{"id":5191,"date":"2019-05-04T05:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-05-04T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=5191"},"modified":"2019-04-29T21:33:45","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T21:33:45","slug":"mekons-deserted-bloodshot-records-glitterbeat-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=5191","title":{"rendered":"Mekons \u2013 \u2018Deserted\u2019 (Bloodshot Records\/Glitterbeat Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A few weeks ago I was coerced into going to to see legendary post-punk outfit the Mekons by a good friend of mine who demanded I witness the band he calls \u201cthe originators of the alt-country movement\u201d live.<\/p>\n

To say that gig left me flabbergasted is perhaps something of an understatement, not only because the band managed to squeeze more musicians on stage at Le Pub than I\u2019d ever have thought humanly possible (is that really Lu Edmonds hiding behind in the darkest recesses I wondered?…yes it is), but also not really knowing any of their songs I was enthralled by the band\u2019s ability to mix up genres for the sake of a great tune, and which only showed the merest touches of alt-country if truth be told, so much so in fact, you could call me something of a convert. Not that the band really needed me, as fans of the band had long since sold out the gig travelling from all over the country and indeed the globe (fuck you flat earthers) to witness Jon Langford leading his band out on his home turf.<\/p>\n

You see although the Mekons are hailed as a Leeds based band, by way of Langford\u2019s adopted home of Chicago, he is still very much a Gwent boy at heart, and someone who up until a few weeks ago, I knew much more about as an artist, than I did as a musician.<\/p>\n

This was all about to change for me though when I picked up a copy of \u2018Deserted\u2019 the 9 track album the band were promoting on that recent UK\/Euro tour. This is an LP recorded on the fringes of Joshua Tree National Park to maximise the band\u2019s creativity and the thing that hits me straight between the eyes is just how many of the tracks off this album they played live I actually remembered. No mean feat for a bunch of songs I\u2019d only heard once before I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll agree.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lawrence Of California\u2019 which open the album is one such tune, a folky fiddle driven number that has more than just a hint of a drunken night on the tiles about it. Langford\u2019s buzzsaw guitar and doubled vocals (with his vocal counterpoint Sally Timms screaming her lungs out) all underpinning this very strong call to arms. Likewise, the Tom Greenhalgh hollered \u2018Harar 1883\u2019 which follows vividly stuck in mind not least because it was such a shift into almost Keith Richards songwriting territory that it almost knocked me bandy live.<\/p>\n

With repeated listens I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that it\u2019s impossible to pigeonhole \u2018Deserted\u2019, which I mean in every sense in a good way, the band genre hopping all over the place and essentially writing and playing the music they want to hear.<\/p>\n

Personal highlights for yours truly include \u2018Into The Sun\u2019 which kicks some serious butt in an almost B.A.D kind of way, whilst \u2018In The Desert\u2019 drifts through your mind like some Gabriel-esque soundtrack moment and acts as an almost perfect juxtaposition musically to the way too piratey for my tastes \u2018How Many Stars\u2019 which it follows on the album. Elsewhere there are elements of Berlin-era Bowie evident during the frankly bonkers-brilliant \u00a0\u2018Weimar Vending Machine\u2019 and finally, I do get some alt-country in the shape of the staggeringly beautiful \u2018After The Rain\u2019 which closes out the album.<\/p>\n

That a band as creatively magnificent as the Mekons are almost hidden away from the mainstream means that you can still see them live for less than ten pounds, the music they deliver here on \u2018Deserted\u2019 however really is priceless. Make sure you don\u2019t miss out on this absolute gem of an album, it\u2019s well worth making that musical leap of faith for\u2026trust me.<\/p>\n

Buy Deserted Here<\/a><\/p>\n

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Author: Johnny Hayward<\/p>\n