Nearly 50 years into their esoteric career, the Mekons return with Horror, a typically warped, politically charged reflection of the world’s current state of disarray. The album, written in late 2022, feels eerily prophetic, unpacking the legacies of British imperialism and the cyclical nature of human folly with the band’s signature mix of punk, country, dub, and pure anarchy.

As always, the cult heroes resist classification. Horror is a collision of influences - polka waltzes rubbing up against electronic noise, folk storytelling steeped in punk defiance, and music hall theatrics meeting classic rock & roll energy. The band has spent decades defining a sound that reflects their nomadic existence, from Leeds to California, and even Siberia, and it’s all tangled up in this beautifully chaotic record.

Leading the charge is “Mudcrawlers,” a song that evokes the early jangle of R.E.M. and the Chills, with nearly the whole band joining Jon Langford in a darkly poetic meditation on the Irish famine and the refugees it created. “War Economy” also stands out, an ominous, riff-heavy march laced with razor-sharp commentary. It sneers with bleak humor, as Tom Greenhalgh spits out one-liners that could be ripped straight from a neon sign created by neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer. The band’s longtime accordionist and vocalist, Rico Bell, takes the lead on “Fallen Leaves,” a chilling, Dylan-esque reckoning with climate catastrophe. Echoing Rolling Thunder era storytelling and the Pogues at their most introspective, the track is drenched in haunting violin from Susie Honeyman, conjuring the end of days with a Celtic-folk-meets-Hammer-Horror mystique.

But don’t expect Horror to wallow in despair. Even in the wreckage, the Mekons find room for a drunken waltz, a rebellious anthem, and moments of pure, raucous joy. With bassist and studio mastermind Dave Trumfio sculpting the sound, the album is a reminder of the Mekons’ special ability to surprise, unsettle, and inspire. The Mekons - Langford, Sally Timms, Greenhalgh, Trumfio, Honeyman, Bell, Steve Goulding, and Lu Edmonds - remain one of the last truly fearless bands standing. And together they’ve made an album that’s exactly what we need right now.