New McLusky Album Due in May
Of course, the difference between us and them is that they can use "cocking" in a sentence

What's funnier than you, heavier than Steve Albini's house/studio, and tighter than a duck's bedsprings? McLusky! And their third album, The Difference Between Me and You is That I'm Not on Fire, is coming out on May 18th in the U.S. (The rest of the world gets it a day earlier, except the Germans who get it on May 10th.) The album's first single is titled "That Man Will Not Hang" and will be released in the UK on April 24th. It includes demo versions of two songs that did not make the album, "London Whine Company" and "The All Encompassing Positive." The Difference Between You and Me's tracklist has already been short-listed for the Booker Prize and looks like this:

01 Without MSG I Am Nothing
02 That Man Will Not Hang
03 She Will Only Bring You Happiness
04 Kkkitchens, What Were You Thinking?
05 Your Children Are Waiting For You to Die
06 Icarus Smicarus
07 Slay!
08 You Should Be Ashamed, Seamus
09 Lucky Jim
10 Forget About Him, I'm Mint
11 1956 and All That
12 Falco vs. the Young Canoeist
13 Support Systems

Wales' finest export since the whale, McLusky first demanded the Fork's attention attention back in 2002, when McLusky Do Dallas found its way into the upper half of our Top 50 for that year. Sadly, many here in America didn't notice them at the time, presumably being too occupied with watching the rise of The Hives breaking out on our televisions and/or skin. But those in the know may remember that we've been tracking the progress of this album for almost a full year now. Re-enlisting the help of Steve Albini, who also recorded Do Dallas (and recently called McLusky "the best band in Britain"), the band first went into the studio last April. They then set a tentative release date for last September, toured, released a single, fired their drummer, went back into the studio in December, toured some more, released another single, and no album ever appeared. What happened?

Apparently, the early sessions were largely unfruitful, due in some degree to former drummer Mat Harding, whose break with the band was plainly described by leadman Andy Falkous in a February interview with Australia's Neumu. "Let's make this absolutely clear-- it was a sacking, and I only regret that we put off the inevitable for so long." The band replaced Harding with Jack Egglestone, broke out of their rut, and have since made an album that's reportedly even heavier than their last. "The whole new drummer deal is absolutely cocking fantastic," said Falkous. "Jack, all 22 years of him, is 98% up to standard on the old stuff thus far, a sincere and sweet guy, and despite a drum kit which can only be described as a total piece of shit, the writing is going so prolifically well that we have become a real fucking band once more, which is such a great feeling that I can't really describe it without blushing."

Presumably, Falkous then turned red as a sunburnt beet, as he went on to describe elements of The Difference Between You and Me in detail: Slide guitar, 'orribly distorted acoustics, tunings straight from a guitar-tech's worst nightmares, imitation gongs, accidental lyrical profundity, more hidden handclaps (one on every album), bipolar bears, a song called "Kkkitchens, What Were You Thinking?" The band will embark on a tour of the UK later this month before hitting Germany in May, after which the group will play the U.S. and Canada, and continue on to tour Australia and play on the European festival circuit during the summer. Confirmed dates are as follows:

04-24 Cardiff, Wales - Clwb Ifor Bach
04-25 Exeter, England - The Cavern
04-27 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tuts
04-28 Manchester, England - Roadhouse
04-29 Preston, England - The Mill
04-30 Birmingham, England ? Academy
05-01 Leeds, England - Joseph Wells
05-03 Nottingham, England - Rescue Rooms
05-04 Oxford, England - The Zodiac
05-05 Brighton, England ? Concorde 2
05-06 London, England - The Garage
05-10 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
05-11 Berlin, Germany - Mudd Club
05-12 Munich, Germany - Atomic Café <br> 05-13 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique (w/Liars, Blood Brothers)
05-15 Lille, France - Nautilys
05-17 Paris, France - Divan Du Monde
05-18 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie
05-19 Tours, France - Festival Aucard

McLusky: http://www.mclusky.net