ALBUM REVIEW: The Media Whores – A Light In A Dark Place
(Twenty Stone Blatt)
The Media Whores are a four-piece melodic punk rock band from Falkirk in Scotland, and this is their fourth studio album.
It came out on CD in July 2021, five years after their last original material (though a compilation, A Decade Of Defiance, was released in 2019).
Now the record collectors among you will be pleased to learn it’s now available on limited edition red vinyl (albeit with a track less than the CD).
I’ve seen The Media Whores’ sound compared to The Saints, Ramones and even Killing Joke, but here I’d liken them most to The Stranglers’ classic late ’70s sound.
It’s certainly a step up from previous releases in terms of production, and things kick off in style with Big Pharma, a swipe at the drugs companies for whom “a patient cured is a customer lost”.
Las Vegas Of The North is dedicated to the dubious delights of Blackpool (“I feel like I’m stuck in Jeremy Kyle hour”), while Red – whose jagged bassline JJ Burnel would be proud to call his own – looks at acts of terror from a perpetrator’s perspective.
Consumerism Is The King is another track straight out of The Stranglers’ mould, with its laconic mantra of “let’s go shopping, for things we can’t afford, let’s go shopping, max out the credit card”.
A rockabilly beat moves Miss Inedible along at a fair old pace, before the world of online dating comes under the spotlight on It’s Not Alright.
Another faster track, Colouring In, revisits the murky waters of relationships in the second half of the album. They’re on a roll now, and capitalism is revisited on Money (“there’s not enough to go round”) is another contender for standout track.
Is The Cold War Getting Warmer? points the finger firmly at oil as the reason for global conflict, while The Bulldog Bites Back recalls a bad trip to Amsterdam.
The Media Whores are proudly anti-fascist, and the rise of the right comes under their gaze in two songs, Sufferers and the CD-only track Albert Finney, the latter pointing out the perils of not learning the lessons of the past.
Things come to a close (on the vinyl version at least) with Cruel Britannia, whose repeated refrain insists “Britannia waives the rules, I want out…”.
The Media Whores are Craig A (vox and rhythm guitar), Doogie Mackie (bass), Chris McArthur (lead guitar) and Andy Russell (drums). Watch out for them at your local DIY punk venue, or supporting Buzzcocks in Scotland on March 19-20.
In the meantime you can buy this album and check out their back catalogue at their Bandcamp page HERE. It’s a real grower. 8/10.
