Misplaced Pages

Ancient & Modern 1911–2011

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
2011 studio album by the Mekons
Ancient & Modern 1911–2011
Studio album by the Mekons
Released2011
GenreFolk rock
Length45:33
LabelBloodshot
Producer
  • Walter Jaquiss
  • the Mekons
The Mekons chronology
Natural
(2007) 		Ancient & Modern 1911–2011
(2011) 		Jura
(2015)

Ancient & Modern 1911–2011 is an album by the band the Mekons, released in 2011. They claimed that it was their 26th album. A film, Revenge of the Mekons, released in 2014, chronicled the recording of the album and subsequent British tour, with the track "Afar & Forlorn" documented from its composition to its recording to its live rendering.

Production

Ancient & Modern 1911–2011 was produced by Walter Jaquiss and the band. Jon Langford considered the album to be about the development of the "horrors" of the 20th century. Some of its songs describe life in the United Kingdom before and during World War I. "Geeshie" uses the melody of Geeshie Wiley's "Last Kind Words". The title track is sung as a sea shanty.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Robert ChristgauA−
Pitchfork6.6/10
Record Collector
Rolling Stone
Spin

The San Antonio Express-News called the album "a folk-rock There's a Riot Going On." The Washington Post labeled it "a thorny mix of antiquey folk, squalling punk and Weimar-era cabaret". The New York Post praised the "happily Gothic pre-jazz vibe" of "Geeshie". Rolling Stone considered Ancient & Modern 1911–2011 "meaty and grizzled folk rock", writing that "the title track is almost a play on nostalgia's seductive power".

The Village Voice deemed it "another masterful bricolage of styles that plays on British historical resonances from across the last century." The Chicago Tribune noted the "sense of anarchic despair and artistic wonder." Pitchfork stated that the Mekons still sound "prickly, jovial, boozy, resistant to the bourgeois pleasures of rhyme and tune but sometimes seduced by them anyway." Robert Christgau admired "the ingrained musicality of a bunch of jokers who've evolved into a sonic organism even though they never see each other anymore".

Track listing

Ancient & Modern 1911–2011 track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Warm Summer Sun"4:28
2."Space in Your Face"3:30
3."Geeshie"3:10
4."I Fall Asleep"5:04
5."Calling All Demons"3:27
6."Ugly Bethesda"3:56
7."Ancient & Modern"6:52
8."Afar & Forlorn"3:30
9."Honey Bear"3:21
10."The Devil at Rest"3:30
11."Arthur's Angel"4:45
Total length:45:33

References

  1. Kot, Greg (18 September 2011). "Tinariwen, Mekons among most-anticipated shows". Arts + Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 12.
  2. Bevan, Nathan (16 July 2011). "Choir breathes new life into ex-punk singer's 'angry' album". Western Mail. Cardiff.
  3. de Rubio, Dave Gil (7 October 2011). "Mekons/Chris Mills". Entertainment News. Long Island Press.
  4. Tannenbaum, Rob (26 October 2014). "The Cult Band That Keeps on Chugging". The New York Times. p. AR18.
  5. Korman, Ken (18 March 2016). "Review: Revenge of the Mekons". Events. Gambit. New Orleans.
  6. Gallo, Phil (17 September 2011). "Ancient & Modern". Billboard. Vol. 123, no. 33. p. 40.
  7. Soults, Franklin (17 July 2015). "Extreme close-up: The Mekons' unconventional story gets a boost". The Boston Globe. p. G8.
  8. Terrell, Steve (23 September 2011). "Also Noted". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 28.
  9. Marcus, Greil (2015). Three Songs, Three Singers, Three Nations. Harvard University Press. p. 103.
  10. ^ Beta, Andy (October 2011). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 27, no. 9. p. 77.
  11. ^ "The Mekons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  12. ^ Wolk, Douglas (28 September 2011). "Mekons: Ancient & Modern 1911-2011". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  13. Pearlman, Mischa (27 October 2011). "Ancient And Modern 1911-2011 The Mekons". Reviews. Record Collector. No. 395.
  14. ^ Gross, Joe (13 October 2011). "Ancient & Modern 1911-2011". Rolling Stone. No. 1141. p. 67.
  15. Kiest, Jim (25 Sep 2011). "CDs". San Antonio Express-News. p. K2.
  16. Stewart, Allison (25 September 2011). "Recordings: 'Ancient and Modern' by the Mekons". The Washington Post. p. T20.
  17. Aquilante, Dan (27 September 2011). "Mekons". New York Post. p. 36.
  18. Gehr, Richard (28 September 2011). "The Mekons". Calendar. The Village Voice.
  19. "Mekons". Chicago Tribune. 29 September 2011. p. TAB 28.
The Mekons
Albums
Categories: