The Waco Brothers: Going Down In History

First album in 11 years from the Clash-meet-Cash-styled crew.

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From The Mekons through The Three Johns, stopping off with The Pine Valley Cosmonauts and Skull Orchard, Welsh wonder Jon Langford has been in more world-shaking bands than most.

The Wacos’ fervent and roof-raising, against-the-odds adrenaline shots to the heart have been captured on live recordings and a B sides and rarities collection. Now, true to its title, their first studio album since 2005’s Freedom And Weep grabs the bull by the horns and storms citadels in such heroic salvoes as a righteously apoplectic Devil’s Day and the title track.

Recently deceased associate Ian McLagan drives the death-defying cover of The Small Faces’ All Or Nothing, and the ever-ready spirit of Bo Diddley comes into play on Building Our Own Prison. Hard truths are faced down and bad voodoo gets annihilated throughout in unflinching, life-affirming, hard-rocking glory. Be a part of it.

Gavin Martin
Gavin Martin

Late NME, Daily Mirror and Classic Rock writer Gavin Martin started writing about music in 1977 when he published his hand-written fanzine Alternative Ulster in Belfast. He moved to London in 1980 to become the NME’s Media Editor and features writer, where he interviewed the Sex Pistols, Joe Strummer, Pete Townshend, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Ian Dury, Killing Joke, Neil Young, REM, Sting, Marvin Gaye, Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone, James Brown, Willie Nelson, Willie Dixon, Madonna and a host of others. He was also published in The Times, Guardian, Independent, Loaded, GQ and Uncut, he had pieces on Michael Jackson, Van Morrison and Frank Sinatra featured in The Faber Book Of Pop and Rock ’N’ Roll Is Here To Stay, and was the Daily Mirror’s regular music critic from 2001. He died in 2022.