Mach Schau
Demonstration One
Ladies and gentleman, Mach Schau have entered the building, and they look like they mean business. In fact, they’ve sauntered in with fists full of beer and tatty shoes. I reckon they think they own the joint.
Opening with the Clash-esque ‘Feel This Way’, a horde of trashy guitars get the accompaniment of crashing drums and a Jake Burns style vocals. The urgency of the track is both reminiscent of proto-punk, it’s got some rock and roll, and serves as a reminder to those old punk bands that still tour of how their songs used to sound before they were slowed down and polished up.
‘Shoot the Blues’ is a different entity all together, with a combination of The Jam meets modern-indie sound and a more restrained feel than the race-car that is ‘Feel This Way’. A pleasant chorus slides anonymously past before the altogether more interesting verse kicks back in once more. Things are cranked back up for fantastic closing track, ‘She Said’. With the best chorus on the record as well as some impressive musical moments, this is a sure-fire winner that captures the perfect moment between punk and power-pop (without losing out on either count).
This isn’t a spotless recording, sporting as it does the cracking edges of near-distortion and the soiled knee-caps of mischievous exploration. However, what self-respecting punk rock album would happily sit by while endless production and mastering was applied to what should be a raw and gritty territory?
Mach Schau Articles
Written by Smith on
