After an extended hiatus of a dozen or so years, the mighty machete returned to the fray in style around this time last year with a live show supporting another legendary Scottish band who had also returned after too long out of the limelight. That show in Room 2 featuring The Hedrons and f.o. machete will live long in the memory, both bands at the top of their game, with The Hedrons celebrating the release of their long awaited sophomore album and f.o. machete quite obviously just stoked to be back playing live. Now it is f.o. machete’s turn to release a new album, their hotly anticipated follow up to My First Machete.
That second album from the band with perhaps the most Glaswegian name ever is the triumphant Mother of a Thousand, featuring ten masterpieces of no wave alt-rock genius that scythe through the competition with their unique flair and preposterously addictive catchiness.
The machete have taken the loud-quiet-loud blueprint that marked out the Pixies from their competition and have made it all their own, with songs that move from quiet almost whispered quirkiness all the way through a gamut of many textured sounds to some gargantuan fuck off riffs (sorry, I couldn’t not do it).
The album opens with the comeback single Confetti Crown, from which the album takes its title, the buzzing hum of the intro breaking into Natasha’s distinct vocal topping off distorted guitar lines and a thunderous backbeat, the arrangement of the song is perfect, never once does the powerful instrumentation overpower that superb voice, they create the perfect foil for each other as the song reaches is cacophonous crescendo. Bicycle Spokes brings the energy down slightly, but with no less passion and vigour, the song still builds and the instruments layer, creating a strangely diaphanous potency with lyrics alluding to noticing the everyday beauty around you.
That is just the start of a sonic journey that twists and turns in dramatic style, one minute you’re letting Natasha’s calming hushed tones wash over you, like the intro to the ambitious Skeletor, and the next you’re surrounded by the likes of Jettison’s crashing tumultuous riffs and thundering tempos rising and falling, sometimes it feels almost like Bjork has taken over vocals for Sonic Youth. As the songs all develop they begin to reveal little gems that bring a smile to your face or maybe it’s just me that thinks of You’re So Vain every time I hear the “dance with the lights off” refrain in Kicking Up Dust, then there are the pop culture references, like the Commodore 64, in Kids of the Summer that take people of a certain age back to a moment in time.
Like the joyous masterpiece that is Skeletor, and its wry lyrical humour, The Most Dangerous Thing You Own with its edgy staccato riffs, switches between the delicate dynamism in Natasha’s vocal breaks and the gloriously furious racket created by Paul on guitar. Then, just when you least expect it, as the album edges towards its end, Milk appears like an emotional gut punch, a beautifully affecting song whose understated arrangement and whispered vocal delivery have an immediate impact.
The album closes in style with The Enhance Button is Not Working, the arrangement packed with a raw, wrought energy that is matched by Natasha’s impassioned vocal delivery.
Every one of the songs on this killer album is a titanic force to be reckoned with, deadly infectious hooks abound throughout, with little surprises jumping out to delight you at every twist and turn of the complex arrangement of the songs, each of which is a mini epic that will have you discovering something new on every listen, keeping things fresh and new no matter how many times you turn that record over and drop the needle into the groove once again, and believe me I’ve done it so many times now I’ve lost count. I don’t ever see myself getting bored with this album, there is so much thought and effort put into each one of these sparkling diamonds, individually they shine, but put them together as a collective and you have a crowning glory that is going to take some beating this year.
They may be Kicking Up Dust on the album, but you need to haul your arses to Nice ‘n’ Sleazy on the 23rd of March to watch them kick up a storm at their rescheduled album launch gig thanks to Storm Eowyn.
