British punk band Mekons just want to make you think

For nearly 35 years, England’s Mekons have been making rabble-rousing music that encompasses punk, folk, synth-pop, country and just about everything else under the sun. All of that effort has earned them a rabid cult following, massive critical acclaim and little commercial success.

“No one buys our records,” singer Sally Timms says with a laugh.

The group’s latest album, “Ancient & Modern,” draws parallels between 1911, just before World War I began, and today. Band members say both were shallow times when people didn’t pay enough attention to important issues. While the Mekons don’t expect to change the world, they do want to make people think.

“We hope to be part of a conversation,” says singer/guitarist Jon Langford. “I’ve got teenage kids, and when I talk to them about issues that concern me, they think I’m a paranoid loon. They don’t think there’s anything wrong with the world. I’ll ask, ‘Don’t you worry Facebook is doing this or that, or about chips in your cell phone?’ I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but they think I’m Ted Kaczynski or something.”

If you go: The melons are performing an electric show at the Bell House Thursday at 7 p.m. 149 Seventh St., Gowanus, 718-643-6510. $20

The band is performing an acoustic show at City Wwinery on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. 155 Varick St., 212-608-0555. $22-$28.