Search - Mclusky :: The Difference Between Me & You Is That I'm Not on Fire

Review for the A.D.D.

George a Pletz | Central PA, USA | 07/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You don't have the time and neither do I. But you must know. This Welsh trio is the last vestige of 90s noise guitar rock. Ugly and smart. Catchy and difficult. Funny in the blackest manner. This album is a warehouse of diverse sounds in a very specific style. Pixies, Shellac, The Fall, Fugazi - it's all here. Music for the end of the world. Songs reveal themselves to me, daily. Mclusky is a cathartic colonic. The only downside is it may be too much for your lame ass in one sitting. Perhaps it could have been better sequenced. No matter, you need this."

Mclusky do brilliance

Wheelchair Assassin | The Great Concavity | 05/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While McLusky faced a daunting task trying to match 2002's classic "mclusky do dallas," their newest, the hilariously titled "the difference between me and you is that i'm not on fire" actually manages to somehow improve on its predecessor. "mclusky do dallas" proved that this band had the irreverent, uncompromising aesthetic of punk down pat, but at the same time it hinted at a band that wasn't content to rest within the genre's generally narrow confines. "difference" continues in that direction, injecting even more variety into McLusky's sound for a truly dynamic, dare I say experimental, album. Now that's not to say there isn't plenty of aggression here: "that man will not hang," "kkkitchens, what were you thinking," and "falco vs. the young canoeist" are as abrasive and confrontational as anything on "mclusky do dallas," with Andrew Falkous spitting out his semi-coherent vocals over big, fuzzed-out guitar riffs and jumbled rhythms. However, there are plenty of signs of branching out to be found elsewhere. "she will only bring you happiness," a demented, yet strangely addictive, take on power pop that sounds sort of like one of the Pixies' mellower moments, sees Falkous gently intoning such oddball lyrics as "Our old singer is a sex criminal." "your children are waiting for you to die" is a slow, lilting tune, filled with chiming guitars, that's actually rather pleasant in its own weird way. "slay!" and "you should be ashamed, seamus" comprise a double shot of sonic malevolence; the former alternating between passages of subdued calm and rampaging white noise, the latter bringing a clenched, metallic fury to the proceedings. In a major curveball, yet another poppish tune, "forget about him i'm mint" forsakes the guitars for horns, resulting in a decidedly non-punkish sound. The band decided to save the real shocker for the end, though. The eight-minute closer "support systems," starting out with about three minutes of near silence before building to a prolonged crescendo propelled by frenzied guitars and pummelling drumbeats, may be as close as McLusky will ever come to writing an epic. It's the perfect way to end an album that represents a giant step forward for one of the most creative, unique, and downright fun bands I've heard in a while. Produced with the perfect mix of rawness and depth by Steve Albini, "difference" is sure to alienate normal, well-adjusted people everywhere. Needless to say, I love it."

Note to self:

H. J. Quinn | Portland, ME | 06/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"yeah, so, if you bought do dallas and said, man, this rocks, but i wish it was played by killer robots from the future, boy, is it your lucky day.difference is really good. if you don't like being rocked, forget it, and if you don't like really loud music, also, forget it. is it the best thing in the world? nah. there are a couple of tracks that meander, which isn't neccessarily a bad thing, but sometimes i skip them, a sign that the album isn't perfect. but it is the self-consciously obnoxious nut-kicking rock that mclusky fans have come to love, and it's even raw-er than dallas or pain and sadness, if you can imagine such a thing, which you can't, because really, there's not very much that's this raw. and steve albini may be sort of a one-trick-producer, but he knows it, he does it here, and it's a really good trick. this album is like a huge bag of rocks, except the bag is sharp and the rocks are lava, but more like really fast lava with teeth.so get it, and rock, or don't because if you're in the same room as this album, the room really doesn't need your rocking in it. the room is too busy to even care whether you're rocking or not."