A Band Apart

Mekons, formed by art students in Leeds in 1976, is one of the most stylistically varied and influential bands to exist in the rock underground. While I can call them punk—due to their anti-capitalist, socialist leanings that come through clearly in their lyrics—and it would be accurate, it also is doing them a massive disservice. Mekons are far, far more than that. In reality, Mekons have been four different bands throughout their existence: a post-punk band, a country-western band, a rock band, and a folk band.

Before I get into my survey of their career, I have to note that the previous sentence is a simplification of their work. It serves more as a way to work through their various eras. At many times in their existence, Mekons were playing all four styles on the same album, and at times, on the same song. In addition, there are various experiments with dub rhythms, reggae, Madchester, hip-hop, house music, and noise throughout their recorded music. To see how this all plays out, let’s start out at the beginning with their initial post-punk era.

Mekons as Post-Punks

In 1976, the first wave of punk was sweeping Britain, leading to the formation of many bands. The University of Leeds created two eternal ones. The first is the subject of this dispatch. The other is Gang of Four, stylistic architects of a nervy style of post-punk, one that has been referenced again and again throughout the underground over the decades. (There is technically a third: Delta 5, but the founder of Delta 5, Roz Allen, was a member of Mekons and played bass on their first album before leaving to form Delta 5.) Mekons also decide to attack that first wave with their single “Never Been in a Riot.”

Written in response to—but not as a reaction to, as many have suggested—The Clash’s “White Riot,” this is the song that got Mekons onto many people’s radars. It was lauded by NME and influential British DJ John Peel played it on his radio show. For a bunch of kids who were just fucking around (their words, not mine), this was quite the accomplishment. With a swell of support, Mekons decide to actually start making more music.

Their first two albums, The Quality of Mercy is Not Srtnen and The Mekons Story (a compilation of singles, outtakes, and b-sides from 1977 to 1982), are interesting, but not necessary to the story. Their 1979 album Devils, Rats & Piggies — A Special Message from Godzilla does more to lay out their story than the rank amateurism displayed on the aforementioned work. On this album, the primitive nature of their work is supplemented by a variety of new sounds such as saxophone, keyboard, and fiddle. The result is an album that shares some similarities with other post-punk bands working in England such as Joy Division and the Fall, sharing the darkness of the former and the raw clatter of the latter. While this is an inessential record in the Mekons archive, it does highlight a characteristic of the band that will come to typify their work over the following decades: a willingness to try anything, to never limit themselves in any way.

By 1983, with the release of The English Dancing Master EP, this iteration of Mekons was done. The band wasn’t done, but any stylistic resemblance to the post-punk of that time had ended. And, it is with the next turn that this band found the sound that would find them considerable success and establish their musical legacy.

The Mekons Swing

When the band resurfaced in 1985, there were a number of changes. To start, the only remaining members of the band were Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh. With the two of them and a set of new collaborators, Mekons took a decidedly different approach to their music. While retaining the anger and social commentary of the punk movement, the band incorporated heavy doses of country music into the mix. Fiddles, harmonica, pedal steel, and accordion became integral parts of their sound, giving their music a bracing intensity. It can be easily argued that their 1985 album Fear and Whiskey is the first alt-country album, preceding Uncle Tupelo, the band considered to be the creators of alt-country, by a few years. You can hear the collision of the styles clearly on “Hard to Be Human Again,” a standout track from the album.

The lyrics maintain the seriousness of the past, but the instrumentation is precise and the country fits well within their punk framework. It feels natural, as if these two disparate things should have been together the entire time.

Having hit upon this potent mixture, Mekons continue working in this vein for the next two albums, Edge of the World and The Mekons Honky Tonkin’. Edge of the World is an important album in Mekons history because it is when Sally Timms, the woman who has since served as Jon Langford’s vocal counterpoint, and Rico Bell, the long-time accordionist, join the band as contributors. Throughout these three albums, the band explore the intersection of country-western sounds and post-punk, gaining a considerable following and critical adoration.

Mekons Fail

With creativity at a high, Mekons continued to make excellent music that got them plenty of critical attention (Robert Christgau and Lester Bangs are both noted fans of the band), but gave them little success on the charts. During their country turn, the band was signed to Twin/Tone, a major independent label in the 1980s that should be familiar to anyone who is a fan of The Replacements or bands from Minneapolis more generally. Twin/Tone released Honky Tonkin’, which was Mekons’s first release stateside. When Twin/Tone signed a distribution deal with A&M Records, it meant that Mekons were on a major label.

They responded by releasing The Mekons Rock ‘n Roll, an absolute barnburner of an album, in 1989. It took everything that was great about their previous work and sent it to the stratosphere. The music is urgent, spiky, and driving. The commentary was just as sharp as ever. If the band never made another album, they would have gone out on top. Even though they are signed to a major label, Mekons still find ways to stick it to the system. Look at this video for “Memphis, Egypt,” for example:

The song itself is truly excellent, a great encapsulation of what they are doing at this time. Furthermore, the actual video just feels like a troll. The whole band looks like they are just having a blast making fun of people who take this whole music video concept a bit too seriously, a fitting stance.

