''OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)'' is an album by the British band

the Mekons The Mekons are a British Post-punk band formed in 1976 as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of co ...

, released in 2002. It was inspired by a collaborative visual arts project sponsored by East Street Arts. The album marked the band's 25th anniversary. "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" was released as a single. The Mekons supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

Although often labeled a

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

album, ''OOOH!''s songs were written by the spring of 2001 and recorded in Chicago. Frontman

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative count ...

thought that many of the songs were about the constructive features of religion. Langford and

Tom Greenhalgh Thomas Charles Greenhalgh is a singer, songwriter and multimedia artist best known as a foundational member with the post-punk band the Mekons. While primarily credited as a guitarist in the early Mekons recordings, Greenhalgh's role as a lead ...

were the only original bandmembers to participate in the recording sessions. The album cover art was based on the

deuterocanonical The deuterocanonical books, meaning 'of, pertaining to, or constituting a second Biblical canon, canon', collectively known as the Deuterocanon (DC), are certain books and passages considered to be Biblical canon, canonical books of the Old ...

Book of Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

. "Lone Pilgrim" is a version of the folk standard. "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" mentions

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

, and the

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, among others.

Edith Frost Edith Frost (born August 18, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter who describes her music as "pensive countrified psychedelia". Born in San Antonio, Texas, Frost moved to Brooklyn in 1990 where she played in the country bands ''The Holler Sis ...

and

Kelly Hogan Kelly Hogan (born January 11, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, often known for her work as a member of Neko Case's backing band, as well as for her solo work. Early and personal life Hogan was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of ...

provided backing vocals on "Take His Name in Vain", which was inspired by gospel music. "Stonehead" is about

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Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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 Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

poll. ''

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'' 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." The ''

Tallahassee Democrat The ''Tallahassee Democrat'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper. It covers the area centered on Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida, as well as adjacent Gadsden County, Jefferson County, and Wakulla County. The newspaper is owned by Gannett ...

'' deemed it "yet another exuberant, drunken foray into the briar patch of country music." ''

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'' opined that, "instead of plundering trends, like well-preserved chameleons David Bowie and Madonna, they stay relevant by setting songs in the actual world." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' 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." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' considered the Mekons "rock 'n' roll's most enduring band-as-family," labeling the album "country and rock, agitprop and comfort food." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said that "Langford's vocals are equal parts ragged gospel, drunk country and spiteful punk." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', ''

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'', and the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' were among the many periodicals that included ''OOOH!'' with the best albums of 2002.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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."

Track listing

References

{{authority control The Mekons albums 2002 albums Quarterstick Records albums