The restless Welsh kings of post hardcore noise rock make a return with the short-and-sweet EP, I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley. Luckily, the wait was not as prolonged as the two-decade-long hiatus fans had to endure preceding The World Is Still Here And So Are We, and the release hints at a forthcoming full-length release from the band. Comprised of tracks written during sessions for their previous albums, two new songs that may appear on the next record, and two digital-only tracks, the long-standing masters of their genre suggest that there is more to come, offering their fans something to chew on in the meantime.
Jumpy, twitchy, sinewy and altogether flavoured like their usual abrasive hits – if not slightly more reserved in their ferocity (perhaps they are saving it up) – the opening track, ’I Know Computer’, proves Andrew Falkous’s sardonic wit and lyricism remain perfectly intact: “Sometimes I remind him of his father / Who is not dead, not dead yet / The problem is his father is an idiot / Being dead would be a slight improvement.” The track taunts a hook-laden bassline by Damien Sayell, underneath the stuttering, heart-skipping percussion of drummer Jack Egglestone. “The hollowing out, it’s the best bit,” seems to capture the heart of the album perfectly: preoccupations with emptiness, evoked through imagery usually used to describe the aggressive removal of a hefty centre.
‘As a Dad’ boasts one of the best lines of the album, and is perhaps as romantic as noise rock allows, “the long crawl to irrelevance / feels a little better every time you smile,”. Musically, the track leans into monotone chant-like punk vocals reminiscent of some of Viagra Boys’ sounds, or maybe Viagra Boys sound like them. It’s hard to justify making comparisons when Mclusky has been foundational to their genre. Drawing parallels feels insufficient.
“The terror of completing capitalism, ruined your lunch break, ruined your lunch,” ‘Spock Culture’ begins, with a bouncy drumbeat joined occasionally by a jagged guitar. “In the nostalgia wars, there were no survivors,” Falco chants as he approaches the fleshy centre of the track. ‘Hi We’re on Strike’ continues teasing out semantics about capitalism and work culture in the line, “am I late if I dispute the concept of a boss?”
‘Fan Learning Difficulties’ is driven by a scratchy bass that itches at your bones, its breakdown finds Falco unraveling into nonsense and chaos. Attempts to decipher the lyrics only deepen the confusion as online transcriptions are littered with a lot of “[?]”. ‘That Was My Brain on Elves’ is the most subdued track of the album, maintaining chaos in its restrained sound with lyricism reflecting on death, vegetarianism, and object permanence as it closes out the album.
Bowling Alley maintains the band’s ubiquitous abrasive dissonance as well as Mclusky’s classic tasty basslines and lyrical wit alongside imploding drum beats. Thirteen minutes of bliss (or chaos, depending on the listener), Mclusky has proven their continued dominance in the noise rock world, while giving fans something satiating to devour until the next release.
