Reviews (page 5 of 8)
If folky Irish sounding country bar bands are your jam - these guys kill it.
Just not that great.
What the hell did I just listen to? What were you Brits doing over there in the 80s?
Nice country aspects. The rest is fucking dreadful
kinda reminded me of tears for fears and talking heads idk if that fits
I thought being a mid 80s album, it wouldn't be bad but the whole weird country vibe is off-putting. I did enjoy some of the songs but not enough to bump it up a star.
Kinda fun, I didn’t mind it.
Surprisingly good. Solid 3.5 but gonna go down for some reason.
Didn't feel any songs stand out from the rest, but generally appreciate the garage band rock. Reminds me of the Orwells.
I don't mind this, and I get why it's influential. Not a lot grabs me, though.
Thoughts before listening: As someone who grew up a fan of alt-country and punk adjacent rockabilly, the Mekons have been on my radar for a long time. However, I don't really think I know their music all that well. I'm sure I have heard some of these songs, but this will mostly be new to me. Review: Well, this is not what I was expecting. There are a few songs on here that could be considered alt-country as it would come to be known, but really this is a much more varied album. And thats not necessarily always for the best. There is a lot of sloppiness to these songs, especially in the production which can be pretty tinny (as is the case with many early 80s punk bands). The vocals are also a little rough, being more slurred than sung. I was ready to give this 2-stars, but then it improved for me in the second half. "Last Dance" especially is a great song. I'll give this 3-stars.
Varied, original, and irish/UK sounding
Cheese
A fabulously oddball album.
I low key love this. Like Old 97s meets early U2. Weird vibes all around but really and truly very good.
Not my jam.
Chivalry - 1/5 Trouble Down South - 3/5 Hard to Be Human Again - 2/5 Darkness and Doubt - 3/5 Psycho Cupid - 1/5 Flitcraft - 3/5 Country - 3/5 Abernant 1984/5 - 3/5 Last Dance - 4/5 Lost Highway - 3/5 Average score - 2.6/5 (rounding down) this was... interesting. i can't say for certain whether it's the good type of interesting or not. i've never heard anything like this within the post-punk genre before, and i'm conflicted with how to feel about it. it's a strange fusion of punk and country, especially with the use of fiddles throughout. in some tracks, i don't mind it, but it's a little nauseating in others i'm noticing a trend with the post-punk artists on this list where their vocalists are kinda dogshit at singing (The Fall being another example), and i absolutely cannot stand it. are these bands just recruiting the first drunkard they find at the pub for their singer or something? the album did pick up in quality tracks toward the last half, fortunately, but the first half was hard to sit through. maybe i'll come across another artist in this genre that does this sound justice in the future, but i won't hold my breath
I can hear some Pogues and Belle and Sebastian in this. 3.5
I wouldn’t leave a pub if these guys started playing, but I would certainly hesitate to enter if they started before I arrived.
Playfully bad? Are they trying to make others feel better about their own musical abilities? Just good enough in the right places to make them interesting.
Kinda sucks. It's like they're sorta talented, but are a little too drunk to sound as good as they might. 2.5*, rounding down.
Terrible
I couldn't finish this one. A weird mish mash of punk and country that just doesn't hang together with some quite muddled production and what I thought to be pretty awful vocal performances that.
I don't know how these albums are chosen...
really
Нормальный альбом, но время этот альбом по-моему не особо пережил
Interesting instrumentals, I could listen to them alone without the lead singer's additions.
Really like the vibes of this project! Postapo vibes, weird, bizarre, low-key The Wall-like. Far from being something special, but completely adequate.
I mean, what are we even doing here guys? What's the point of it all? What is our collective higher purpose?
Couldn't stand this album -- had to cut it off.
Jangly and folky, I can see how this influenced various bands. It's giving Flogging Molly/Dropkick Murphys energy.
The instrumentals on the album were good, especially the guitar, but the vocals I didn’t think were that great, as well as the lyrics. This really held the album back from being good.
Antes de escucharlo no apostaba gran cosa por este álbum, pero me ha parecido muy interesante. Un álbum pionero en fusionar punk, folk y country, con mucho uso de la slide guitar y el violín popular (¿dark americana, quizá?). Es curioso que, dentro de este estilo, The Pogues sean mucho más conocidos, cuando The Mekons (al menos en este álbum) me han parecido musicalmente mejores, más experimentales. Un álbum que, a pesar de tener raíces punk, sabe contener su energía y mantener una atmósfera folk muy adecuada para contar historias. Al fin y al cabo, se trata de una especie de álbum conceptual sobre la vida de la gente común durante la guerra. Cool.
Not entirely sure if I like this or not. Sort of a bad English Pogues /or badLevellers tribute. Maybe I'd like with a few more listens but I probably won't bother
Completely bizarre album! Part post punk avant garde but then mixed together with a huge country influence. End result isn't really something I am into although I thought it did pick up towards the end..
A huge relief that Mekons were not the bang average 90s British rock band I was fearing they’d be. The name fits. There’s way too many of those on this list. Instead what I got was a strange post-punk country fusion which worked well in places but also failed badly in places. I really disliked the opening track but it improved from there and on a personals level, the Swansea Valley miners strike references were welcomed later in the album. Some Clash, some Pogues, some Dexy’s. The latter who were arguably laying down similar vibes on too-rye-aye a few years earlier (and somewhat surprisingly have 3 albums in this list, though I will die on the hill that Searching for the young soul rebels is a fantastic album which is massively under appreciated due to widespread negativity towards their more well known too-rye-aye era sound and in particular Come on Eileen - just saying!) I liked the tracks with the spoken narratives, yet was confused whether this was a concept album or not. It seems a half baked effort. Overall, glad I’ve heard it. It’s not a great album. 3 and a half stars.
Sounded like a lot of the Brit new wave stuff. Enjoyed.
The punk/country shouldn’t work.. but it does???… This album rides the fine line between genius and strange. Just when I think I get it, it flips right on its head (although never in an off-putting way) and raises more questions. But at the end of the day isn’t that what great art is about?
