Mekons: "Horror" (2025) CD Review

If you're looking for something to celebrate - and I think we're all in need of such things these days - how about this: the Mekons are on tour, the full band, and they have a new album out. Two things worth celebrating, actually. The Mekons are one of the world's greatest bands, and somehow much of the world is still unaware of their greatness. The band formed in the 1970s as a strange sort of art project, and somehow - through changes in personnel and changes in the music itself, and with a mysterious lack of commercial hits - has kept going for nearly five decades. Jon Langford will tell you that he and the other members are trapped within this band. Maybe so. But they always manage to keep things interesting, with each new album different from what has come before. And that is still the case, which is astounding and unlike almost every other band out there. The band's new album, Horror (and what a perfect title for these days when much of humanity has turned hideous), is different from their previous releases, and yet still totally makes sense within this world the band has forged. Interestingly, the CD contains no liner notes whatsoever, no credits, no names, no thoughts. It's about letting the music speak for itself. However, there is a sticker on the plastic wrap of the disc, and that sticker says, in part: "'Horror' provides a prescient reflection of the world in its current miasma and how we got here." Yes. This music is now, no question. But it is delivered with that great joy and optimism and humanity that I have come to expect and appreciate from this incredible group of musicians.

The album opens with "The Western Design," which has something of a reggae feel, that easygoing vibe. The song begins on December 25, 1654, as the English fleet planned an attack on Spain's colonies. Yes, the song tells a historical story, an unfolding story. I love the way it is described at the beginning: "The empire casting off." And I love the way that line is delivered. The image is so positive, so optimistic, so innocent. But we know. We know. And the line "The work we may do in the world" is repeated for emphasis, the second time delivered more slowly. What may you be thinking then? The glories of British imperialism. The line pops up again later in the song. This is an engaging number to kick off the album, and it features some beautiful work by Susie Honeyman on violin toward the end. Yes, this band has done it again. And this is just the opening number. We're then ushered into a twisted carnival with "Sad And Sad And Sad," finding ourselves within a dance, a dreamlike waltz that is completely delightful. Ah yes, I feel like we should go on dancing, as the world and reality crumble around us, which they seem to be doing now. "I'll measure my age by everything that I've forgotten." What a great line, and it grabs me particularly as I'm at an age where more and more slips from the grasp of memory. Here we have entered a dream. For isn't this whole thing some bizarre dream anyway? The line "And there is a lack of tomorrows" can be depressing as all hell, and can also be freeing. This line is also repeated, the truth of it hitting home. This is one of my personal favorite tracks.

"Glasgow" has an electronic sound at its start, which comes as a surprise. Then it takes on more of a straight rock sound, at least for a moment, with guitar work that might be at home in a Rolling Stones song. But then it quickly, smoothly moves in a more new wave sound, all that before the song's first lines: "I lived ten years in Glasgow/And it sometimes felt like home/All the time that passed/We don't get back." The violin plays a prominent part in the sound, over that steady rhythm, and the track features a lovely lead on violin. "I was sick and tired of everything." Then "Fallen Leaves" opens in a mellower, dreamlike state, a place of contemplation, of reflection, of deep blue ripples in memory. And perhaps memory is all we'll have left. This song features a captivating vocal performance that has its own great beauty. "The dry earth cracks and shadows grow/A dying sun sinks down/Horrors and cold slaughter, silent mystery." The song is both beautiful and dark, and features more great stuff on violin. That line "A dying sun sinks down" is revisited at the very end, the image the song leaves us with.

The band switches gears then with "War Economy," which comes on like a wild punk pop gem, of spirit and force. "On behalf of the future/I ask you to leave the past alone/You are not welcome/We have no government/We did not invite you/You do not know us/Nor do you know our world/You have no right to rule us." Those are the song's first lines, putting us in a particular frame of mind. And when the words "Violence and greed" are sung, they are echoed, shouted in the background, which feels just exactly right. Other words are likewise echoed and shouted. The anger is just behind us, rising to the surface. We can feel it, not just hear it. That's followed by "Mudcrawlers," a solid rock number with an opening moment that might make you think of The Who, yet with vocals that have a smooth aspect, reminding me of some stuff from the 1980s. How many different places has this band taken us in just the first half of this album? "We walk and then we run." These guys take us in yet another direction with "A Horse Has Escaped," with a sort of light industrial vibe at the beginning. A haunting aspect is also established, and then emphasized when the vocals come in. "Were we ever happy, or were we never happy?" Sally Timms asks. And we can't help but take a quick look at our own lives for the answer. I imagine we were happy. Interestingly, either way, it's in the past, isn't it? "What steps should I take to obscure my mistake/The ship is sinking and a horse has escaped."

"Private Defense Contractor" opens with a sound that could come from the darkest of Talking Heads moments, that section before the vocals. That steady beat gathers us in, invites us to take part in a ritual, which then seems to become a form of labor. This track has an unusual and interesting atmosphere, with some psychedelic elements. The vocals are delivered with something of a punk snarl. "In my fantasy world, the owl has flown/Cryptic signs say crawl under the throne/May the happy church hold you." This song ends with the word "forever," and there is a sense of this continuing into some form of eternity. So then "Sanctuary" comes as a surprise, opening on piano, the sound from sometime in the past. The vocal work has an ethereal quality, and is lovely. "Like friends we never met." The drums soon take on something of a march. I can become completely immersed in this music, maybe even lose my way back to that other reality I had known. Happily lose my way, in fact. Before the end of this track, there is whistling. It's all so wonderful. Then "Surrender" has a prominent rhythm, and everything seems to work within its framework, even the vocals. "In the future, we'll find ecstasy/In the future we surrender."

"You're Not Singing Anymore," perhaps more than any other track, has something of that classic Mekons sound or vibe, whatever that might mean (seems silly to even say that, actually). But, you know, with many voices rising together near the beginning, lifting us up. That sort of energy, that sort of joy. "You said it was easy/No questions at all/Now songs of the past/You're not singing anymore." It then kicks in, growing from there, with a steady rhythm on bass. And it becomes another of my personal favorites. The album concludes with "Before The Ice Age," which might have been the first song I heard from this release. Dave Trumfio, as Nervous Boy, performed a rare solo set here in Los Angeles in early February, opening for Jon Langford and Sally Timms. And during that set, Sally joined him for a rendition of this song. This is another interesting, unusual song from this interesting, unusual band, the lyrics delivered as a sport of spoken word ("An infectious, slow motion catastrophe, melting"), as we drift into oblivion. And when we do, when we really do, this is the band that will be playing.

CD Track List

1. The Western Design
2. Sad And Sad And Sad
3. Glasgow
4. Fallen Leaves
5. War Economy
6. Mudcrawlers
7. A Horse Has Escaped
8. Private Defense Contractor
9. Sanctuary
10. Surrender
11. You're Not Singing Anymore
12. Before The Ice Age

Horror was released on April 4, 2025 on Fire Records.