REVIEW: mclusky - the world is still here and so are we

At this point, it’s been over twenty years since mclusky did Dallas. Their first three albums are shining examples of noise rock - some of the best to come out of these Isles. They came just before the idea of punk in the UK music press morphed into the post-punk and garage rock revival of Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines. Did these bands make good music? They certainly had their moments. But mclusky strayed away from the hookiness and laddish lyrics of these contemporaries, much in part due to their secret weapon - they’re clearly huge fans of Half Man Half Biscuit, a cult Birkenhead band known for their irreverent yet utterly brilliant ideas (the song title of 'Joy Division Oven Gloves' alone is quite striking imagery). Their influence has always shown itself in mclusky’s music, and it's one of the main features that sets them apart from every other band of their era - well, that and the absolutely killer guitar tone. This, alongside their ability to stay witty and defiantly original, has helped their music age gracefully and powerfully.

So, following a few years of live performances as mclusky after 15 years away from using the moniker, they announced a new album, the world is still here and so are we. Mind, this came two years after first track on the album, 'unpopular parts of a pig', was released as a single. So when pressing play on the album you might have questions like ‘how does this stack up to previous releases? Is it any good? Do they flubbity-flub over everything like a gang of big stupid flubs (their words, not ours)?’ Well, thankfully, 'unpopular parts of a pig' should immediately answer all of those questions. It’s a hell of a lot of fun, you’re hit with this sort of call-and-response style in the lyrics, where the backing instrumentation drops out, letting Falkous speak his signature sarcastic truth by himself, before a quick rush of energy, and then it leaves again. 

This approach is used throughout most of the first half of the song, and while you’d think it’d get repetitive, said half is about a minute long. mclusky don’t do anything more than they absolutely need to, here or anywhere else on the world is still here and so are we. In fact, it might be their tightest set of songs thus far, not dropping the ball for even a second. Of course, there might not be anything here that rivals, say, 'To Hell With Good Intentions' (keyword here being ‘might’), but consistency is the key here. There’s still highlights here though, 'chekhov’s guns' and its fuzzy bass anchoring the song down during the verses, which includes such gems as "If I knew a good thing every time that I’d said I knew a good thing / Then I wouldn’t be a member of this firing squad". The chorus then explodes with these Pixies-esque angular guitars.

The album concludes with 'hate the polis', a bit of a slow burner that gradually builds towards the final chorus, in which Falkous shouts that "I hate the polis, polis. polis, polis" over a tremolo-picked guitar before winding down again, ending on some studio noise - and that’s it, mclusky seems to be back for good. Ultimately, a good comeback album is hard to do, but they seem to have absolutely stuck the landing here. So go on, you owe it to yourself to listen to the album with songs entitled 'way of the exploding dickhead' and 'kafka-esque novelist franz kafka'.

Score: 9/10

the world is still here and so are we was released on May 9th 2025 via Ipecac Recordings.

Words: Jake Leonard

Photos: mclusky