Not bad. The wannabe-Sid Vicious voice sounds a little annoying and grating in parts, but some of this is quite good. Psycho Cupid might be my favorite track, it’s so different.
Unpleasant to listen to
The sound of bawling drunks in a studio with out of tune instruments they cannot play.
Instrumentals were a 3/5. Vocals were a 1/5. Honestly one of the 2 or 3 worst vocal performances in over 200 albums so far. I was happy when it ended.
1 star
Uh, hard to tell. Never heard this before, but it really sounds like kind of the origins of cow punk. I mean, bands like the holy modal rounders were really earlier, but you can find in this band a sort of precursor or a first of a blend of punk and country. The singers delivery really reminds me of AJJ at times, it’s not just the delivery but also the vocal melody. We get some ill fitting violin, and the guitar distortion seems to heavy for the music playing. Historical significance seems apparent even though I didn’t know the band, but the music is very tedious. Thinking they’ll get three stars for history. Oh and Psycho Cupid is horrible.
Nicht komplett scheiße: die vorletzten beiden Lieder sind ganz schön und viele Lieder beginnen schön
I thought from the description I'd hate this album and wasn't far off. The instrumentation was actually better than I expected. But every song sounded like a mess and the fiddle was too much. Really the only song I enjoyed was Psycho Cupid. Not enough to save the album though. 1.4/5 -> 1/5
I’m starting to hate English people.
Okayish punk record 3/5
Nothing special
80’s feel. Not great
I liked this album a lot. It reminded me a lot of the Pogues. Rambling drunken folk/country/punk! High rotation this morning.
'My sex drew back into itself - tight and dry - closed up' - thanks to the words in Psycho Cupid Danceband on the Edge of Time, summed up my feelings about this album perfectly.
Surprising! Kind of like The Cure with country accents and more of a punk sensibility instead of an emo one.
A waste of time
How would I correctly pronounce Mekons? Does it rhyme with beckons or beacons? Either way, I found this to be a fun album. It had all the energy you’d generally find in punk rock, but it sounded a bit different. RateYourMusic tells me it is cowpunk which, let’s be frank, is a hilariously named genre. Despite my enjoyment, typing out the review the following day, I’m trouble to remember any details. The album is certainly a good time, but not some that has much staying power for me.
"in todays episode, Country Music goes to the U.K.! oh, behave!" Thats about as interesting that it gets. I'll give them points for an attempt at trying to work country western music into British rock , but some things just dont gel. I cant understand whats so amazing about this album, the vocals alone are grating at best. That being said, I wouldnt mind another musical crossover from someone better suited.
Awful. What a waste of time. Some of the music was okay but man… those vocals were some of the worst we’ve had on this list.
I don't know why this album is part of this list. It's not good, nothing special, and as far as I know, has not been a great influence on anyone.
Na az ilyenek miatt kezd bele az ember ebbe projektbe. Hallgattam volna valaha country-punkot magamtól? Nem. Jobb zene ez mint az előzó album? Nem. Megérdemel egy ötöst, amiért ennyire bizarr és kreatív? Igeeeeennn.
Wiki mentioned it as being described as one of the first alternative country albums. I could see it! A little punky, a little weird, a little country. Didn't hate it, probably won't be returning to listen again.
This is more a bar band album than a top 1001 album.
The '80s country punk thing is almost cool, but the singer sounds shitfaced drunk
Mietin, meneekö hermo tohon fiddle-viuluun, mutta ei mennyt (oli itse asiassa kiva kun oli se yksi osin pizzicatossa soitettu soolo). Pikkuisen liian ilmiselvästi engelsmannit tekee countrya eli katse on ulkopuolella, mutta kokonaisuus kuulostaa kivalta.
He eivät ole pelkästään keksineet hyviä biisejä, vaan täysin omanlaisensa kulman koko rock-genreen. Olen kahden vaiheilla lauluraitojen rosoisuuden suhteen, mutta koukut, IDEAT, kuuluvat läpi. Levyllä on muutama tasapaksumpi hetki, mutta se ei myöskään lakkaa yllättämästä: bändi kehittelee kantrin ja punkin yhdistävästä duurista huomattavan paljon melodiaa. Kannattaa kuunnella.
So I have never really explored the Mekons, but a band I loved in high school - Too Much Joy - had a song called "If I Was a Mekon" and it made me curious about them. What little I had heard before today didn't do much for me so I didn't go any farther. This will be a good opportunity for me to give them a proper chance. Listening now, and on paper this sounds like something I SHOULD really like - it has rock, country(ish), and punk(ish) elements, which is what features in a lot of the new music I like today. But I think it's the vocals that bother me. And the production sounds very 1985/flat/muted to me. I've read that this band was great live and I bet they were, but this particular studio work doesn't do it for me. I got all the way to track 9 ("Last Dance") before I thought, "OK, I like this one."
Fine
Weird mix in a good and bad way. Unique approach.
I like experimentation, but this felt messy, and that he style of singing, which was really popular back then, doesn't help. At least I could feel that they tried to do something different, but still feels a bit like every other british rock album from that period of time
To the best of my knowledge, I've never listened to an album from these folks... and I'm glad to have rectified that, as I enjoyed this quite a bit. Felt like a fairly wide range of musical styles and yet everything was tied together with a nice firm dollop of flat out weirdness, which I appreciate and enjoy. I look forward to listening to this record more and seeing what else this artist has put out.
Kokeellista rokkia missä aika vahvat kantri vaikutteet. Menee vähän oman maun yli. Ei pahasti, mutta silti. Toki ilman sitä levy ei olisi niin erikoinen, mutta ite tykkäisin enemmän. Levyssä jotenkin "humalainen" fiilis. Parhaat: Last Dance, Abernant 1984/5
Recording the drunk uncle at an Irish family fest.
Tried…..just couldn’t get into it
This started out OK and got progressively worse with each song.
