Tricky one, but has there been discussion over the potential antisemitic imagery of City Hobgoblins and in particular the cover art for the Elastic Man/City H EP? As noted with unsurprising scholarly precision by dannyno on Discogs, the building with the hexagram on the left is actually a Catholic Church/school. Nevertheless, it’s hard not to read it as a Star of David, especially in conjunction with the ‘hobgoblin’ design, since the antisemitic association of goblins and Jewish stereotypes has been discussed more broadly in lots of forums. Moreover, seen next to the smashed windows of 23 Fairfax Road, it’s possible to interpret the imagery through the (broken) lens of the Kristallnacht and antisemitic vandalism in general. I don’t mean to suggest the song might itself be antisemitic — the lyrics and imagery show MES at his neo-gothic, syncretic best and it would be far too simplistic to give so blunt a reading. I just wonder if antisemitism and its historic imagery are one of the many things being called into play…
P.S. I await an inevitable link to an archived post where this has all been said before. I did try to find an existing discussion of this before posting — honest!