mclusky’s i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley proves the Welsh noise-punk instigators didn’t reunite to coast on old stories. They came back to make a fresh mess, and with these six tracks, they sound fully committed to the chaos.

Few bands have a timeline quite like mclusky. Formed in the late ’90s, the noise trio built a reputation on razor-edged post-punk, bruising riffs, and a sense of humor sharp enough to leave marks before calling it quits in 2005 after three albums. The road back began quietly in 2014 with benefit shows to help save a local venue. One thing led to another, and by 2025 they returned with the world is still here and so are we, their first album in more than twenty years. Now they keep the momentum going with i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley.

What made mclusky matter in the first place is obvious. They can sound hostile, hilarious, and strangely precise all at once. Opening track “i know computer” kicks in with a bruising bass groove and guitars that lunge forward like they’ve got unfinished business. Falkous barking “It’s a real nice feeling!” in the middle of the storm feels like both a joke and a mission statement.

Elsewhere, “as a dad” barrels ahead on a grimy slide-guitar figure and stomp-heavy rhythm, turning nonsense into something weirdly anthemic. “spock culture” leans into the band’s gift for combining brainy references with blunt-force noise, the kind of song that could unite punk lifers and sci-fi obsessives in the same room. Even when mclusky get unexpectedly softer on the closing lo-fi drift of “that was my brain on elves,” there’s still mischief in the wiring.

The best comeback records answer a simple question: why now? mclusky’s recent run answers it clearly. Because they still have something to say, still know how to say it loudly, and still understand that great punk can be savage and funny at the same time. i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley doesn’t feel like an epilogue. It feels like a band enjoying another chapter.