Twenty years ago Welsh post-hardcore pioneers mclusky released their third and final (or so we thought) album the difference between me and you is that i’m not on fire, which followed the similarly excellently named mclusky do dallas and My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours. Following their split in 2005, frontman Andrew Falkous and drummer Jack Egglestone formed Future of The Left, still going strong after five excellent albums, along with Falco’s one-man band Christian Fitness, while bassist Jon Chapple has performed with Shooting At Unarmed Men, Poor People and Harmony.
Then out of the blue in 2014 mclusky re-emerged, with FotL bassist Julia Ruzicka and Damien Sayell of The St Pierre Snake Invasion replacing Chapple, to play fundraisers for at risk venues Le Pub in Newport and Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff. Since then the trio of Falkous, Egglestone and Sayell have played numerous shows, and last year released the first new mclusky music in 19 years – a glorious four track, double a-side EP ‘unpopular parts of a pig / the digger you deep‘.
It’s all been rather splendid news, helped along by a resurgence in interest from a new generation of fans who’ve been introduced to the band by a new wave of loud bands who balance their rage with humour and a cutting turn of phrase like Idles, Yard Act, Shame and Fontaines D.C. from each of whom a line could easily be drawn back to mclusky. And there’s yet more to celebrate for mclusky fans old and new with a 20th anniversary reissue of the difference between me and you is that i’m not on fire released this month through Beggars Arkive.
For its new pressing the Steve Albini produced LP gets a fresh remastering from his Shellac bandmate Bob Weston, and the tracks sound as fresh as they did two decades ago.
In an alternate universe that sadly only exists in my head ‘without msg i am nothing’ with its winding guitar line and “Coo-Coo-Coo” backing vocals enjoyed a Bryan Adams-style run at the top of the charts. ‘she will only bring you happiness”s vocal round of “Our old singer is a sex criminal” is still so wrong it’s wonderfully right and ‘1956 and all that”s mix of squelchy bass, disorienting guitars and chilling lyrics still feels like an entirely necessary slap around the chops and rounds off with perhaps the most perfect cuss-line ever commited to tape (we’ll leave it for you to discover for yourself if you’ve yet to hear it).
We caught up with Falco to find out more about the reissue and his reflections on both of the years it’s been released in.
How did the reissue come about?
It was my idea (I don’t have many of those to be honest). After the – relative – success of the mclusky do dallas reissue it seemed like a very good idea, both spiritually and financially.
How did it feel revisiting the album and looking back at pictures, reviews and footage from that time?
I’ve seen one picture and it made me feel sick, and not in a good way, and am lucky enough not to have engaged with any reviews or footage from back then (I did at the time). The album itself, though, has been a genuine and delicious surprise, especially since Bob Weston has worked his magic on it – it’s so much more colourful now. The period of writing and recording was a difficult – unhappy would be a stretch – time and even though elements of it don’t work as well as they might have later, or with a different engineer/producer, it’s such a joyful, weird collection of daft songs. I do wish I could work on the vocal clarity on a couple of songs, but there we are, time is a prison.
Looking back at the album’s original release in 2004, where do you think it fitted into the music scene of the time and what about it has meant it’s been able to stand the test of time well enough to warrant a reissue?
It/we didn’t fit at all – it/we probably do now, which is part of a wider discussion I probably don’t have time to go into here. I think the reissue is due to being good and also my/our determination that it won’t be ignored. Also ‘you should be ashamed, seamus’ is one of the best songs I’ve ever written, I’ll Pepsi fucking challenge that with anything out there.
Were there any bands back then that were on a similar wavelength to you or that you felt a sort of kinship with?
Not really. It was nice to play with/support Shellac and Wire and people like that but part of the beauty of the band was how alone we stood. It’s easy to forget (especially for me) but we were genuinely odd people, not marketable in any effective way. I should say – there probably were good bands out there we just didn’t get to hear them.
Thinking of the musical landscape into which the album is being reissued, what has changed since its original release?
I think the album and the band in general is part of a type of music which has informed the tastes and trajectories of a lot of musicians operating today. Which is nice.
Who are the current bands that you admire? Are there any in whom you can hear or feel a similar spirit to what you were trying to achieve with The Difference Between Me & You?
Whenever a band wears an influence heavily (we all do it from time to time) it’s usually off-putting, but USA Nails, Thank and Ganser are three examples of bands you should definitely check out if you haven’t before. There are lots out there though – maybe I’ve mellowed but almost every band we’ve played with has plenty to recommend them, whereas back in the day they were mostly shite (technical term).
What have you got going on at the moment/coming up soon?
Finishing recording the new record this weekend and releasing it next year (May or June) to continued plaudits and maybe a tour or two.
The 20th anniversary reissue of the difference between me and you is that i’m not on fire is available now via Bandcamp on vinyl and digital download.
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Interview by Paul Maps
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