OOOH! (Out of Our Heads) is an album by the British band the Mekons, released in 2002.[1][2] It was inspired by a collaborative visual arts project sponsored by East Street Arts.[3] The album marked the band's 25th anniversary.[4] "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" was released as a single.[5] The Mekons supported the album with a North American tour.[6]
| OOOH! (Out of Our Heads) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2002 | |||
| Label | Quarterstick | |||
| The Mekons chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
Although often labeled a 9/11 album, OOOH!'s songs were written by the spring of 2001 and recorded in Chicago.[7][8] Frontman Jon Langford thought that many of the songs were about the constructive features of religion.[9] Langford and Tom Greenhalgh were the only original bandmembers to participate in the recording sessions.[10] The album cover art was based on the deuterocanonical Book of Judith.[11] "Lone Pilgrim" is a version of the folk standard.[12] "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" mentions William Morris, Tony Benn, William Blake, and the Diggers, among others.[7] Edith Frost and Kelly Hogan provided backing vocals on "Take His Name in Vain", which was inspired by gospel music.[11][13] "Stonehead" is about regicide.[14]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| Robert Christgau | A[16] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [17] |
| The News & Observer |  [13] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[18] |
Robert Christgau wrote that "their best album in a decade doesn't exactly come up and give you a kiss... It's slow, sour, dark, grim--obsessed with treachery, conflagration, and death"; he listed the album as the best of 2002 in his ballot for the Pazz & Jop poll.[16][19] Pitchfork called the album "a return to textbook Mekons—from gracefully shambling country to deep-beating tribal rhythms, by way of good, clean rock 'n roll."[18] The Tallahassee Democrat deemed it "yet another exuberant, drunken foray into the briar patch of country music."[20] Salon opined that, "instead of plundering trends, like well-preserved chameleons David Bowie and Madonna, they stay relevant by setting songs in the actual world."[10]
The Washington Post determined that OOOH! "consolidates the band's best-loved styles into a boisterous sort of Brit-folk/country-rock," writing that "most of these downbeat yet defiant songs could have been inspired by either the state of the world or the condition of singer-guitarists Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh's souls."[21] The Boston Globe considered the Mekons "rock 'n' roll's most enduring band-as-family," labeling the album "country and rock, agitprop and comfort food."[22] The Independent said that "Langford's vocals are equal parts ragged gospel, drunk country and spiteful punk."[23]
The Chicago Tribune, The Globe and Mail, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were among the many periodicals that included OOOH! with the best albums of 2002.[24][25][26]
AllMusic wrote that "this is a Mekons recording that pulls out all the stops and brings their deeply rooted psychobilly country base to the fore while engaging their punk roots with abandon."[15]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" | |
| 2. | "Dancing in the Head" | |
| 3. | "This Way Through the Fire" | |
| 4. | "Hate Is the New Love" | |
| 5. | "Take His Name in Vain" | |
| 6. | "Only You and Your Ghost Will Know" | |
| 7. | "Lone Pilgrim" | |
| 8. | "Winter" | |
| 9. | "One X One" | |
| 10. | "Bob Hope & Charity" | |
| 11. | "Stonehead" |
References
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