Wasn't for me :(
-nothing about this really stood out to me or spoke to me idk. it was not bad but it was not really “good”. the whole time I was listening to it I was sorta just thinking “yup that’s definitely music” -there are definitely worse albums, some even on this list, but I fear this one did not really leave much of an impression either way -Favorites are Chivalry and Darkness and Doubt
I think you had to be there at the time. Bonus point for Gang of Four association, minus point for British people attempting to play country. I think this would be good to own in 1985 only so you can 'out-obscure" your music listening friends - you know the game, it goes: YOU: "Hey man have you heard Beach Rat?" THEM: "Uh yeah, have you heard Chat Pile?" YOU: "Yeah of course, going to see them next week. Heard the new Yulia Niko?" THEM: "Drakulas?" YOU: "La Lom?" THEM: "IceCreamDeathCult?" YOU: "Grails?" THEM: "Nurse With Wound?" YOU: "MASTER BOOT RECORD?" You get the idea.
Obviously a lot of ideas at work here. Initially I felt that it was more interesting than enjoyable, and I guess I still feel that way…but it’s still pretty enjoyable, especially after multiple listens. I kind of reject the alt-country label, though. Sounds to me like a punk album with clever instrumentation.
I cannot even begin to categorize this. It is all over the place and never good. Stand-out: Lost Highway
09/03/2025 Average at best.
Kind of up and down (what the fuck was “trouble down south”?) but it won me over by the end. I’m not sure I’d call this “alt-country”, sounds more like a mix of the pogues, the clash, and a the smiths to me. Darkness and doubt was the stand out for me
2.2 The fiddles and vocals were pretty grating. Lost highway was good cover (but there are betters). Didnt tighten my Bolo tie, that's for sure
What the hell. When this started I thought I might enjoy it. It started out like maybe a nice piece of 80s pop I hadn't heard before. Then it got annoying really fast. Turns out I didn't like this at all.
Neat sounding, but very wacky! Still good though.
Interesting pick, never heard of this band. I kind of like it
I have bravely endured about 4 country albums in the last few days. This is the final boss, punk-country. Honestly, one more country album and my fursuit's claws shall know blood
Fear and Whiskey more like Very Shitty
An interesting mix that I don’t think was executed as well as the creators had hoped. The more “Irish” this sounds, the better it is, and the back half is much better than the front half. The weaker tracks on this one (“Trouble Down South”, “Psycho Cupid”) bring it down a bit, but the album goes out on a very high note.
If you give a British person a synth they’ll ask for a drum machine too. Than make bad music
It's ok. Prefer latter material
Favorite Track: Last Dance
It’s Hard to Be Human again after hearing this one. Hopefully this was their Last Dance.
Not really my thing but I most appreciated the album when it was either at its most frantic with punk or at its most folk country peak / blending these two together. Didn’t love the slower ballads.
Half Man, Half Waterboys. And I don't mean that to sound disparaging at all.
Some good things happening here, some not so good things. One thing can’t be denied, it is interesting and unusual. Or is that two things?
Me as in “me”, kon as in “con”. I just learned that from YouTube. Closer to a 3 now that I’ve had time to process and listen a second time, but I was having a hard time connecting with this initially. The singer and fiddle player each have their own idea of being in tune, the mix seems claustrophobic, like the studio is tiny and they’re all shoulder to shoulder recording this thing. I did get the sense that a lot of this stuff would be super fun live. Again 3 stars before I change my mind HL: “Chivalry”, “Trouble Down South”, “Last Dance”
This was the first album on this list that I’ve just…never heard of. Never heard of the band, never heard of the album. I’m going in blind…. …and you know what? This is great. I originally thought this was an album from the 90s, then when I looked it up after listening I found it was from the 70s and let’s just say you can see the influences these guys must have had on many other bands. It’s kind of a bit country by way of the M62, a bit punk, a bit rock and roll. It’s in and out in under 40 minutes, so doesn’t overstay its welcome. Adding to regular rotation.
I went back and forth between really loving it and disliking parts (spoken word interludes). Still, apparently groundbreaking and presaged a lot of music i would come to like.
While i was listening to this i kept thinking "this sounds like the kind of thing people say is revolutionary for reasons they won't expound on" and then the first thing in their about the artist blurb is "Lester Bangs once wrote, "The Mekons are the most revolutionary group in the history of rock 'n' roll," and although he wrote it tongue in cheek, that doesn't mean he was wrong." I'm not going to pretend I don't enjoy a lot of alt country, but I think this is accidentally alt country. It didn't inspire the rest of the genre that didn't show up anywhere else for another 10 years. It was fine if not grating at times.
I like some other work by Mekons but the front half of this one was a bit meh. The back half that sounded like Dropkick Murphys was more fun.
Forgettable
With an extensive band lineup that likely influenced the dreaded Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire, the Mekons seem to be trying to bridge Clash-like Punk with sloppy British drinking songs and American Country waltzes. I seem to remember Kurt Cobain referencing The Mekons as a strong musical influence. Maybe heroin makes this record sound amazing, but I'm not gonna be the one to test this theory.
Early Pulp reminds me of this. Speak singing. Violins. Oddball stuff, and I love it.
Not a fan, out of tune singing and playing.
Mighty fine album
A group of Brits doing stripped-down, country-inspired punk with fiddles sounds like an absurd idea. And frankly, it is, but this album is all the more punk for it.
I was really skeptical immediately after starting this one, but I ended up liking it well enough for a 3. They were really making some noise on this one, weird, dissonant noises. A lot of strings for a 'punk' album too. They are at least punk in the way that they clearly didn't care if this album sounded "good". I like the Psycho Cupid track. I heard critic Griel Marcus recount something he'd heard said about the Mekons, "Those who didn't know how to play tried to learn. Those who knew how to play tried to forget." For better or worse, I'll probably forget about the Mekons.
Going into this album and reading that it was going to be a punk/country fusion sound, I was looking forward to it. Boy, what a huge let down. I mean sure, there are SOME country aspects to it, but it's mostly a bunch of noisey crap with a dude who's trying to sing like Joe Strummer.
Oh this? Yeah it's by Mekons, you probably haven't heard of em.
