Interview: "I have two cats and they cost 600 quid in insurance alone, I mean I love them, but they're going to have to get a f***ing job, aren't they?" - Andy Falkous on mclusky's first album in 21 years, working with Mike Patton's Ipecac Recordings, The cost of living and advice for the new breed

 

Photo by Damien Sayell

Picture the scene: it's 4.30pm on the first day proper of FOCUS Wales 2025 and what would usually be a gentle - if rather boozy - start to a weekend of some wonderful live music and catching up with old friends, is slightly more anxious than usual. I've arranged to meet the front man and driving force behind, not one, but TWO of my favourite bands for an interview that frankly, I never thought would happen. The very name of this blog is taken from a song by one of them bands - no biggie. I'm starting to fret and nervously drink faster than usual awaiting the text confirmation of a time and place to meet - to quote that Gorilla from The Mighty Boosh: "I've got a bad feeling about this."

The relief therefore is tangible, as I receive the text from legendary noise rock band, mclusky's Andy Falkous to confirm that sound check was running late and that he'd meet me as soon as possible. Tonight is the start of the band's live summer dates that will see them play all over Europe, at festivals and tours across the continent. He arrives at The Fat Boar pub and the room is full and rowdy, so we make the executive decision to relocate. 

I start the interview, more out of awkwardness than anything, by commenting on the seemingly lovely weather that Wrexham had been blessed with in early May to which he replies:  "Is it sunny though? Maybe by Welsh standards, by Madagascan standards it's not sunny," The logic of course is flawless, and I'm already feeling out of my depth. So best to get the act together and not slip too much into fanboy territory, at least not too soon.

           

It's 21 years since the last mclusky album The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not On Fire; an album and subsequent touring schedule that saw the band fall apart under the weight of conflicting characters and a boiling point of emotions. The subsequent years has seen Falkous and drummer Jack Egglestone form Future of the Left, a band that outlived and produced more than mclusky initially managed. The return has been supplemented by new bassist Damien Sayell, who has been been playing live with the band for several years and is also the front man for The St Pierre Snake Invasion. So why now?

" It feels like there's an appetite for it, in a way there wasn't before. I mean, by virtue of the people involved, it was quite a singular enterprise, but it was particularly singular at the time. We didn't fit anywhere, not that we fit now exactly. There are a lot of bands who've been successful in the interim, it's not that they took their queues from us exactly, but from the same bands we did, and it feels  that there's more of a place for it in the world now."

The new album is called the world is still here and so are we; a barnstorming return from a band thats legend has grown in the streaming era. Time and absence has created an aura around the band's initial run that may well have made their return even more celebrated than they could have expected. Falkous is philosophical about how this has influenced the new record:

" It's a bit of a surreal experience and frankly, the years that have gone past make sense, because lots of things have happened to us in that time frame; starting families, moving to different cities on multiple occasions. But all that stuff that happens outside of music informs the music as well, even if the music is your central tenant. But to be honest, it's just really exciting and I feel lucky that I'm still excited by the process of releasing the record as I ever was."

 I suggest that the title of the album is a reminder to those that may have confined the band to history, Falkous agrees, but adds more context to how the title came about and it's multiple meanings:

"The title can change a lot depending on the tone you use, it can be defiant or it can be resigned; just because the world is still here and so are we, doesn't necessarily mean both of those things are good."

              

The new release sees mclusky join forces with Ipecac Recordings; the label set up by Faith No More's Mike Patton and his business partner Greg Werckman, the former vocalist of San Francisco's Death's Ugly Head. 

I'm fascinated by the link up as Mike Patton is a man that has fought to take his own path in the music industry and has never done things the easy way. This must resonate with Falkous and his own experiences and I wonder if the two have had much contact during the process:

" I'm a not a completist fan, I'm more coming from Faith No More being one of my favourite bands as a teenager. I still think 'Angel Dust' is a top ten album, but I've never had any contact with Patton himself. I guess he has to like the stuff on the label, but it's not like we share a bubble bath."

Falkous is unsure how the link up occured, but was sure that it was right decision for the band for releasing the new album:

" It just felt like the right fit. I'm not really a label guy, I knew they had done Melvins, The Jesus Lizard and all of Patton's other stuff, but I'm not really a music historian guy. No shade on them whatsoever by the way, I just don't think that way. It felt like the right fit, but also the right expectations. I mean, I would say, we're probably a lot poppier than most stuff on it, less informed by metal. The balance was right, You don't want someone who's going to expect you to reach this huge wider audience, but similarly, you want someone who can put a little bit of cash behind it. I mean, a little bit of cash, but certainly more cash than we have access to- which is no cash."

             

Naturally talk evolves into the sheer cost of modern living. Falkous has two cats and a young daughter with his partner Julia and if the opportunity for two middle aged men to moan about money comes up, we're universally obliged to take it. 

"Yeah it's ridiculous. I have 2 cats and for the year we pay 600 quid in insurance alone. I mean, I love them, but they're going to have to get a f***ing job, aren't they?"

You can tell that fatherhood has had a positive impact on Falkous the man, as he proudly talks about his daughter and the moments they share together:

" We're having a big lego modular building phase at the moment; we're basically building a big lego street together. For her birthday, I'm going to buy her the Jazz club."

           

We finish by talking about how difficult it must be for new artists in the modern age and I'm keen to see whether he has any advice for those wading into the shark infested waters of the music industry. Amused by my use of the phrase "Seasoned veteran", Falkous is careful not to burst any bubbles, but realistic in his sage offerings:

" Seasoned veteran, what like Steve Claridge? or Robbie Savage? I think it's a matter of working out how much you want to do it. Working out a plan for yourself once you've reached a certain age. You've got to do that if you really want to make a living from music, and I would caution anybody from doing that first and foremost. The  most important thing, at the risk of sounding patronising, is to keep enjoying the music and that becomes it's own reward. I ended up doing tons of badly paid temp jobs whilst trying to make mclusky work and it's important if you're in a bubble of musicians to step out of that bubble."

" Realise that even though your music is incredibly important to you and some other people, it means nothing to most other people and after the first burst of mclusky that was actually a really good thing for me, to get away from it entirely for a while. Beyond that, you're going to sacrifice a lot and if you end up resenting those sacrifices, stop making them because they shouldn't feel like sacrifices, they should be part of the challenge and fun of getting over those obstacles. You don't want to do it on easy mode and you know, we definitely haven't."

With that one decisive, self deprecating statement, it's time for the interview to end. They may not have done it the easy way and the world may still be here, but it seems like it has finally caught up to the joy of mclusky.