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LP
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GB 118LP
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Hunkered down and unable to record together, in 2020 the Mekons created a glorious digital chain letter of an album. Exquisite is a sprawling manifesto of connection and defiance that deftly slides through fiddle tunes, digi-dub, fireside ballads and urgent rock n' roll. And that's just side A. The original recording plan was to have been a whole-band-in-a-room session in Valencia, Spain. When the pandemic rendered that impossible the process took a sharp swerve. This legendary group from Leeds, have written contemporary music history for the last 40 years as radical innovators of both first generation punk and insurgent roots music, and Exquisite is another powerful vector of that legacy.
"In Paris, in 1925, Yves Tanguy, Jacques Prévert, André Breton and Marcel Duchamp invented a game they called 'cadavre exquis,' derived from a phrase that came up when they first played: 'le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau' ('the exquisite corpse will drink the new wine'). Basically each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule or by being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person contributed. During the plague years of the early 21st Century, the Mekons adopted this method as a means of collectively assembling lyrics and tunes and recording their new albums. Scattered in various locations from the West Coast of California to the East End of London, they sang and played into their mobile phones and emailed, uploaded and messaged their wailings, beatings, scratchings and strummings around the globe through the billions of interconnected nodes of our networked panopticon. Mike Hagler assembles the results in Chicago and sends them to be mixed by The Baron at Chateau Trumfio. While the world goes hyper-speed to NetNever avidly acting out the crazy jags of meltdown capitalism electrified dancing corpses and waves of virus plunge into burning oil seas of ancient systemic racism ravaging and squawking out of this nightmare sleep of reason, come chlorinated chickens home to roost in nests of hypocrisy, impunity and conspiracy. We put on our goggles and look to the Madderworse, scanning our eyes towards the acid horizon of annihilation, take virtual joy if you can. And, well, you just might be tired from having to take to the streets: what better time to settle down with a fancy cocktail of medical drugs and dig the Mekons' new surrealist sounds..." --Colin Stewart, Bridlington
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LP
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SV 171LP
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2021 repress. "After two singles for Fast Product, Leeds art-punk collective The Mekons signed with Virgin Records in 1979. The band would have to borrow gear from their mates Gang Of Four to record their major label debut. In classic Mekons style, the album's back cover featured a photo of Gang Of Four instead of themselves. As Simon Reynolds writes, 'The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen got a mixed reception at the time. Listening to it now, though, the first LP sounds more of a piece with the band's early punk singles. What's striking is the commonality of sound across the three key Leeds groups of that moment (Gang Of Four, Delta 5 and The Mekons). There are textural affinities in terms of scrawny abrasiveness and a general departure from rock 'n' roll norms of singing and emoting.' With boundless energy, The Mekons net a dozen barbed takes on pop culture, art and politics. 'What Are We Going To Do Tonight' stands out as a razor-sharp critique of leisure, while 'Beetroot' drowns apathy in angular riffs and catchy, unmelodic chants. Clad in one of the most striking record covers of its era, The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen is now available in the US for the first time. Liner notes by Simon Reynolds."
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7"
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SV 149EP
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RSD 2018 release. "No band captures the DIY punk ethos better than The Mekons. As one critic wrote of the group, 'Those who couldn't play tried to learn and those who could tried to forget.' The Mekons' second 7-inch stands as a lasting monument to the punk era. 'Where Were You,' an anthem with chiming guitars, military-style drums and snotty lyrics, may be one of the most epic songs written with just two chords. The angular spasms and up-front bass thump of 'I'll Have To Dance Then (On My Own)' would become tenets for many of the post-punk bands that followed. Fast Product's slogan upon the single's initial 1978 release: 'The Mekons' new awareness of sound.' A double A-side, indeed. This first-time vinyl reissue and first-time domestic release comes with the original sleeve design. Limited edition translucent yellow vinyl."
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