The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth

AMG Review of The Enraged Will Inherit the Earth

Christian Smillie
All Music Guide

Coming off the back of the controversial single Should the Bible Be Banned -- actually a song against censorship rather than religion -- McCarthy continued their sugar-sweet anarcho-pop campaign. This album is slicker produced than its predecessor, I Am a Wallet, but is in much the same vein with jangly guitars, great pop drumming, and Malcolm Eden's less-than-powerful vocals. Tim Gane's search for the perfect pop tune leads to greater invention in both music and tempo, particularly in the tirade against endless love songs "Boy Meets Girl So What." Most controversial, and also a single, is "I'm Not a Patriot But," which contrasts British left-wing support for Sandanista with the condemnation for the IRA. Enraged Will Inherit the Earth's sales ensured that McCarthy remained at the heart of 1980s indie pop.