Banking, Violence and the Inner Life Today

Infobox Album |
Name = Banking, Violence And The Inner Life Today
Type = Album
Artist = McCarthy


Released = April 1990
Genre = Indie pop
Label = Midnight Music
Producer = Kevin Harris
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hiftxqr0ld6e]
Last album = "The Enraged Will Inherit The Earth"
(1989)
This album = "Banking, Violence And The Inner Life Today"
(1990)

"Banking, Violence And The Inner Life Today" was the third and final album by the band McCarthy. It was released in April 1990.

The final album by McCarthy sees no letup in the search for the perfect pop tune. Tim Gane begins to display the hypnotic layering that would become his trademark in Stereolab. However, "Banking..." is still characterized by jangly guitars and up-tempo pop drumming. Malcolm Eden's nasal vocals are backed by Laetitia Sadier, future Stereolab singer. This album displays some of the most adept left-wing lyrics on offer.

Never a band to indulge in political airheadedness, on "Use a Bank I'd Rather Die" McCarthy pours scorn on hippie idealism, whereas new age beliefs are rounded upon in "The Well-Fed Point of View". The attitude so prevalent in the Margaret Thatcher/Ronald Reagan era is solidly attacked on "And Tomorrow the Stock Exchange Will Be the Human Race". Always keen to court controversy, support for the Provisional Irish Republican Army is espoused on "Take the Shortest Way With the Men of Violence".

Track listing

#"I'm on the Side of Mankind As Much As the Next Man" - 4:19
#"And Tomorrow the Stock Exchange Will Be the Human Race" - 5:33
#"Now Is the Time for an Iron Hand" - 4:27
#"The Drinking Song of the Merchant Bankers" - 5:55
#"Write Your MP Today" - 3:53
#"Use a Bank I'd Rather Die" - 4:27
#"I Worked Myself Up From Nothing" - 3:40
#"The Well-Fed Point of View" - 3:07
#"Get A Knife Between Your Teeth" - 3:05
#"Take the Shortest Way with the Men of Violence" - 4:39
#"You'll Have to Put an End to Them" - 2:23

Re-releases

In 1999, the album was re-released on CD with I Am A Wallet. The tracklisting is:

#"An MP Speaks" - 2:10
#"Monetaries" - 1:57
#"The International Narcotics Traffic" - 2:25
#"The Way of the World" - 2:28
#"Antinature" - 1:42
#"Charles Windsor" - 1:38
#"The Vision of Peregrine Worsthorne" - 2:50
#"The Well Of Loneliness" - 2:29
#"The Wicked Palace Revolution" - 2:32
#"God Made the Virus" - 1:40
#"The Funeral" - 1:51
#"A Child Soon in Chains" - 1:46
#"In the Dark Times" - 1:44
#"The Procession of Popular Capitalism" - 3:07
#"I'm on the Side of Mankind As Much As the Next Man" - 4:19
#"And Tomorrow the Stock Exchange Will Be the Human Race" - 5:33
#"Now Is the Time for an Iron Hand" - 4:27
#"The Drinking Song of the Merchant Bankers" - 5:55
#"Write Your MP Today" - 3:53
#"Use a Bank I'd Rather Die" - 4:27
#"I Worked Myself Up From Nothing" - 3:40
#"The Well-Fed Point of View" - 3:07
#"Get A Knife Between Your Teeth" - 3:05
#"Take the Shortest Way with the Men of Violence" - 4:39
#"You'll Have to Put an End to Them" - 2:23

Singles

"Get A Knife Between Your Teeth"

Personnel

*Malcolm Eden – Voice and Guitar
*Tim Gane – Lead Guitar
*John Williamson – Bass Guitar
*Gary Baker – Drums
*Lætitia Sadier – Vocals