Album review: mclusky – The World Is Still Here And So Are We

Given that the last time mclusky issued a full-length album, The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire, was more than two decades ago, if you’re fired up for this new one, you likely wear some sort of knee support and talk about parking an inordinate amount. You will still no doubt be very excited, though, as mclusky’s original tenure only spanned six years, in which time the Cardiff band released three excellent records before calling it a day – with the post-hardcore trio’s reputation glowing like stubborn embers in the years since.

This, their fourth album, the reassuringly titled The World Is Still Here And So Are We, is being released through Ipecac Recordings, the label co-founded by Faith No More’s Mike Patton, which should provide some reassurance for anyone wondering if mclusky still make weird music. That’s reaffirmed the moment opener Unpopular Parts Of A Pig kicks the door in – a song you’ve likely already heard if you’re a fan, given it was released as part of the band’s 2023 EP. Raucously performed, lyrically astute (‘Delicate seeds come from delicate flowers / That was the horseshit she fed me for hours’) and, in Andrew Falkous’ vocals, distinctly Welsh, for the mclusky newbie, it sets out the stall marvellously.

It all sounds remarkably fresh, too. So while some of the reference points might give away the age of its authors – Way Of The Exploding Dickhead is a twist on the title of a computer game from 1985 – its frantic, eccentric energy feels timeless.

The highlights are plentiful, from the misanthropic maelstrom of People Person, to the lolloping The Digger You Deep and the Pixies-esque Hate The Polis, but you don’t need to pan for gold when there’s so much of it. When The World Is Still Here And So Are We was announced last year, it came as a surprise to many; that the resulting opus is such a remarkably consistent collection after 21 years probably should be too, but somehow isn’t, as mclusky always offered a safe – and strange – pair of hands.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: IDLES, The Jesus Lizard, Soft Play

The World Is Still Here And So Are We is released on May 9 via Ipecac