Future Of The Left @ Barfly

The new project of former Mclusky and Jarcrew members, Future Of The Left released an exhilarating debut album in October that flew under too many radars. Curses was a record of ludicrous thoughts snarled by Andy Falkous's tongue-in-cheek, over chugging punk guitarwork, and bent into the kind of melodic shape that Fugazi and the Pixies first conjured. The Barfly is tiny, so we can feel the jocular aggression like welcoming heat from a fire, every song bristling with manic tension and playful hooks that beg to be yelped with glee: "Colin is a pussy, a very pretty pussy!", "s-s-s-sausage on a stick, yeeaah!", and so on. It makes no sense at all, yet it also makes no sense that Future Of The Left are still playing such wee venues for wee crowds. If a band this good can't at least book out the Barrowlands, there really is no Future. [Ally Brown]