Jon Langford And His Sadies - Mayors Of The Moon

  by Geraint Jones

published: 26 / 3 / 2003

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Review

Encapsulating the concept of the itinerant musician like few others, Jon Langford’s covered a great deal of mileage since drumming on that first Mekons single back in 1977. Since relocating to Chicago in the early 90's and despite his continued albeit sporadic activity with the Mekons, he’s probably better known these days for his close involvement with the city’s insurgent country movement via his recordings for Bloodshot Records with both the Waco Brothers and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts. He’s also gained something of a reputation as an artist of the painterly persuasion; his work a fascinating and colourful blend that incorporates photography, paint and collage amongst other things, often of pivotal country music figures like Hank Williams and Bob Wills, which have graced numerous album covers and magazines like No Depression. ‘Mayors Of The Moon’ is his first collaboration with former Bloodshot label mates - Canadian twang-surf-psych-bluegrass (and other genres in-between!) outfit the Sadies (they’ve since signed to Yep Roc for their own releases). Admittedly they’re a little less eclectic here than on their own material but they’re certainly not playing second fiddle either – this is undoubtedly a collaborative effort. Jon Langford’s gruff Welsh tones are front and centre with the exception of ‘Shipwrecked’ which features guest vocals from fellow Mekon Sally Timms. ‘Mayors Of The Moon’ is a feisty collection, the performances often betraying Langford's punk roots. The lyrics are frequently as unflinching as they are wryly amusing – “Are you an entertainer, We grope in the gloom of this stale Hyatt room, Yeah I’m a real performer, I’ll swallow this run and blow coke up your bum” – being a particularly ripe example! Elsewhere the lyrics on ‘American Pageant’ and ‘What Makes Johnny Run?’ are both tragically prophetic bearing in mid current events. Both Langford (with the Waco Brothers) and the Sadies have recently released their own albums so there’s a danger this joint venture may slip through the cracks as a result. That would be a pity though as ‘Mayors Of The Moon’ is an entertaining, at times thought provoking excursion that’s definitely worth checking out.

Track Listing:-

1 Drugstore
2 Looking Good For Radio
3 American Pageant
4 Little Vampires
5 What Makes Johnny Run
6 Strange Birds
7 Up to My Neck in This
8 The Mayor of the Moon
9 Last King of the Road
10 Shipwreck
11 Solitaire Song
12 Are you an Entertainer