Leatherface
Mush

Imagine a mix with Lemmy from Motorhead on vocals and Hüsker Dü on instruments, and you have a very rough description of Leatherface, a British band from Sunderland famous in their homeland but highly underrated elsewhere. With this "Mush" from 1991, their third work, they mark the peak of the band with a practically perfect record.

After two very good albums, but with productions that don't help, despite the genre allowing it, "Mush," with finally an acceptable production, represents their masterpiece; 12 punk rock gems in a style that resembles more the American version of the genre than the traditional British one, and that if it had been "made in California" or released by the label with the capital "E," it would surely have much more prominence on the world stage today.

It's difficult to do a track by track of a record like this; all the songs deserve a mention, all the lyrics are sublime and profound, and the music on all tracks will make those who don't know them jump up wondering why they don't have them in their discography. For this reason, I only mention my top 3 of the album: "I want the moon," the opening and easy-listening song that vaguely reminds both in the intro and in the way the initial verse is sung, "It's alright for you" by the Police (of which the remastered version of Mush includes the cover of "Message in the bottle") in a punk version, "How lonely," the second track of the album, puts to shame the best American melodic hardcore bands, very fast and with a cruder and hoarser sound, and "Dead industrial atmosphere" which talks about their city, Sunderland, perhaps in the long run the best of the record, although not as immediate as the others but with an interesting intro and a truly fantastic text (..the air in here is dead industrial and so austere, the air round here smells of religion and Vauxies beer..), guitars that intertwine to perfection and the attack after the intro that would make Fat Mike and company widen their eyes, considering it was 1991.

In short, a great record with 12 pearls that I absolutely recommend, a must-have for anyone who loves the genre, and to be included in the kit of aspiring punkers, as well as having to be rightfully placed where it deserves, in the pantheon of 90s punk rock albums.