Against Nature

Cathal Coughlan’s acid-bath wit had always been a bit surplus to requirements in Microdisney. But he put it at the heart of his new project, Fatima Mansions, with songs that were by turns furious, scatological and irreverent – and yet which never failed to deliver a big pop payoff. By the standards of what was to follow the Mansions’ first outing, Against Nature, was curiously measured. From the lilting agitprop of ‘Only Losers Take The Bus’ to the Pet Shop Boys-struck- down-with-Catholic-guilt of ‘13th Century Boy’, this was a record full, nay overflowing, with glimmering choruses and catchy melodies. It finished on a haunting note, with the Scott Walker-esque double punch of ‘Valley Of Dead Cars’ and ‘Big Madness’. Coughlan would go on to write more politically articulate material – Against Nature caught him at a curious crossroads, between Microdisney’s glossy soul-pop and the filth and the fury that lay ahead.

No 161 in 2009, as voted for by over 200 Irish musicians.