SHOOTING AT UNARMED MEN - Soon There Will Be…

McLusky formed in '98 in the charming

town of Welsh, England, as a post-hardcore power trio,

obliquely intellectualoid (today we'd call it "indie" more than ever), as

cheeky as it was raucous and unruly. After butting heads with Mr. Albini (and Too Pure), the band's sound

became less abrasive and more direct. Not coincidentally, this yielded their

best record ("Do Dallas"; Too Pure, 2002). What followed took the turn of

premature decline (a mediocre album and friction between the members), leading to their

breakup. The bassist, Jon Chapple, didn't lose heart; he switched to

guitar, brought in a new drummer (Steve Morgan) and bassist (Simon

Alexander), founded the project Shooting At Unarmed Men, and recorded — again

under the Too Pure banner — their debut LP, "Soon There Will Be…".

Le

the sound doesn't stray far from what we heard under the McLusky name. As for

for instance, the ragged unisons that spill into punk-screamo and certain fierce

held Clash passages of “Impunity Rules”, or

in the bass-drums march with openings more reckless than Mission Of Burma in

“No-One Can Waltz”, point to nothing new under the sun. Rather,

one glimpses some new direction in the shrewd, breezy Washington sound,

almost playful (pub-style chants, brash amplification, instrumental

bridges) that peeks out from “Four-Eyed McClayvie”.

“Taking Care Of

Business”, emo-leaning but with a merseybeat swagger, after fiery new vocal

lines, features an unusual decrescendo close (almost recalling the

fugazi-esque “Red Medicine”), and “This Much Is A Lot” has a call-and-response riff

into which the filtered vocals slot. “There’s A Reason It’s Called The Easy Way

Out”, perhaps the track that gives the record its meaning, moves with a solemn, understated gait

interspersed with Les Savy Fav-style schizoid explosions, but the overall impression is

that Chapple is actually chasing a veiled compromise through trendy

touches (next big thing and the like).

It's a nimble record that tries to

sell itself with crude methods. You end up out of breath. A few rounds still

in the chamber, over-the-top vocals, rough punk attitude — Wire's “Pink Flag” was

tiring, but sprayed cheerfully across a paltry tracklist. The mysterious

“Flying Buttress,” the performer of “This Much Is A Lot,” remains (by her own

will) unidentified.

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30/04/2026