Mclusky biography

Turned off by the fey indie leanings of their peers, Mclusky instead display a fascination in the American experimental rock and hardcore scene - think Hüsker Dü, Shellac, Pixies and Pavement - as well as British post-punk bands like Gang Of Four and The Fall.

Their debut album, 2000's excellently-named My Pain And Sadness Is More Sad And Painful Than Yours poured righteous scorn on fashionable angst-rock, and turned out a couple of furiously brief punker-than-thou singles, Joy and Rice Is Nice - both of which clocked in at under two minutes in length.

Favourable reviews led to Mclusky inking a deal with British indie label Too Pure in 2001. Later that year, a week-long spell in Chicago with Shellac frontman and legendary producer Steve Albini (Nirvana, Page & Plant, Bush) yielded what would become their punk rock masterpiece: 2002's Mclusky Do Dallas.

Albini's bare production style perfectly captured all the blood, sweat, and celebration of the Mclusky live experience, and the band were on top form, castigating manufactured punk bands on Collagen Rock, sarcastically ripping chunks out of macho rockers on To Hell With Good Intentions, and penning singles as excellent as the seismic Lightsabre C*cksucking Blues - a concentration of rage and ultra-heavy avant-rock dynamics that scooped glowing reviews across the board.

"It has the ring of truth alright, and the truth captured in a very small room, by a tiny team of people, all of whom know exactly what they're doing," frothed NME. The April 2002 release of the album coincided with the group's first headlining national tour.

In May 2003 a new single, the excellent double a-side There Ain't No Fool In Ferguson/1956 And All That, was released, as they prepared to return to American to record their third album, once again with Steve Albini. The first single to be taken from these new sessions was Undress For Success, released in August 2003. The release also marked the appointment of a new drummer, Jack Eggleston, who joined Mclusky after Harding defected to Cardiff band Transposer, later renamed The Kabuki Mono.

A third album, recorded with Steve Albini in Chicago and titled The Difference Between Me And You Is That I'm Not On Fire, was released in May 2004. A single, She Will Only Bring You Happiness, followed in September.

In January 2005 the band announced their split, as a result of disagreements between Andy Falkous and Jon Chapple. A statement by Falkous was posted on mclusky.net, which read: "The three piece rock band known as mclusky have disbanded, as of friday january 7th, 2005. The reason for this parting is private, though probably not as entertaining as you'd imagine. Personally, I would like to thank all the people, places and times that occured on or near us. I'm grateful for the love and to to a lesser degree, the hate. There'll be more music soon, from all of us. Regards."

A best-of album, Mcluskyism, was released in 2006.

After the split, Andy Falkous stayed with Jack Eggleston and teamed up with former Jarcrew singer Kelson Mathias to form Future Of The Left.