Fookin' brilliant.
Most "This doesn't deserve to be in the top 1000" album i've listened to thus far. feels like one of those bands that the people writing it were like "oh yeah i really like this personally so i'm just gonna add it" sorta vibe. Genuinely fell asleep to it.
Sounds alright? Like cool, it's rock and there are some cool folk influences but nothing special. It's not a surprise that the first song on the track is the most played.
Don't really enjoy much about this at all - both the instrumentals and vocals were just kinda obnoxious to me. Definitely not my preferred genre/sound.
Eclectic and weird but strangely enjoyable
I really appreciate any sort of country-fusion, particularly country rock fusion. This album was fantastic at getting an even blend of country and rock, when a lot of the time albums billed as "country rock" are 90% rock and 10% country. Felt pretty jarring to hear country music sung with British accents though haha. I think they could have done a better job at getting the folk instruments to blend with the electric instruments, especially on Flitcraft. I didn't like their lead male singer's voice at all. Favourite track: Hard to be Human Again
terrible
Emm traditional. 2.5-3/5.
3 out of 5. I wanted to like this album more than I really did but the country side of this album didn't cut it.
The Mekon was the arch-enemy of Dan Dare, The Mekons are the arch enemy of people with musical taste.
I thought I was going to hate it. It had everything I haven’t much liked about some of these albums. It’s from the 80’s. It’s a British band I’ve never heard of. The singer has that horribly typical British singing voice that sounds like he's a whiny drunkard. It is apparently heralded as a masterpiece by fans of the band. But you know what? Honestly, I thought it was great. Such a great, laid back sound throughout most of it. And even when it kicked up the energy it still never came across as overly aggressive. I don't know what you call this genre, but I've definitely heard it before. Rural folk rock? The kind of music that has that very Irish-sounding violin and folky feel but still manages to have a rock edge to it. That's what this was. With a lot of other stuff thrown in too. And I think that's where it kind of lost me in places. I can see how it's considered a masterpiece. It's weird, it's experimental, it's adventurous and it definitely has a unique air about it. But I think it tries to cover too much ground in such a short time that it becomes unfocused. Listening back to some of it now, I hear so many influences and so many genres that it honestly makes my head spin, and not in a good way. Compared to my low expectations, it gets five stars. But outside of those, it's a solid three stars. So I'll average that out and hand it four stars. Standout Tracks: Darkness and Doubt, Flitcraft, Abernat 1984/5, Last Dance
Nice moments largely not interesting though
meh
Weird, unique, crazy and yet listenable. People need to make this kind of stuff or we will all go mad.
Wow - not what I was expecting and surprised I haven’t heard it before.
Bizarr.
Unusual
Country punk before it was a thing. Dig it, will probably go down this here whole rabbit hole.
Awful awful noise. The disassociation between the vocals and the music has to be heard to be believe. Had the singer even heard the songs before attempting to sing on them? That's if u can call it singing. Possibly one of the worst voices I've ever heard on a record.
Could not make myself listen to another old man British rock band
I liked this! Fun, good background music. I liked the weird mashup of genres and although I don't feel like any of the songs were particularly memorable, I wouldn't turn if off it the album started playing again.
I am on the fence about this album. The fusion of country, punk, folk, pop and dub step is interesting to be sure. UK produces many of the best musicians in the world and this does not reach those highs. Still a fun listen though.
Not a single memorable song for me, but wasn't offensive
It started out promising but by the end, I found it not memorable but for a couple songs. I will try again and did really like a couple songs but the overall play left me uninterested for large parts of the album.. could grow on me with more listens though.. so it’s 3 stars for now..
another alternative country album, and i'll be honest... i'm not really feeling this one too much. believe me when i say it has some interesting things going for it, blending typical country songwriting with drum machines and 1980s alternative mixing techniques, but this album just isn't for me. it's a strange collage of voices and sound... it's got neat foundations i suppose, but it practically put me to sleep.
tja... ware het niet van de vocals, zou het voor mij heel wat hoger kunnen scoren
Not really my thing
Erm, ok!
A bit too twangy for my tastes. Good band, not a great album.
Þessi vann ansi vel á. Lágt stillt hljómaði hún eins og tæpur tvistur, en eftir þjú rennsli er hún farin að daðra við fjarka. Held ég setji þrist núna, en sé kannski eftir því þegar ég hlusta í næsta skipti.
I had never heard this album and I enjoyed every minute of it. I read that it's the "first" alt-country album but I hear as much folk music influence as I do country, however who really cares the music is challenging and tough and just sounds like it's created by musicians that care about their art. I loved it. 4 stars
Feels like pub music
Pairs post-punk style aesthetics with Irish folk and Country sounds - a bit of fiddle and accordian, some lilting rhythms, some traditional melodies. It's an interesting idea in principle, and somebody was bound to do it (see also the Pogues) but in practice it ends up pretty put-on hokey and contrived. Favorites: Hard to Be Human, Lost Highway
Overall a great listen. 3.8/5
In some strange way this album reminds me Of a “Mash up” between “The Clash” and Elvis Costello. I couldn’t decide if they were doing a “send up” on the country tunes or were doing a serious reinterpretation. I finally decided they were tweaking some noses.
Haha, that was fun, but like in a really bad way
I was listening to this album as I hopped on my bicycle for my commute home last night, then I thought "if I get hit by a car tonight, is this really the last album I want to be listening to?" It's not. I changed it to something else. Is this "Outsider Music?" I have to be missing some historical context here. It's just sonic goulash that wasn't left to simmer.
thoroughly enjoyed / appreciated / ??? Kinda freaky but layered and interesting to delve into- all the fiddle haters can fuck off
Don’t like this style
1. chivalry - 1.5 2. zouth - 1.5 3. human - 1.5 4. doubt - 1.5 5. cupid - 1.5 6. craft - 1 7. country - 1.5 8. 1984 - 1 9. dance - 1 10. highuuay - 1
Not sure why i don't like it. I somehow I don't like the songs. To chaotic, to unstructured. Punk - country is clearly not my thing
Not for me
so surprise is did not hear this ban d over the past 40 years... but my life was mot impacted wither way.was pretty good.
