Continuing the series of crits wrong-footed in real-time, unexpectedly harsh reviews from Dave McCullough for the Raincoats self-titled debut and the Mekons not-self-titled debut.
Yet I seem to remember him writing positive stuff about both earlier on?
The Mekons debut I can see perhaps an early supporter feeling that something had been lost - a certain exuberance in the early singles that hasn't survived the transition to the major label and big studio situation. But the Raincoats is so gleefully free, it's hard to see how someone - especially at that juncture in history - wouldn't get caught up in its unruly energy. Especially if that someone was a champion of messtheticians Scritti Politti, as Dave McC was.
But McC seems to dislike both groups for being too right-on as we called it back then (the woke of its day). The review is a bit like a critic counterpart to the song genre of studentphobia. Or perhaps the subgenre artschoolstudentphobia
See also Kevin Rowland's loathing of The Au Pairs.
The Mekons' 1979 Peel sessions are livelier than their debut album's versions of the same songs. It had a potential they didn't fully realize. It's supposed to be reissued this year, so I'd like to give it another shot.
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