Details
Track Listing
1. Chivalry
2. Trouble Down South
3. Hard to Be Human Again
4. Darkness and Doubt
5. Psycho Cupid
6. Flitcraft
7. Country
8. Abernant 1984/85
9. Last Dance
10. Lost Highway
| Details | | Producer: | The Mekons | | Distributor: | Alternative Dis. Alliance | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
The Mekons: Jonny Boy Langford (vocals, guitar, harp); Tommy Greene (vocals, guitar, piano); Ken Lite (guitar, background vocals); Dick Taylor (guitar); Susie Honeyman (fiddle); Lu (bass); Steve Goulding (drums).
FEAR AND WHISKEY was the album that signaled the second coming of the Mekons. Six years after their 1979 debut, the band overhauled their well-honed post-punk sound with an unexpected departure. Like the Byrds before them, the Mekons decided to forge a merger between rock and country; unlike the Byrds, of course, the Mekons infused their ragged honky-tonk with hints of reggae, art noise, and ample doses of reckless punk.
The opening "Chivalry" is a barroom tune that sounds part Celtic, part Texan, with a floating fiddle melody courtesy of Susie Honeyman. "Trouble Down South," a politically pointed song that uses spoken narrative against a backdrop of fiddle, haunting vocals, and reggae rhythms, gives way to the amped-up "Hard to Be Human Again" and the heavy, sleepy "Darkness and Doubt." The surreal story-song "Psycho Cupid," the insistent pulse of "Country," and the sad, drunken "Last Dance" make good on the Mekons' promise to mix it up, before they wrap the package with a cover of Hank Williams's "Lost Highway." FEAR AND WHISKEY is a punk classic, one that surprises, charms, and overflows with rootsy, rebellious energy.
Industry Reviews
4 stars out of 5 - [With] country and rollicksome folk, nailing the quintessential Mekons sound and agit-rock ideal.
The greatest alt-country LP ever made - in England, anyway.
Spin (04/01/2002)
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