Not at all what I was expecting. The Punk element is much less obvious, and the Country element more prominent, with fiddle and everything. There’s also a fair amount of dissonant noise at points. The song I found myself drawn to most was Last Dance, but I’m biased towards songs about looking for small pieces of meaning in random moments of life, especially those involving love and/or empty dancefloors. A teacher I had at uni once mentioned that I wrote almost exclusively about the ‘poignancy of the random moment,’ and I get the sense of that in Last Dance. I also love the detail of singing ‘You were waltzing’ in a song that isn’t a Waltz, especially when the band have proven that they could do a Waltz previously on Flitcraft. I’m enjoying it more on a second listen. The dissonant noise parts are less prominent than I had realised. I think they’re unusual enough that they take focus from the rest of the album which is, if anything pretty standard Country Rock fare, played with a Punky attitude rather than instrumentation. Now that I know what to expect, I like this a lot
Meh. Fine. Won’t need to listen to it again. 2/5
What a curious sounding band - how to describe this? At times like a mutant hoedown gone awry. But there's also discordant post-punk, spoken word and even a hint of martial music in the mix. Did I like everything? No. The best bits were rousing and unsteadying. At worst, the Mekons can stretch "interesting" so far that it sours into astringency. Nonetheless, I've not heard anything quite like it. An upper three, perhaps four when I don't feel like I've had the shit kicked out of me (ie I played five-a-side for one hour tonight).
Pretty interesting as far as genre-blending albums go. This is one of the few albums to truly fall into that middle ground between two, three or however many music genres that this band intended to mesh together. I'm pretty confident in saying that I'll never hear another album quite like this one. However, did it stick the landing? Uhhhh...
wau kiitos lyhyemmästä ajoajasta saakutti vieköön viimeiset kolmesataa ja kaksikymmentäkuusi albumia tuntuvat kaikki olevan vähintään se 50 minuuttia.. huono puoli tosiaan että hirvittävä laulaja. (luumukurkku) ehkä yksi kammottavimmista mitä olen koskaan kuullut, ensimmäiset sanat ja sain reaktion. jonkinkaltaisen hyljevän reaktion ja kauhunaaman... the mekons are the most revolutionary group in the history of rock 'n' roll, and although he wrote it as a fucking joke, he was obviously completely fucking wrong???? tämä bändi ei ole tärkeä missään kapasiteetissa? miksi otatte lesterin sanat ja vittu väärennätte niitä, tämä bändi on täyttä vittu paskaa, aivan vitun aikaansa jälkeen, eikä kukaan saatana halua kuunnella tätä paskaa.. mikä siinä on että yksikään näistä vitun britpunk horoista ei voi etsiä vokalistia jota minä en halua surmata, haista vittu trouble down south
There is a long-running comedy panel game on BBC radio where one of the tasks is to sing the lyrics of one song to the tune of another. That sprung to mind listening to the first track. The second sounded like an out-take from Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds". The start of the third gave me Supertramp vibes then went punk. Then the album just got weirder. Not for me 1/5.
This album was sick. Take some folk/bluegrass/country and chop it up with a bunch of hypnotic drum lines, add some punk, then finish it off with some wild songwriting. Every song was so different. You go from Trouble Down South, which is a punky bluesy freaky number to Psycho Cupid, which is a totally futuristic desert cyberpunk trance. This is the exact weirdness that I like doing this list for
I had never heard of Mekons and am glad that I have. I have a feeling they may start making the rotation in the up coming new year. An interesting mix with country influenced music in behind the music at the forefront. Happy new year!
2.5
Not great, not terrible.
This sounds very familiar to me, I just have had this on a cassette tape but not knowing who it was.
It comes across like a novelty act, but without being funny. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.
A nice album, with some pretty good songs but no standouts.
Njah, Last Dance was pretty fun though with it's guitarr riffs.
Never heard of this. I might be crazy for giving this 4 stars, but it kind of grew on me as it went on. At first I was annoyed by the intentionally off-key discordant stuff. I'd call it the Cure meets Dexi's Midnight Runners.
Well...that was pretty weird. Sounded like some rowdy English blokes that have a cursory knowledge of country music getting plastered and trying it out for the first time without tuning anything. Certainly unique, not something I can take at all seriously.
Gear: Abyss DIANA MR Artwork: 🟪🌏🛣️ Production: 🎧😐🆗 Music: 🎻🧷🤠 Rating: 🛣️(🛣️)/5
Album 631 of 1001 Mekons - Fear and Whiskey (1985) Rating : 3 / 5 Interesting album. it blends punk rock with country influences, creating a unique and eclectic sound. This is one I would have never heard without this list. Good listen.
This sounds a bit ahead of its time. I did like the loose feel and approach the songs end up not being as distinctive as I was hoping.
Reminds me of the Clash
Incompetence, not eccentricity.
Country punk? Cacophonous to be honest. But I wouldn't say actively bad. And blessedly short
I was afraid that I wouldn't like this one at all going into it, which is a bad mindset when exploring new music,,,, but it was not bad the first go around and the second listen I think it's a very solid 3. There are some songs in there that I will add to the rotation.
Man oh man. So back in the 90s, I used to listen to a band, Too Much Joy, with a song called "If I Were A Mekon." Back then, I didn't know what a Mekon was, and I knew I wasn't quite as cool as Too Much Joy. But now I have heard The Mekons. And I'm not a Mekon. So I can't say I'm cooler than TMJ. But I too wish I was a Mekon and so maybe I'm now on par.
Pish - pish pish
utter dross
I wanted to like this album but... didn't.
80s britpop/punk is garbage. I didn’t need to listen to any of it before I die, let alone the 100 this app feeds me, especially this band. Stop it
Just a bad album
I didn't really get this. There were some songs I liked, Trouble Down. South, Psycho Cupid and Country but the more country the songs were, the less they worked for me.
Ended up better than I expected. Will I listen to again: 65%
Just no.
