It speaks to my lack of hardcore diet that a band like Mclusky can be around since 1996 and I still had never heard of it until recently. Of course, without a record for the past 21 years—and 20 years since flat-out breaking up—it’s also understandable that mclusky skipped over my radar.

But with the new release, the world is still here and so are we, I’m doing some catching up of all I’ve missed. There is a lot of everything here to enjoy, for hardcore fans and even those who care not to dabble in that genre.

That is on full display right away with “unpopular parts of a pig,” which sounds somewhere between Britpop and Ozzy Osbourne. The great melodicism of “She Will Only Bring You Happiness” from that 2004 album The Difference Between Me and You Is That I’m Not on Fire is layered with a feisty, jokey, pure punk nasty vocal scream that filters up throughout the new release.

Fans of The Hold Steady will find plenty to appreciate as well. When singer Andrew Falkous calms the yell, he is poetically talking over the music like Craig Finn in that excellent Minneapolis band.

But all this talk of screamo shouldn’t deter music lovers who like their fare a little soft. Mclusky is hardcore, it can be sure, evidenced at the very least by the most-played tune on the album, “people person.” Falkous is bothered that “a lot of people like to be wise after the event,” and he’s done tolerating them.

But it’s softer—yet still hard crunching in a Fugazi sense—with my favorite on the record, “the battle of los angelsea.” The line “I would give anything to be that cigarеtte, Michael” kills me every time.

It took me many days to digest this album. Part of it was that I couldn’t stop being fascinated with it. the world is still here and so are we goes in so many directions. Sure, fans of bands like Militarie Gun and Fucked Up are obvious candidates to love it, but so are lovers of heavy guitar rock and even rap.

Call me the first of many mclusky converts.

order the world is still here and so are we by mclusky HERE