The Mekons Family Reunion by Nate Lippens The Mekons, Joel R. L. Phelps and the Downer Trio Tues May 1, Graceland, 381-3094. People and things are lost across the album, wars break out, memories blur until they pixelate, and history forgets itself. It's a return to the band's roots after the electronic explorations of Me , the previous album. People had problems with Me . They thought it was cold and detached.
Journey is a quieter album.
More of a late-night album. It's about traveling through night into daybreak, that sort of darkness before the dawn. Timms' hushed vocals on the album were not just a stylistic concession to the concept. I like how it turned out, though. There are very few bands that can live at the crossroads of cultural margins, the intermezzos between high and low, political and personal, and serious and fun.