Future of the Left to take Leeds by force

Cardiff’s Future of the Left will play the Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds on October 2 as part of a UK tour on the back of its most recent record, How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident.

The band is known for its angular take on punk and the vivid lyrics of frontman and “frustrated comedian” Andy ‘Falco’ Falkous.

Despite a back catalogue of seven full-length records, including three with previous band Mclusky, and a solid fan base, Falco said life in Future of the Left had not led any notable financial gain.

“I have only made enough money from music to pay tax once,” he said.

“But I’m not complaining, this is what I decided to do.”

Falco’s approach to songwriting across tracks such as Sorry Dad, I Was Late for the Riots and Robocop 4 has resulted in numerous accusations that he opposed to everything from the Occupy movement to generic action films.

“You can understand people coming to various conclusions but if what you have done is taken every word literally you are really extending the hypothesis,” he said.

A throwaway discussion with a fellow musician about the difficulty of getting music to a wider audience without writing something triumphant and inspiring that could be used over a football montage on Sky Sports lead to the song Goals in Slow Motion.

Falco said the original idea was “a bit of fluff”, but a flatmate insisted it should go on the album.

“Sometimes self-respect can get the best of you,” he said.

The band will play a one-off show next month that will consist entirely of songs from Falco’s previous band, Mclusky, to raise money for Newport venue Le Pub, which has had trouble with noise complaints.

“Just playing the old songs isn’t something we would normally do but we decide to do something nice once in while,” he said. “Venues like that are an essential part of the eco-system for slightly challenging bands.

“It felt like a way to do something people would be excited about.”

Tickets for the Leeds gig are priced £11.