Future of the Left - Curses

Future of the Left singer Andy 'Falco' Falkous and drummer Jack Egglestone both used to be members of the criminally underappreciated Mclusky, who released three incendiary albums of maniacal rock along with a plethora of singles including the indie dancefloor, shout along classic: 'To Hell With Good Intentions'. Mclusky split in 2005 and a loyal fanbase mourned. Then in 2007, joined by Jarcrew's Kelson Mathias came Future of the Left.

Curses was the best debut album of 2007 and its players had already been around for some time. Opening with the confrontational dirge of 'The Lord Hates a Coward' with its repeated refrain of: "violence solved everything" it's immediately apparent and reassuring to know that Falco hasn't calmed down too much. Yet Curses isn't a Mclusky album and while some familiar traits remain it's pretty clear that Future of the Left are interested in, well, the future. Perhaps the most obvious musical departure is the use of synthesizer on a lot of the album like 'Manchasm' and 'Team: Seed' but it works a treat. Also whilst Falco's lyrics have always had a humorous slant (check 'Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues') the lyrics on Curses take his twisted sense of humour a step further albeit delivered with the same disregard for vocal chords.

Great rock 'n' roll is essentially about great moments and Curses is full of them, bits that make your heart beat faster or that make you grin like you've suddenly remembered why you love music so much in the first place. It's in the drums as they kick in on 'adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood', the fist in the air euphoria of the chorus to 'Suddenly it's a Folk Song' and the yelps of "They only ate sausage - sausage on a stick!" during the ridiculously infectious 'Wrigley Scott'.

Whilst not really sounding at all like them there's something of the Pixies in Future of the Left. It's in the twisted, often darkly funny lyrics, the unusual presentation of old rock tricks that make them new and exciting, it's in the plain weirdness and originality of it all. It took the Pixies a long time to get the appreciation they deserved and whilst Mclusky remain a cult concern you can't help but hope that more people get to hear the insane ramblings of Andy Falkous this time round. It might just make them smile.

Best Tracks: 'adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood' 'Wrigley Scott' 'Kept by Bees'

Andrew Brown