{"product_id":"fear-and-whiskey","title":"Fear and Whiskey","description":"The Mekons: Jonny Boy Langford (vocals, guitar, harp); Tommy Greene (vocals, guitar, piano); Ken Lite (guitar, background vocals); Dick Taylor (guitar); Susie Honeyman (fiddle); Lu (bass); Steve Goulding (drums).\u003cbr\u003eFEAR AND WHISKEY was the album that signaled the second coming of the Mekons. Six years after their 1979 debut, the band overhauled their well-honed post-punk sound with an unexpected departure. Like the Byrds before them, the Mekons decided to forge a merger between rock and country; unlike the Byrds, of course, the Mekons infused their ragged honky-tonk with hints of reggae, art noise, and ample doses of reckless punk.\u003cbr\u003eThe opening \"Chivalry\" is a barroom tune that sounds part Celtic, part Texan, with a floating fiddle melody courtesy of Susie Honeyman. \"Trouble Down South,\" a politically pointed song that uses spoken narrative against a backdrop of fiddle, haunting vocals, and reggae rhythms, gives way to the amped-up \"Hard to Be Human Again\" and the heavy, sleepy \"Darkness and Doubt.\" The surreal story-song \"Psycho Cupid,\" the insistent pulse of \"Country,\" and the sad, drunken \"Last Dance\" make good on the Mekons' promise to mix it up, before they wrap the package with a cover of Hank Williams's \"Lost Highway.\" FEAR AND WHISKEY is a punk classic, one that surprises, charms, and overflows with rootsy, rebellious energy.","brand":"InnerSleeve","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42303850414245,"sku":"881626534311","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/6007\/1077\/files\/0158430dd970563bb0d62aea258dac39_5ef5c8bd-6aad-4f4c-9be8-b81df636fd8a.jpg?v=1780752130","url":"https:\/\/www.innersleeve.com\/en-gb\/products\/fear-and-whiskey","provider":"InnerSleeve","version":"1.0","type":"link"}