Deserted by Mekons (2019, Bloodshot Records)

By Mike Lee
That Much Further West Podcast

The desert is bereft of forgiveness for those who choose to inhabit the shifting land. I don’t speak of those residing in concrete and glistening glass, monolith cities who survive on borrowed hydration and whirring A/C units. No, I am talking about the desert rat. The sidewinder who shifts through the land leaving little trace of existence.

These vagabonds have no archetype. They are devoid of country or nationality and these travelers stand hard with an edge against the wind and sand. They move underground, live in the shadows and embrace the freedom of the chilled night air in the deserted corners of our earth.

The life in the desert makes people adapt to survive, to grow and to learn. “Deserted,” a collection of nine songs by the Mekons is a great capsule of desert life. A genre-bending sonic excursion led by well-seasoned guides who can transform their musical experience into a Saguaro cactus blossom or a scorpion sting.