I feel like a broken record saying the same things over and over again but I just don’t understand why it’s on this list. I try to refrain from reading anything about albums because I want to just base it selfishly on my own opinion, but this felt lacking of significance once again. It was okay, again.
...in retrospect the group decided that drinking grain alcohol for 3 days straight then heading straight to the studio while handing the microphone to the local bridge troll for this album was an egregious mistake... 2/10 1 star
This is one of 1000s of bands that was influenced by the Clash, but poorly. That violin screeching was unbearable. This "groundbreaking" album would be much better at breaking glass than ground.
this album is shite.
Weird album. Half decent, half what?
A bit nothingy. Not my favourite, but listenable.
I imagine this would be a grower, not a shower but a bit the same from the first listen.
I listened to this three times and still can't remember a thing about it or half whistle a tune. There is nothing really wrong with this album (except some of the vocals) but I find it very bland. A mix of folky and punky elements, some songs are Pogues like (but not nearly as good). I'll give it a 2 because it is not bad per se, but not more than 2 because for me it just "exists" and I don't know why this is a "must hear" album.
Another example of how genres change throughout the decades. While I see how this could be considered ‘country’ in a sense because a few songs have some twang - it does not hold up to today’s ‘country’ definition. Overall though a pleasant listen, nothing that stood out incredibly. A very ‘artsy’ album but one that didn’t come off as pretentious.
Right in the middle
3.5
Nope....I don't care for English Punk, nor punk in general. But this combo of punk and country is not palatable, at least for me. And to say that this is considered the first "Alt Country album" is an insult to Alt Country. Unlistenable.
Wasn’t expecting this one
This was terrible.
After reading that the Mekons went to school with Gang of Four I can only assume that this 1980’s art college had frequent battle of the bands contests and GofF needed a Washington Generals to their Harlem Globetrotters.
Don't care for the violins. Yeah not a fan.
Surprising, I'm not sure what I was expecting (probably more mediocre brit-pop), but I enjoyed the pub rock vibes of this. I've already established I'm into instrumentals, and the folkesy vibes are doing it for me. It's not an album full of hits, but it does feel ahead of its time for '85. It loses its momentum in the second half and gets a little too country with "Lost Highway".
It doesn’t seem like the universe wishes for me to escape the realm of country music just yet. It’s dominated a good portion of my week. Except this particular album tackles the country idea in a significantly different manner than the previous two, which were much more traditional. Maybe even too traditional and lo-fi in some cases. This takes the small scope and intimacy of those other records and throws it out the window for something completely unorthodox. The most similar thing I can compare this to would be the Violent Femmes debut. Which is probably the only album I’ve heard that tackled the folk punk sound and did it pretty successfully. In fact, it may have been the only folk punk album I’d ever heard until today. This is less based in folk and more in country or classic 50s rockabilly though. I could also argue it’s really just a post-punk album with a fancy twist. This sounds like the music that backs the strange ramblings of Tom Waits. It’s anything but traditional. But it’s slightly impressive that the post-punk elements still come through well combined with the weird country stuff. There are some moments of real ingenuity that I was pleased with. It is credited as one of the first of its kind, and was a far cry from the music the band had made up until that point. Everything about this, including the cover, feels raw, dirty, and unpolished. I see what they were going for, and there is a surprising amount of catchiness to be found in its best moments. But as a whole, this isn’t something I can recommend or see myself ever coming back to in any amount. Rating: 5/10
Not my kind of music and the singer isn't that good. Pub rock.
Country and punky and gritty. Love it!
Darkness and Doubt Country Last Dance I love the country punk feel of this album. More mekons, please!
Never heard of them. Sounds alright. Noisy folk rock. Bad singer, but not too annoying. Favorite song: chivalry
This is probably tailored a bit more for me then most but a lot here is really what i like. It’s silly and confusing and off-throwing and i like that. It aint perfect and not every song dragged me in but overall i think this is interesting original music.
Never heard before, was grand
Nothing about this kept my interest unfortunately.
yuck
Gosh. The Mekons. I've long been aware of them, but never really listened to them. I can't say as I understand why this particular album is on this list. I thought it a fun ramshackle romp, but not a great album.
Some of the most boring and soulless pieces of music ever. Would've given a zero.
Well it has the decency to be short anyway
Around the time I reached the legal age to drink, I had the brilliant idea that Coke can be mixed with any type of liqueur. With that logic, I decided to mix Coke with Bombay Sapphire Gin. When I tasted this unholy concoction, my reactions were all over the place. I was mostly disgusted, but tried to troop through it thinking it had to work. But the combination just didn’t work. Ultimately, I ended up dumping it. That’s exactly how I feel about Fear and Whiskey. The bizarre combination between punk and country isn’t the worst thing I ever heard and it feels like it almost works at times. But the mix of the harmonicas and electric guitars and punk vocals just never hit me right. Like the gin and Coke, it never clicked with me. I did finish the album, unlike the gin and coke. But I still can’t get the taste out of my mouth. Favorite track: Hard to be Human Again Other hits: Country, Darkness and Doubt, Abernant 1984/5
Took a few songs to get into the swing of it but by the end I was very much on-board with what they were doing. Helps that the penultimate song 'Last Dance' is an absolute rager, 10/10. Feels like something that could really grow on me over time, post-punky country, a rarity for sure (check out The Gun Club).
I liked this! I like anything that mixes genres together and comes out with something as smooth as this. Wikipedia calls this alternative rock and alternative country, but I heard traces of Britpop, new wave, and post-punk in there, too. Would listen again!
Overall a decent album. Its lyrics had deep meaning, talking about life during war. Its music was a mix of rock and country, and making it sound very nice. Overall I would reccomend giving this album a try.
have you heard a song and not quite liked it wells that is how I felt about this album the room was filled with flashing lights they spoke in tongues I didn't think it was good because I didn't like the lyrics it didn't really fit the instruments in the background and the lyrics were bad because I really didn't understand the lyrics I think this song is bad and would not recommend listening to it
Do you like music with a good beat? If so, then this is the album for you! It has a really good beat, but the singers' voice is not good, it's too low or something for me. The instruments are amazing though! So that is why I recommend that you listen to this album.