While the album is great, we all know that major labels have no idea of what to do with music like Mekons make because it does not fit into a neat box. More importantly, Mekons didn’t really want to play nice with the label. After all, they are a rabidly anti-capitalist outfit; a quick browse of one of their lyric sheets can confirm this. As a result of this terrible pairing, Rock ‘n Roll sold less 25,000 copies, a number that is OK in the streaming era but absolutely abysmal in the 1980s.

In an effort to salvage something from the contract, A&M told them to make an EP that was fun. What they got was the F.U.N. 90 EP. This record is weird. Not kind of weird. Weird weird. How weird? Excellent question. The following video is “Having a Party”:

This is a solid encapsulation of the general vibe. It does get weirder, like “Hashish in Marseilles,” a track during which acid drums collide with sped-up samples and news recordings about hash in Marseilles, France. I thought that this EP was strange and deeply enjoyed it.

Suffice it to say, A&M wasn’t as thrilled with this EP as I was and subsequently dropped them. Mekons found their feet at Quarterstick, their long-term home where they would release another seven albums before this particular rocking phase of the Mekons ends. Standouts from this phase are 1991’s The Curse of the Mekons, 1993’s I Love Mekons, 1994’s Retreat from Memphis, and 1998’s Me. A particular standout song from this phase is “Whiskey Sex Shack,” a raucous ramble from Me.

Mekons Grow Old

With the arrival of their 2000 album Journey to the End of the World, Mekons had clearly hit a different phase of their career. After 25 years in the music industry and having gone from nothing to a major label to indie labels, the band had become contemplative about their music and legacy.

On Journey, Mekons, while still politically minded and lyrically angry, are a little quieter. The closest analog I can think of is Yo La Tengo’s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. On both albums, the bands are not abandoning what made them special. Instead, they are taking all of the lessons learned from previous albums and life on the road and making something new. And, just like And Then Nothing… for Yo La Tengo, Journey is another standout album in a career full of them.

Never ones to stay too far from rocking out, OOOH! (Out of Our Heads) brings rock back to the forefront. It is a hard-charging album that is shocking to hear from a band that has been around as long as Mekons. Full of intensity and drive, it reminds you of everything that they have done well in the past and shows you that they can still do it now.

In a change of pace, Mekons released Punk Rock in 2004. On this album, the band reinterprets the music that they wrote during the first phase of the band, when they were a rising band trying to get a better grip on both songwriting and playing instruments. With a bit more skill at their instruments, the band conveys the true passions of those earlier songs. This album also signals a bit of a shift in the band, where folk music comes to play more and more of a role in their sound.

The albums that followed Punk Rock—Natural (2007), Ancient & Modern (2011), Jura (2015)—continue in the folk trend, slowing down the tempos and telling stories. There is considerably more acoustic instrumentation on these albums. But if you think that the politics have changed, you are deeply mistaken. Mekons are as feisty and upset as they always have been.

Just to be sure that we know they haven’t lost their edge, Mekons released Existentialism in 2017, a live performance that was recorded and manipulated in the studio. The result is absolutely fascinating to hear, a clear example of a band that is never content to sit still. The next album, 2019’s Deserted, turned up the volume, but no one is going to confuse this Mekons for Rock ‘n Roll or Honky Tonkin’ Mekons anytime soon. That said, they are bringing some pretty strong heat on this album.

In a piece of serendipity that I did not schedule, I swear, Mekons released a new album, Horror, last week. As one might suspect given their stridently leftist politics, the album has a dour tone. That said, it is not miserable. If anything, it is rather accessible. If I was not about to give you a way to get into their music, the album would be comprehensible and a good way to explore what they have been doing for almost 50 years now.

Closing Thoughts, or What Now?

If you have read this far, thank you. You may be saying to yourself, “Cool, I read this long ass piece and I want to start listening to Mekons. Where do I start?” This is a phenomenal question. My answer is going to be based on how I started with them. For bands with archives this massive, the easiest place to go is the compilation. I love compilations. If I need to learn about a band, especially one with an intimidatingly large archive such as Mekons, I will listen to a compilation first.

For the Mekons, there are multiple compilations, but the only one that matters is Heaven and Hell, released in 2004. This two-disc compilation pulls tracks from the band’s first 25 years, from their early punk work to their later, more subdued work. I cannot recommend a better introduction than this.

If you decide that Mekons is the band for you, start with the albums from that late 1980s-early 1990s period: The Mekons Rock ‘n Roll, I Love Mekons, Curse of the Mekons, and The Mekons Honky Tonkin’. I think that they are the most easily accessible and give the best idea of what Mekons albums are like. After that, start working your way out in either direction. It will be a worthwhile trip. I’ve been listening to them for the past week straight, and it has been honestly great revisiting some albums I haven’t heard in about five or so years.

So, that ends this week’s dispatch and this explainer miniseries. I thought I had more in me, and I probably do, but these types of explainers require professional time, and this is a hobby right now. Maybe if I can do this full time, I’ll contemplate explaining things again. I can still do smaller introductions and such. I’ll be back to those soon enough.

So, with explaining on the shelf, I’m going to try to answer a question next week. I don’t know what that question is, so I don’t want to offer any sort of suggestion as to what I will write about. As always, thank you for reading, and I will be back next Wednesday with another edition of The Spins.