Andy Falkous is something of a personal hero, and if he ever decides to give up on music, I just hope an institution of higher learning allows him an emeritus professorship based on the philosophical principles set forth by Mclusky's Do Dallas. Our children deserve it. I say all of this because the corporate-slick production on Future of the Left's third album makes me wonder if this is still the guy who made the music of "To Hell With Good Intentions" and "You Need Satan More Than He Needs You" as sharp as their wit. And what about the cover and the goddamn title of The Plot Against Common Sense? What in god's name is the author of "Fuck This Band" doing stealing ideas from unpublished John Stossel books?
As it turns out, those fears aren't fully realized on The Plot Against Common Sense, though they are definitely warranted. Little has changed musically for the always-contradictory Future of the Left. The constituent parts are primitively composed but played with vice-tight musicianship, while the blindingly bright, major-key synth riffs still come off as abrasive as anything produced by an atonal noise band. In terms of tempo and texture, The Plot hangs a little bit more loosely than the trim Travels With Myself and Another, with "Goals in Slow Motion" inching toward a legit alt-rock chorus and the jaw harp-like sample of "Anchor" raising the possibility that they're secretly fans of "A Milli". But even if the mockup of punk commodification on "Sheena Is a T-Shirt Salesman" is more entry-level ("dumb is the new black," ugh) than the aforementioned "pop" maneuvers, the music itself rips hard. And it's still so rare to hear a band this caustic and aggressive that manages to be so intelligible.
But the sound is still there to support Falkous' hectoring. This is usually a good thing-- no one else is coming up with lines like "I have seen into the future/ Everyone is slightly older" and "Civilized people don't fuck bears/ Civilized people don't play fair" that function as good jokes and good hooks. It can make Future of the Left seem damn near necessary at times. After all, humor is often seen as coming from a less authentic place than anger, heartbreak, or joy, and most bands who try to be funny often make it a point to counterbalance it with an equal and oppositely sensitive show of humanity. Not these guys; an emotionally complex song on The Plot Against Common Sense happens to be both cynical and sarcastic. When it works, it opens up an almost unlimited world of songwriting possibilities.
But while Falkous has long been adept at connecting with an audience via snark, man, do things take a wicked, face-shielding turn about halfway through Common Sense. For the most part, you just wish Falkous would pick on someone his own size. Shit like plastic surgery ("Polymers Are Forever", held over from 2011's EP), Trustafarians ("Sorry Dad, I Was Late For the Riots") and Alcoholics Anonymous ("Anchor") make for unfair fights, and Falkous can only barely muster the effort. And I'm not sure we needed another Future of the Left song exploring the politics of pagan orgies ("A Guide to Men").
But the point of no return is clearly "Robocop 4-- Fuck Off Robocop". Look, Battleship: The Movie is in theaters and we clearly need a "Burn Hollywood Burn" to reflect the times*.* But I can say with a fair degree of certainty that 2012 will not see a more stupendously awesome song title or a worse song attached to it. Why it's even a song to begin with is beyond me, as its musical values are pretty much nil. And then Falkous half-raps the following: "George Lucas won't be kicking his heels 'til he makes some money from Howard the Duck." That's the part I chose to quote at length, when a line about Billy Corgan starring as a Harry Potter villain was readily available. Let that sink in.
It's a shame that Falkous is playing to the cheap seats on The Plot Against Common Sense, since, to paraphrase one of their best songs, we need Falkous more than he needs us. But I suppose if any teen comes for the "Diff'rent Strokes" and Russell Brand jokes and finds his way toward Travels With Myself and Another and Do Dallas, I can't deny him any more than I could my teenage self that bought overproduced and hamfisted Bad Religion records like The Gray Race and Stranger Than Fiction and thought they were the shit because of all the big words. But I also thought guys like Lewis Black and David Cross were the shit at the time too, and by a certain point, either due to laziness or just a tremendous misunderstanding of their talents, they ditched any semblance of cleverness or comedy for straight-up ranting. It's hard to watch. I'm hoping Falkous doesn't go there, but on The Plot Against Common Sense, he's threatening to become the kind of willfully delusional lunkhead that Mclusky songs eviscerated.
