Review:

on 2011-11-10 CharlesMartel Said:

McCarthy took their name from the b?te noir for left-wing American politics, not surprising really when you consider that the band were noted for their left-leaning political stance. This frequently comes out in their lyrics which often contain biting satire and are seemingly at odds with the sweet sounding jangle pop of the music. Keep an Open Mind or Else, with the vocals on this provided by Laetitia Sadier, was therefore a bit different from a lot of largely male-fronted jangle pop of the time. The band got little acclaim, largely due to their political views getting them lumped in with artists with whom they had little else in common, but they were influential to bands who came after them, such as the Manic Street Preachers (who covered some of their tracks) and, of course, provided core members to the band Stereolab. What makes this interesting is that this is jangle pop with its gloves off. It was a departure from the fey and wistful lyrics of the rest of the genre. This was political, and as such marks an interesting change.
Rating: 7/10