Mclusky

They mine the brooding, rhythmic urgency of bands like Gang of Four and the Fall. Their guitar playing wallows in Fugazi-esque robust minimalism. They shriek like the Sex Pistols. They give their songs absurd titles like "Without MSG I Am Nothing" and "Icarus Smicarus." And then, when you think you've pinned down their shtick, they pull some Dinosaur Jr. or Smashing Pumpkins riff right out of their Welsh bums. To put it simply, the members of Mclusky are pretty much as punk rock, diverse, and witty as it gets right now. Their latest, The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire, shows that the difference between them and the rest is that they are on fire. Liars, take note: What these guys understand and you don't is that being weird and being coherent aren't mutually exclusive.