Fear and Whiskey

Art punk without the swagger

It was quite bizzare. "Meh" at best

Mixed feelings here. It's not bad per se, but nothing crazily good.

electro-pop-western 80s vibe

Meh. I appreciate this for paving the way for future alt-country albums, but that’s about the extent of it.

There were a couple brief moments where a song would start to trend towards being not completely awful. Or maybe it was when I just couldn't be bothered to pay attention

Incredibly unique, utterly bizarre. Unfortunately this is a blend of genres that just does not work.

A poor mans The Pogues.

Interesting instrumentation and style. Not something I had heard of before. Hard To Be Human Again was my favorite song.

I was skeptical when I heard this was a punk country album, but I was pleasantly surprised by how creative and innovative it was. It must have been a groundbreaking album when it came out in 1985.

The lyrics are strong and deal with the dark realities of war and oppression. However, some of the country elements feel a bit cheesy and out of place. This is an album worth listening to at least once, but I don't think I'll revisit it often. I give it three stars out of five.

Favourite songs: Last Dance, Abernant 1984/5, Chivalry, Flitcraft

Least favourite songs: Psycho Cupid Trouble Down South, Darkness and Doubt

3/5

Not exactly the hard punk I was expecting, but not unenjoyable either. Reminded me of Half Man Half Biscuit quite a lot.

Really kind of fun...a type of music that is right up my alley. Still didn't quite love it. 3.5/5

British country music - by a punk band - that is better than it has any right to be. Not quite 5 🌟 (that is for the best of the best) but a really solid 4!

Avausraita ihan ok, muuten aika tylsä. 2/5

I can mess with this. Alt-country is about the only country I generally dig and this is a good early example of it. You can tell that they're coming at it from a punk side which I really like. Thematically it's interesting too.

I had hopes as the album started that it would be something that I would like, despite the country and punk influences, due to the era and some snippets I heard before, but this album just gets progressively worse as it goes on. The fiddle isn't the issue, it's the barrage of sound this album presents with no real weight behind of it. It gives it a "band playing at a music festival you don't wanna be at" vibe, that is only saved because it never is offensively bad save for the one or two times it absolutely zapped my motivation in the moment. I do think my sister will think this album is amazing, as she loves everything going on here, so thanks for that Mekons, someone is getting something out of this, it just isn't me.

I like the artwork, all faded and washed out, much like the album.

medium

I like the vibe of this. Some good driving beats, and I like the violins.