Ancient and Modern

Early buzz about the Mekons' Ancient and Modern focused on its semi-inscrutable subtitle "1911-2001" and a few words about a thematic comparison between Great Britain's Edwardian era and the present day. The elements are there for those who care to look for them -- lyrics are cribbed from Welsh author Arthur Machen, for example -- but crucially, the album holds together even without delving into the backstory. Perhaps most interesting is how cohesive the album is musically. Far removed not only from the band's aggressive post-punk roots but from the ramshackle country and folk influences of their celebrated '80s work, the songs tend to the spare and languidly-paced, although a handful of rockier tunes like "Space In Your Face" show that these unapologetically aging punks can still kick over the traces. As always, leading lights Tom Greenhalgh, Jon Langford and Sally Timms split the songs between themselves, and also as always, Timms' warm and smoky vocals are the album's most immediately appealing aspect. Elsewhere, the unbeatable combo of Langford's rough-edged voice and Susie Honeyman's lambent fiddle on "Afar and Forlorn" comes closest to the old Fear and Whiskey days, while "Honey Bear" is among the band's most straightforward pop songs...well, ever. Those expecting a nostalgic return to past Mekons glories might be somewhat disappointed, but Ancient and Modern is the band's best work in quite some time.

Critical Q&A: Jim Allen Talks To Steve Goulding Of The Mekons

Why is this album subtitled "1911-2011"?

The idea behind it was that the so-called Golden Autumn before the onset of the first World War was like the last summer of the British Raj, and a certain way of life. Especially with tracks like "Warm Summer Sun": fox hunting, tea and toast, all that sort of stuff -- traditional English pursuits.

So is this all meant to be from a British perspective -- no wonder I couldn't understand it!

Exactly, that's why you couldn't understand a bloody word of it. It's specifically not only a British perspective but a Southern English perspective. Although some of the lyrics do come from Arthur Machen, who was a Welsh writer around the time of the Second World War. I would not pretend to know which were the actual quotes, but he was the author of a poem [1914's "The Bowmen"] about the First World War, where an angel appeared over the battlefield and inspired the troops to feats of victory. It kind of became an urban legend, and people actually decided to believe that it was true. In fact, people were dying by the thousands daily, everything was a horrible mess. It [the album concept] seemed like a quite natural thing as well because we can dress up like that now and it doesn't look so bad that we look old.

Are you going steampunk?

Steampunk, that'd be a good idea! There's a great [promo] picture of me looking steampunk in a bowler hat and dark glasses.

You could be the grand old band of the steampunk revolution.

That could carry us through another decade at least. And we'd have to then invent a new genre of people walking around with walking frames and motorized wheelchairs.

Steamrollers!

Yes, steamroller punk!

So how hard did you have to resist the urge to put a hurdy-gurdy on this album?

A hurdy gurdy is very difficult to tune, unfortunately. It's one of these archaic instruments; we're not medieval! Maybe the next album will be about the Black Death or something, and we'll put a hurdy gurdy on it.

Ooh, will it? All right!

You heard it here first. I've been reading a book about the Black Death, actually. It's amazing.

Did you know the Black Death was actually grey? There's a common misconception about that.

It was plaid. The Plaid Death.

But that didn't sell as many newspapers.

Death by plaid!

No, that was the ‘70s. So is this album gonna become a rock opera?

God no. We'll resist that temptation. It's not like a song cycle or anything. I think the album is fairly loosely tied together, but it's not Tommy or anything.

So Oliver Reed's not gonna sing on the movie version?

Oh we'll do anything if there's a movie coming out! We'll dress up like Cirque du Soleil, in leotards and tights!

So you're denying it's a concept album?

Well, it's a loose concept album.

All concept albums are loose concept albums.

I think it's a bit more cohesive than a deaf, dumb, and blind kid playing pinball. Next one is going to be the Flapper era, preceding the 1929 Wall St. crash. We're just working our way through the 20th century. Next will be the siege of Stalingrad, and then the Cold War, and the Nixon years -- there's a whole rich vein of crappy concept albums that we can come up with.

So you're really just a good-time band at heart. That's why you put "Warm Summer Sun" first on the album. It's kind of like a pastoral Public Image Ltd.

What would that be, the Incredible String Band? Incredibly Out-of-Tune String Band, maybe.

You'll be touring on this album in the U.S. and Europe this fall. Is traveling with the Mekons these days a more sober and mature experience than it was in decades past?

Not really! Slightly slower, but I don't think it's any more mature. We still talk about the same old rubbish.

Is there still as much drunken ranting onstage?

Yeah, now it's senile drunken ranting, which makes things worse. Sometimes you can't tell the difference between senility and drunkenness. Senility's a bit cheaper.

Isn't that part of what those who love the band have come to cherish?

In moderation, yes, I suppose. We do tend to still go over the top sometimes. It's always the same thing: we drink too much before the show. When we were in Switzerland last year, they brought a bottle of tequila into the dressing room. I had no idea that's what they'd done. I turned up onstage to play and I thought "Everybody seems rather jolly," and then I spied this half-empty bottle of tequila by Sally [Timms, singer]. And then we had another bottle after that. I can't remember much of the gig at all, but there were about 20 people at the show and they all ended up onstage and we ended up in the audience. That's what happens...it can devolve into just talking incomprehensible rubbish. You just have to let certain people [in the band] rant, and you can go to the bar...and they'll still be talking when you come back!

And yet the Mekons have always been critics' darlings. Do you have a sense of why that is?

I think because you could probably just write any old rubbish about us and it would be true. I don't know. Maybe we're just fantastic, and the rest of the world hasn't caught up yet. That's probably what it is, Jim.