By Drew Tewksbury

THE MEKONS “NATURAL” QUARTERSTICK

As they approach their 30th anniversary, the Mekons could have signed with Starbucks or made a reality show or sold their music to Chevy commercials. Instead, the prolific Northern England post-punkers released Natural, a pared-down album true to the raw and soulful sound they pioneered. It’s a soundtrack to an English wild west with Morricone slide guitars, harmonica, and fiddle woven around haunting vocals. “The twisted trees sing: dark, dark, dark,” Jon Langford bellows on the first track, outlining the landscape that the rest of the album will inhabit. It’s easy to imagine the band holed up in a darkened studio, candles lit and shots of whiskey laid out on a vintage amplifier. The Mekons continue to make music that’s contemplative and evocative—a refreshingly honest listen detached from the usual posers and posturers.