Albums

Album Review : Mother Vulture – Cartoon Violence

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Posted on 23 hours ago

9 min read

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Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM

The band that is being pushed as the next big thing release an album that may just be the proof in the pudding. They are new, exciting and as raw as an 80s sleaze band. If you have not heard of the Bristolonians let me take you through a journey that is as eclectic as it is amazing.

Opening track “Mike Check” kicks off with an the old faithful radio flicking opening track and then decends into a scream for the ages and slips into that sleaze genre that had us all pursing our top lips and ramping our attitude to unbelievable heights. It is highlighted by a scorching solo, unrelenting riff and a sense of urgency the like you only know when you are too far away from a toilet when you really, really need to drop the kids off.

Ah, now we know where the album title comes from as we delve into ” Suckering Succotash!”. This band like me spent too many hours in front of Saturday TV and Yosemite Sam was a favourite and this song hits as hard as an acme mallet. Fast, furious, demented and pure enjoyment.

I could never have thought up a song title of “Treadmill” but Mother Vulture are not me and thank God for that. The furious pace that the album started is in full force, the drum kicks are a driving force and the band are playing like their lives depend on it. the Nu Metal is screaming through the cracks and the boys know where to place a breakdown perfectly. Only three tracks in and the band have grabbed my attention fully. There is something very unique about this band.

“Slow Down” does that and at the same time this shows the versatility of the band. We go off track here, a dark, bumpy and trecherous road where you feel your life is in the drivers hands and in this instance you are leaving that driving to Mother Vulture who are basically the inmates taking over the asylum.

Strap on you rbest Biffy Clyro T-shirt for “The Masquerade”. This is a trippy masterpiece. Georgi Valentine does his best stoner vocals before we dip into what in musical terms becomes a Tarrantino movie. This is one left field track but I fell in love with it immediately. It soars above the other tracks with its intent.

Single “Pheonix” was an obvious choice for release. It is anthemic, it is huge and it kicks ass. This is a powerful track that would have any arena bouncing.

After another radio flicking click track we jump into “Double Down” and we keep the huge anthemic feel. The boys are stretching themselves into new genres, they are pushing their own boundaries and with ease. This is what separates them from herd out there.

Chris Simpson gives us the dirtiest bass line on “Knuckles”. This backbone gives us an industrial feel and the song has you off kilter from the off. It leaves you looking around for where the next punch is coming from.

“Bedbugs” is another low down dirty bitch of a track. It falls back into itself, it fights to find what direction it wants to take, Industrial, Rock, Punk where will it land? who cares it is magnificent.

Brodie Maguire digs out the acoustic for “La Matadora” and this track dominates, I do not even know what magic this maniac is pulling off on the guitars but is is fucking awesome. We are back in a hijacked car, It is late at night and we have no lights and are heading downhill without brakes. This is one hell of a ride.

After another intro track we blast into the final track ” Mountain of Youth” and we finish in style. the craziness is there mixed delightfully with pure adrenaline. This is Mother Vulture in a nutshell. You have no idea what they are going to bring next and the lyric I have nothing to prove could be their mantra. They obviously do this for themselves. They have no intention of playing to formulas and that my friend is why this band will succeed.

Cartoon Violence is a statement, it is a marker and it is a gauntlet to the face of all bands out there. Mother Vulture are the dirty little upstart that does not give two shits who you are. They know what they have and they believe in themselves and just like a very young Mike Tyson who walked into a ring with black shorts, black boots and a poncho they know they are going to kick your ass.