Future of the Left: TRAVELS WITH MYSELF AND ANOTHER

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Mclusky is dead. Long live Mclusky.

I'm utterly furious that nobody's talking about this motherfucking record, and I decided that I'd move my one-man conversation from the most recent Mclusky thread and into its own, since Mclusky sadly, really is gone. The guitar and bass tones one this thing sound like granite strings on a cinder block body being mauled, rather than played, by asphalt picks. Totally, brutally, gorgeously ugly and beautiful and mad and brilliant. Not to mention catchy as!

fotl.jpg


For context, a few relevant and at times very thought-provoking links...

Falco's reaction to the leak, culminating with this brilliant post-script--"Next time somebody tells me that i can't drink my rider in the building I'm playing in I'm going to fuck them with their own shoes.":

MySpace.com Blogs - future of the left MySpace Blog

A wonderful interview at DiS (they have ardently supported this record, and there are a few other excellent pieces up for perusal):

Conversing with myself and another: DiS meets Future Of The Left / In Depth // Drowned In Sound

And, actually, Wikipedia seems to be the best way to get a good idea of critical consensus:

Travels with Myself and Another - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please listen to this. Mclusky was the best band since Nero was still on the violin, back in the day. Somehow, against any and all odds, FotL is even better. After all the shit and shit luck that these dudes have been through, they deserve at least a listen! So give them one, for fuck's sake!

Finally, make a point of hearing "Lapsed Catholics," which may very well be the best song of the year. Says DiS...

‘Lapsed Catholics’ ends the album devastatingly, starting as an acoustic spoken word piece completely at odds with everything else here, before bursting into the most anthemic thing FOTL have produced to date. Falco sounds nude by the end, screeching "Give me something I can take away!", the closest he’s come to emotional transparency on record. It's the same earnestness you see when he's belting out his songs live.

...and ClashMusic...

Album finale ‘Lapsed Catholics’ contains the few brief moments of respite on here. Over a gently plucked, near-flamenco guitar, the group intones a series of reminiscences from their favourite films. Voices intermingle, and the simple lyrics begin to creep over one another, distorting the meaning before an electric guitar rears its head and screams. “I can’t stand still for the rest of my life,” sings Falkous, and you feel that this is one of the album’s most direct moments. “Be aware, be alert!” he shouts, desperate for a life without compromise. Seemingly answering the opening track’s call to arms, the band gently speaks the final words on the album, saying “it’s part of who they are, and who they’ll be again”. The lust for purity, for something unique and distinct, runs through the record like electricity running through a guitar.


"The Hope That House Built" (first single from Travels, and seemingly only functional if you watch it in HD; do it)

YouTube - Future of the Left 'The Hope That House Built' (Official Video - 4AD)

"Arming Erritrea" (inexplicably, this is not the best song on the record--that's how good an LP it is! PLAY IT BRUTALLY LOUD):

YouTube - Arming Eritrea - Future of the Left

And a few from the first record, Curses...

"Adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood" (early single):

YouTube - Future Of The Left - 'adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood'

"Manchasm" (stunning single, with the brilliant refrain of "Collin is a pussy/A very pretty pussy/Collin is a pussy/A very pretty pussy...cat"):

YouTube - Future Of The Left 'Manchasm'

"Suddenly It's a Folk Song" (the tune which originally pulled me in and made me start making my peace with Mclusky's demise):

YouTube - future of the left - Suddenly It's A Folk Song - Manchasam

And, of course, the greatest video of all time, just because:

Sweary Kittens - rathergood.com

Mclusky is dead. Long live Mclusky.
 
I am not letting this thread die. Only 12 views? Jesus Fuck. How is this a music forum? Disgusting. Listen, damn you!!!
 
Hey, guys/gals--I'm right about this record! It's fucking brilliant, acerbic, and powerful. Just thought that y'all should know.
 
I listened to the YouTube clip of "Arming Eritrea." That's a pretty intensely powerful album opener. And I listened to "Lapsed Catholics." And I enjoyed that song better when it was in the spoken-word mode. That riff that shows up a few minutes in was ugly to my ears. I suppose it's an acquired taste.

