Fuck-Off Machete |
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The press release for My First Machete is generous to a confused media lackey. “Fuck-off: adj. meaning big. Machete: n. type of knife originating in S. America.” Well, it made perfect sense to me in the first place, but when I originally heard the band name, I did wonder what the normal world would make of it. They will just have to deal with it, though, because this music is going to make it difficult to avoid the name much longer.
First, an introduction - remember Ganger? If ever there was a band to be a friend to basses it was Glasgow’s Ganger. Signed to Domino, they took on the world around the time when it was embracing Mogwai, except Mogwai went on to get lost inside their own ideas, whereas Ganger simply dispersed and the members went onto pastures new. Their former bassist Natasha Noramly emerges only now with the new outfit, Fuck-off Machete, rumbling bass and all.
There are a few influences that quickly get thrown up by the Machete. The most striking to me is that Natasha has somehow morphed into a female Scott McCloud. With the low-toned vocals, dissonant chords, and the almost sleazy lyrics borne in the choruses, it’s like a modern incarnation of Girls Against Boys, on the surface. Then there are the throwbacks to classic Sonic Youth, or even Pixies at times, and it’s exciting to hear a Scottish band not only tapping into a wealth of classic indie-rock, but doing something useful with it and creating songs worthy of the comparisons.
‘Minority Gang’ starts things off with an innocuous groove, and begins to unravel its first layer of mistrust with a chorus of, “Would I lie to you, baby?” It’s only the beginning of a dark ride that leads to sultry voices sweeping in from all angles attempting to seduce your mind. It isn’t until ‘Gone’ where there is the first major release of emotion, though, with screams of frustration and desperation breaking the surface, and from that point the album just continues to take you deeper into a world that you don’t really want to experience in reality, yet secretly crave.
Then without warning comes ‘Sudosu’. To date, I’ve never been able to mention it without using the description “mighty”. It’s a fact, so don’t dispute it. Numerous times it’s arrived on the stereo while I’ve been two rooms away, and even then, the bass vibrations building rapidly and emanating through the walls is nothing short of sinister. It’s like Godzilla breaking into my house, except it turns out Godzilla has very breathy, female vocals. Who’d have thought?
Finally, ‘Warm Electricity’, sees the Machete relax, and slip into a dreamlike state of laid-back fantasies. ‘Panda’ too, exists in a slower, trippy world before eventually embracing breakbeats and squealing synths as the album comes to its climax. It’s not as unnatural as it seems on paper, but the track rips itself inside out before leaving the rest of the band behind in a wave of electronic mutilation, if you will excuse the pun. By that stage, My First Machete can do whatever it wants. After a few plays, it becomes an album to rock out with, sometimes to fear, but mainly just to really enjoy. Play it on a good stereo, let the bass shake the building, and unsettle your neighbours in the process.
Steven McCarron
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