Do you like upbeat songs? If so, this album is for you! I can't understand what the lead singer is saying at all tough. But that's okay because the background music makes up for it! I recommend that you listen to this album.
A British group that decides to defy expectations by laying fiddles, harmonicas, and country guitar hooks onto a punk-rock foundation should be praised and applauded when it is done as spectacularly as this. Although the war-time themes of the songs would expect you to have a brooding, dark tone, the songs are actually really fun and catchy. I never thought I would hear an album like this, it's an underrated gem.
Not a fan
It was fine but I’ll prob never listen again
I don’t need to come back to this
At first I thought that this sounded like an Irish Bruce Springsteen cover band, but it went downhill from there
Didn’t make an impression
At first this was kind of a meh album, but about halfway through it clicked and I realized this album is amazing. 8/10
I liked about half of these songs, and disliked the other half. I enjoyed the ones with a bit of a “country” flair more than the others. Won’t listen to it again.
While listening, I kept getting the visual image of that band that sings Come on Eileen. Anybody remember that video from MTV days? Band is barefoot, in overalls with no shirts, sitting on tubs playing triangles and violins, looking like they bathe about evert 7 to 8 days. That's my biggest take on this album. This was definitely weird and kept thinking they were close to making this a decent listen, but it never got there for me. It was OK. All, I got for this one. 2
2.5 Boy, and I thought Shaft threw me for a loop - I have no idea what to make of this. Punk meets violins? Though, I even have a hard time classifying this as punk - the singer definitely encapsulates that British hooligan energy with the vocals, but musically, it’s almost new wave-y? Once again, no idea what I’d call this, but for the most part though, it’s just pretty strange. As far as listenability goes, I really feel like it varies song to song - at best, there’s a couple decent tracks to be found, at worst, it’s annoying as all hell. At the same time, a lot of this also kind of blends together, so I’m having trouble pointing to specific highlights. I think Hard to Be Human Again and Last Dance were my favorites? I will say, the woman talking on Psycho Cupid helped the track stand out, but for the most part, something about it just took me back to a film class I took in college (Sans Soleil anyone?) And while I didn’t really care for the closer, Lost Highway, something about it kind of reminded me of Dirty Old Town by The Pogues (Interestingly, I think both are covers as well). I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this one, but I think it nets out at an “okay” from me. While the state of the country definitely has me wanting to listen to some punk stuff right now, I don’t think this is what I’m looking for.
a zany but interesting experience.
I kind of dug this album. Each song was fun and different and I really liked that. I didn't like Psycho Cupid and was worried where the album might go from there but it stayed on a good course. I really liked Last Dance and Lost Highway. They all were different but had a flare that let me know they were all the same band.
British Pop-Punk-Country Twang fusion thing. Cool! I like it. Sometimes reminds me a little of The Clash or maybe The Pouges (but better). Some songs have a sea chanty or maybe an Irish Trad sound. I didn't care for the two spoken word songs but the rest was great! Cool find. Never heard of them before and hope to hear more.
I kinda love the country / punk rock fusion and also how obviously British they are. Totally dig the fiddle too. Though a bit strange and a little messy and chaotic at times, it all just works somehow. I’m a fan!
What am I missing here? This was not very good with the pitchy singing and off key violins or whatever. Listened to the whole thing though so gets a charitable 2
its a vibe just not my vibe
This isn't really my thing so it was mostly ok. Really liked Hard to be Human Again and Psycho Cupid - Dance and on the Edge of Time
At least it’s a little different… 5/10
OK to start with but it just kinda annoyed me by the end and lost a star
This was a neat little album. Nothing super mind blowing but nice and short which this far into the challenge is a relief.
Shite
8/10. Great stuff. Was leaning 7 but ended strong for an 8.
Ooh I loved this! Was listening to Plowing Into the Field of Love by Iceage recently, which is one of my all time fav albums, and was looking into this Cowpunk genre, which I think is such a cool sound, and this scratched that same itch!
I could really get into this kinda thing. Did not capture me entirely yet
not the biggest cowpunk fan but this was pretty sweet!
Just fine. It’s okay!
This was decent listening!
not terrible, but not very interesting
Brilliant
Reasonably underwhelming. There was a quasi non-committal Irish ghost looming in the background….but no commitment to go full Leprechaun ☘️
Camden, Fiddles, Guinness, are they even of Irish descent, I dunno. It's fine but I'll never listen to it again.
I thought this would be cooler based on the description. If I had gone in blind I probably would've liked it.
# Playlist Track - Country # Notes - I'm starting to believe that British music for some reason is like British cuisine. - An incredibly boring album with just enough almost-interesting moments to double the frustration of listening to the whole thing and not actually liking a single track.
pass
Not that into this one. Was pretty uninteresting. 2/5 Won’t listen again
Oh my, is this for real? Yes, apparently so. It has a Men at Work vibe and funky 80's sound. I'd have probably loved it back in the day.
It's actually remarkable how similar all of these post punk/new wave English bands of the 80s sound like. I will give it to these guys though, this is unusually bad. It's one of the shortest albums I recall listening to now 860+ deep and yet it still manages to find a way in being too long. Weird violin and "singing" all throughout. 3/10
Pish
Wonderfully weird and fun, with "Chivalry" and "Darkness and Doubt" and "Psycho Cupid" among the best cut. Full marks for originality and executing with a sense of humor and context.
3.5 rounded down this could be right up my alley but i think i’m gonna have to sit with this one a bit highlights: chivalry, darkness and doubt (oct 1 2024)
A lot of fun songs.
Sounded like a mix of the cure, the smiths and the jam to me. Started off sounding like the former before starting to sound more like a punk band. It was pretty good without being incredible, assume it's influential
Largely passed me by. Rather inoffensive, but no real reason to listen again. Darkness and Doubt was fine, I hated Psycho Cupid, but quite liked Trouble Down South.