Overall, judging based on those two tracks, I'd say they are a cool band. And probably a lot of fun in concert. But I don't think it's anything that will become a favorite of mine or anything.
 
Falco's descriptions of the devil/Rupert Murdoch in the olden days ("I preferred him when he was red and bleak, that guy. I liked him better when he swooped around the land, indiscriminately.") own "Lapsed Catholics."

Check out the other videos and such, GAF. Quality stuff. Not everything is as intense (and, yes, I do think that ugly works as a descriptor...and I love the song) as the last 2/3 of "Lapsed Catholics," and you'll probably find plenty to love.

"Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues," too. That last Mclusky video to which I linked is literally the decade's best, if not the best of all time.
 
I nearly picked this up at the record store tonight just for Shouter, but figured I should probably listen to something from it first to be safe.
 
I dunno, man...no kidding, the average review I'm reading seems to be in the 8-9/10 vicinity. It's been pretty positive, unless I'm just checking all the wrong places.
 
Re-bump. You people will all listen to and love this, before I'm done with you. I recently threatened to quit my job, to make a late-July FotL show in Chicago.
 
Yes. Jesus Fuck, this record slays all competition. Brutally, I might add. I played this for my girlfriend's 60-year-old, music-loving father, on the 4th of July (we hung out all night, the two of us, spinning records into the wee hours, and it was AMAZING), and he absolutely loved it. Said it was the perfect blend of freewheeling insanity and pure, anthemic bliss, he did.
 
Everything that you have said in this thread is true.

"Throwing Bricks At Trains" makes me want to go outside and throw bricks at any and everything. This record makes me happy the way few do these days. It's got PASSION. And ORIGINALITY. And it KICKS ASS without feeling the slightest bit cliche. The lyrics are witty and entertaining, the music packs a fucking whollop. As long as you can take a little bit of ugly in your music (although it is a very hooky album on the whole), this thing is an absolute masterwork.

Really, though. It's fucking good and if you don't listen to it and love it I will hate you and kick you in the nuts.

That is all.
 
I think that my Mcluskyverse breakdown is now looking something like the list below. In a shocking turn of events, it seems that FotL is actually the better band of the two. Very, very strange.

1) Mclusky Do Dallas
2) Curses (this one is perilously close to Dallas)
3) Travels With Myself And Another (this one is perilously close to Curses and, by extension, Dallas)
4) My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours
5) The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire (these two are also perilously close...I have just really been enjoying the 1-2-3 punch of "Whiteliberalonwhiteliberalaction," "Rice is Nice," and "Flysmoke," the last few months; and, really, ...on Fire suffers from having tracks as stunning as "She Will Only Bring You Happiness" and "KKKitchens, What Were You Thinking?" sequenced both back-to-back and so early)
6) Last Night I Saved Her From Vampires
∞) Anything by Shooting at Unarmed Men
 
If you don't like this song, then you are an idiot. Just saying. Schubas on Tuesday, NSW. You should really go. If you've ever had any faith in my taste, now is the time to remember it. Best band in Wales? It seems that way, at the moment. ...And, as you know, that's a whole lot of praise, coming from me.



Whose prison break is the most impressive?
I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go...Tim Robbins, in Jacob's Ladder.
Such patience, such verve and poise.
But, but...wait a minute...shit.
That's the wrong film.
Morgan Freeman would roll in his grave, if he were dead.
Which he nearly was, if you believe the hysterical, gung-ho, Technicolor crapfest
that is Sky News, or Murdoch Live, or whatever the hell the devil calls himself.
That is, Sky News, or Murdoch live, or whatever the hell the devil calls himself.
I preferred him when he was red and blatant, that guy.
I liked him better when he swooped around the land indiscriminately,
bending wills and souls with glee,
hurrying kids to their graves in the sea.
magnetically debasing the casts of the earth
in a terrible, wonderful focus of horrors.
A justice of sorts, if you listen to fools who have dressed in the dark for a bet.
A justice of sorts, if you listen to fools who have dressed in the dark for a bet.
A justice of sorts, if you listen to fools who have dressed in the dark for a bet.
A justice of sorts, if you listen to fools who have dressed in the dark for a bet.

