wordplay available within the lyrics), which goes through various stages of being fast, then slow, then faster again, and louder. So it stops being conventional punk - the quiet moment sounds almost INDIE before descending into the punk version of noodling and general layer upon layer of noise. I can imagine this would end a live show perfectly.
'The Things You Can Do And Cannot Do' sounds just like something from Monty Python (vocals-wise at the very least). It's a silly song, but it raises a smile, and it's catchy. It sounds like authentic punk, especially when the choruses crash in. You can't help but get it stuck firmly inside your cranium. "Every day is Sunday, except for when it's Monday" is a line that everyone should carry with them to work after the weekend. It's the nicest way you can look at the start of the week.
The production sounds raw and limited which is just want you want from them.
Whilst FOTL might have limited mainstream appeal, SAUM are off doing what they do with a huge sense of "fuck you" to any expectations. There are loads and loads of bands out there similar to them - doing verses that sound just like 'Boredom is a Feeling That Everything is a Waste of Time,' with similar chords and suchlike, but here it's rare that a song rests on one idea. There are many changes, and that's not something you expect often from this genre.
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I keep saying that it's punk, but it's just to remind myself. It is punk that isn't limited to short songs and shouting - it's bigger than that, and for those means it's an interesting album. Songs vary heavily throughout. 'The Things...' and 'The Conventions...' (apologies for the abbreviations, but these titles are really long) have moments that are instantly catchy, whereas it takes two or three listens for other songs to click. 'Pre-seated' is the most straightforward tune - it's an abrasive Blur song that builds a bit all the way through, but it tends to crunch along.
If this album is awkward, it's only in the way that Liars are awkward - that is, the tunes aren't necessarily immediate, but you reach a point where all of a sudden you 'get it.' It's got wit, it's slightly threatening, and it shouts in the right places (like on 'The Cock-a-doodle-do of Democracy). Trying to give it a genre-busting title is tough - something like off-kilter-epic-experimental-industrial-post-punk-prog-rock, but even then it doesn't quite cover it. 'The Fortune of Regret' is all of the above. It starts of quiet and indie, and develops into something much louder - like a really aggressive Hell is For Heroes song, but with more credibility.
It's all very enjoyable - it may well be amazing, but (to quote from the charmingly titled 'Happy Birthday Placenta') "take your time." So far I'm really liking this. I'm going to listen to it more and more, just see whether I can love it. As someone who 'quite liked' McLusky, it's great to have both of these bands around. I'm sure every one who has told me that they are not as good as their predecessors are right in their own, devoted way - but there seems to be a lot of ideas flowing from the remains and I for one intend to make the most of it.
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