This is another one where I'm not sure whether it's very good or very bad..... It's definitely pretty unique. Listened twice and think it did grow on me, but not completely convinced. I quite liked the fiddle in parts. Some of the string heavy tracks are reminiscent of the pogues. Wasn't convinced about the talking bits in some tracks though, nor the concept album thingy Think I liked "last dance" and "hard to be human again" the best
2-3 Psycho cupid (atlantis)
I had never heard of this band, but I enjoyed this all the way through. If you’re into talking heads, velvet underground, devo and the like, I bet you’ll like this too.
not for me
I've never heard of Mekons before, but this is an interesting album cover. The description of this album on Wikipedia makes it sound interesting, but the user reviews sound like it's a bit of a dud. I guess I'll have to listen to it and see what this is all about! Well, I think that this album was fine overall. The historical context that led Mekons to write this album is certainly interesting, but the execution of this idea fell a little flat to me on the first half of the album. The vocals were pretty rough throughout the whole album, but the music on the second half of the album does a good job of covering that up. I found the first half of the album pretty boring overall, even when I'm not considering the vocals. This album had a very English feel to it that I liked, and the album felt really cohesive. Even though I felt pretty lukewarm towards this album, I wouldn't mind checking it out again. It's different in its sound, and as an American, I think it contains some really interesting social and political commentary on English life in the eighties.
Oh wow. I really could not keep up with all the directions this album was going The first song sounded like Morrissey’s tired uncle drunkenly trying to assemble a Casio in the back room of a saloon. The second song was like the soundtracks of three different Film 4 original cop movies were playing at the same time. The third song was… actually kind of normal, but then the fourth song was like drinking in a tiki bar in Eastern Europe where everything was inexplicably in slow motion. The second half of the album is a bit more of your standard 80s fare, and then the closer is a really fun country ballad (with a violin solo that sounds exactly like Sound of Silence) I’m fresh out of similes but long story short this was horrible yet also somehow endearing. Wouldn’t recommend, would listen again - could be a 1, could be a 4, giving this a confused 2
Mekons go country, which just means another great Mekons album, 80s classic. score: 10/10.
Great take on country and folk.
Well its certainly different. Its like The Pogues meet the jesus and Mary Chain with a bit of art rock thrown in. Possibly too many ideas for it to be coherent but, yes, intereting.
I can't even. As the kids say. Didn't make it past the 5th track
British alt-rock with dashes of punk and a strong influence from folk music of the UK (and some American folk too). Reminds me slightly of The Pogues. Getting me to enjoy that style of music is already an uphill battle and I didn’t connect with any of the songs here. The band sounds solid and I don’t have anything against the album exactly but I have to file this under “not my cup of tea.” 2.5
Kind of cool British rock/slightly punk/alternative/slightly country or folky (i think that's how I would genre it?). Pretty just alright. Doesn't really do much for me, kind of questioning it being on the list. I do enjoy when bands blend genres and do different things but this one at the core didn't show me enough for me to enjoy really. The album cover is cool and reminiscent of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas though which is nice.
I like this more than I dislike this. It’s kinda like the Pogues but a little toned down. Which makes it less good, they should have leaned into it more. I dunno. Some of the songs were very catchy and I’d listen to them again
Not for me. I can almost handle the poor man’s Pogues but with the shitty 80s drum machine and trippy war chat I’m no fan at all.
not something I'd listen to again, but not awful
I have never heard of Mekons. But Fear and Whiskey is a cool name for an album. Brittish? yep! This gives me hope "It is universally viewed as their masterpiece by fans" but then "Alternative Country"? hm, I'll give it a chance. Well I didn't hate it. I loved the Irish sound to it. Like Irish drinking songs. Even though I know they're English. I'll give it a 3. I kind of wish the rating system was 1-10 instead. I end up having a lot of 3s in my ratings.
Art punk without the swagger
I have a soft spot for this era of British music -- it's cheesy but earnest and doesn't sound whiny the way it all did starting in the 90's. 2.5 stars
Did not fw
not for me. bored me so bad I didn't finish.
"Trouble Down South" was an okay song. "Country" had a nice hook to it, but the vocals were pointless. Punk doesn't work well in 3/4 time. This album shows why punk bands should never get clean and sober. These guys are trying way too hard to be the Clash, which left me wondering why don't' I just go listen to the Clash?
Not really my thing overall, but some memorable tracks in between the bland. I didn’t know what to make of this at first. It sounded very country to me in the beginning but then switched to so many different genres I couldn’t keep up. Highlights: Hard to Be Human Again Last Dance
I loved the second track. The rest of the album… exists. I’m sure there’s a niche audience out there that adores this band but they were never going to be more than indie darlings (actual indie darlings, not a multi platinum group of supermodels with a lofi aesthetic) at best.
It seems quite unremarkable but I did really enjoy listening to it
Took a while to decide what I think about this, I can see the appeal but ultimately not for me
It's like listening someone doing karaoke of the worst Pogues songs
Den här plattan behöver de inte skämmas för.
Not really my thing
drellifínt. fleirameira. 4,5.
What if post-punk flirted with country? The classic programmed drums and standout basslines that you love from post-punk but with the smooth steel guitar and lonesome fiddle of country: that's Fear and Whiskey. I think it has the potential to be really good but for whatever reason Mekons missed the mark. I think there needs to be more grace, more care taken when melding these elements together. So much of Fear and Whiskey sounds half-baked, haphazard, not full realized. Perhaps with better compositions and songwriting, this post-punk country sound could flourish.
Maso
Some lovely songs here
interesting but not in a great way
(For my own future reference: This is the one that sounds like “Irish” bar music but slightly less terrible than usual.) (ntm.)
I don't know what to make of this one. I didn't dislike it, but I don't think I'll be playing it more often.
On paper this is an album for me. In reality; not so much
Неплохо
This album fuses country with British post-punk, and it sounds just as weird as you’d expect. This isn’t very good in a lot of ways but I’m kind of into it regardless. Best song: Lost Highway