I'm on a mercy mission to prove to my new love
that she is my nothing, that she is my no-one,
that even these triumphs are nothing without her,
that even these triumphs are empty.

But anyway, revel in it.
Be grateful when the comfort comes.
I can't stand still for the rest of my life,
but there's always lapsed Catholics.

I need a change of focus, a badge of honour,
a mark of progress, a rope to hang from.
To make a difference, I need composure.
To make a difference, to make it.

But anyway, revel in it.
Be grateful when the comfort comes.
I can't stand still for the rest of my life,
but there's always lapsed Catholics.

The trick is, don't start.
Be aware, be alert.
The truth is, no words are
worthy to hang on her.

Lapsed Catholics are the worst.
Lapsed Catholics are the worst.
Lapsed Catholics are the worst.
Lapsed Catholics are the worst.
Give me something I can take away.
Give me something I can take away.
Give me something I can take away.
Give me something I can take away.
Give me something I can take away. (The problem with these people is)
Give me something I can take away. (they understand the obvious.)
Give me something I can take away. (The problem with these people is)
Give me something I can take away. (they understand their vices, not their faults.)

Lapsed Catholics are the worst.
It's part of who they were,
and who they'll be again.
And who they'll be again.


Just reading it is enough to give me goosebumps. Brilliant shit. Consult Metacritic, if you doubt me. Not only is it easily one of the most well-reviewed albums of the year, far and wide, but even Cokemachineglow (a huge proponent of the first record) has now comparatively turned on the band. That's when you know they've struck gold--CMG has done an about-face and is upset that other people are noticing. The mark of a champion, there!
 
A shade under 11 hours, now. I am going to try to kiss Falco, I think. And a question of etiquette: would it be rude for me to accost the band while wearing a homemade shirt with "Mclusky is dead" on the front and "Long live Mclusky" on the back? Uh, in duct tape letters?
 
Front:

0721091545.jpg


Back:

0721091632.jpg


The color of light suggests that there are two colors for the letters, but this is not the case--it's just the color of the light. All done with duct tape on a black shirt. I'm going to look like a retarded Henry Rollins, tonight. Can't wait.
 
Holy shit, you're a SOMBIE aren't you?

It figures. :lol:

Fucking awesome shirt, though. Report back any and all interesting reactions.

P.S. I am inconsolably jealous. :angry:
 
A SOMBIE, yes. Ha. I always wondered if that was you I sometimes noticed, over there. ...Unless there's someone else with a Hendrix-ish tag You're aware, then, that they're unlikely to play "Lapsed Catholics"? Don't get too jealous, good sir or madam. My heart is breaking, even as it swells.
 
I bought this goddam album tonight, so you better be happy for once in your life, Shouter.
 
Well done, u2pm. You made the right choice. As for me, I had a blast! Didn't get my ass kicked, either--just had a few folks wanting to take a picture of me. At any rate, this was one of the loudest, most hilarious shows I've ever been to. So loud that parts of the show were simply washes of white noise, and though it looked like Falco's head was going to explode, he was singing so loudly, you couldn't hear a thing. Amazing. Also, Falco told me that the band has (very tentative) plans to get back to Chicago by the end of the year...to record the next record! I hope that this means they're going to join back up with Steve Albini, like the old days, but we'll see. In all honesty, these two FotL albums have been better engineered than the Mclusky/Albini albums...

Whatever, though. Great fucking night, and great fucking news. I even got to meet Jack's (the drummer's) parents! Madness! They'd come all the way from Wales for the band's "first sold-out headlining show in America that wasn't in somebody's bathroom."
 
Sounds like a good show.

I have to admit....the album kicks ass. I've only listened to it once, and it wasn't even on a good set of headphones or speakers, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Buying it off of blind faith in your constant hyping was not a mistake.
 
I'm so glad to hear that! More glad, of course, that you spent some of your hard-earned scratch on a group of guys who've been trying like blazes to succeed in a relentlessly clueless industry. They appreciate it.
 
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