Mc Mabon - Buy This Now Before Badness, Hate Greed

  by Andy Snowball

published: 3 / 9 / 2003

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Review

Contrived wackiness on a record is always a turn-off. Novelties are rarely successful and when they are that can never be sustained. So what are you doing, man? MC Mabon – Gruff Meredith, formerly of Welsh hip hoppers Tystion – has seen fit to conceal what might have been a half-decent record under an album of half-arsed 'joke' songs parading themselves as devastatingly cutting wit. Sometimes he can be incisive. 'Fake American Accents', for one, makes a good point but not very well – it's so primitive it sounds like a nursery rhyme. But I would be a lot more forgiving if the whole rest of the album wasn't spent unsuccessfully trying to show us how out-there he is. From the pseudo-porn artwork, with surreal 'I'm mad me' messages, to –tee hee – 'Hotels and B&B's R Shit Cos Yuv Gotta Pay 4 2 Nites If U Wanna Lie In' this record is just lame gag after lame gag. Which is disappointing, because the music itself is sometimes affecting. Folk-tinged and eclectic in a sort of cobbled-together way, there are even some touches of invention. But combined with Meredith's retarded wit though, it becomes at best a frustrating listen. Maybe he should stop hiding behind student humour and dare to be serious. It could be worthwhile.

Track Listing:-

1 Wona Eat You Alive
2 I Can't Believe How Stupid
3 Braces Nation
4 Dominatrix Woman
5 Fake American Accents
6 Hotels And B+B's R Shit
7 Just Another Pathetic Little Song
8 Weithie
9 To Lose In France
10 New Rules
11 Croeso Nol
12 Cwpwl Archvarchnad
13 Byd Mawr Cas
14 Hebog Framor