Hailing from Yorkshire, and now South London rooted, DEADLETTER channel the droll fury of The Fall and the lopsided rhythm of Gang of Four into a strain of vehement post-punk, exploring the darker side of existence through a lens of narrative-driven levity. We originally missed last year’s excellent debut single Good Old Days, and the follow-up Fit For Work. The new single is Fall of … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends… DEADLETTER
Canadian psych-gazer, Paul Kasner aka Venus Furs was kind enough to send a vinyl copy of his excellent self-titled debut album all the way across the pond to us late last year, and also made an appearance in our best of the year lists with Page Before. He has a new video for the track New Inspiration, which he describes as “a late-night, moody song about … Continue reading New Video: Venus Furs – New Inspirations
She/Beast is a project of MM faves Arre! Arre!’s vocalist and bassist Katja Nielsen. A result of lockdown and restrictions, and needing an outlet for dealing with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder after a decade of suffering from it, she has put together two EPs mixing lo-fi rock and goth gloom with growling bass and scuzzy guitars. Titled In the Depths of Misery and This Too … Continue reading She/Beast – In The Depths Of Misery
Been clearing down that overfull MM in-box in the post Christmas slump and found a few videos and tunes we missed, or never quite got round to posting. So we’re putting that right now and here they are, better late than never. Let us commence with some pretty fearsome punk blues from Scott H. Biram who released a surprise new album at the tailend of … Continue reading Video Round Up / Catch Up
We were big, big fans of the previous two long players from The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries and the trio have just announced their first new record for seven years. Suns Out Guns Out will see the light of day on 26th February and the first taste comes with the one minute single Betty Ford James, which is about as taut and as intense as you could … Continue reading The Martha’s Vineyard Ferries – Betty Ford James
Time to finish off our reflections on the past twelve months. Here are my own choices for ten favourite tunes that soundtracked lockdown and those life saving dog walks with the gold medal winning picnic thief. 10 Man of Moon – Strangers The long awaited (by me anyway) return of Scottish duo Man of Moon was amply rewarded by their brilliant single Strangers using heavy … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Favourite Tunes of 2020
Here are the annual choices of the past year’s top tuneage from the admirable Chris T Popper. 10. Protomartyr – Processed By The Boys The first song from their new album Ultimate Success Today was everything I’d been waiting for. Loud reverb with a clumping sense of doom from the ever reliable Joe Casey. He’s singing about a future so scary it can’t be that … Continue reading Chris T Popper’s Favourite Tunes of 2020
Now the dust has settled on the last fucked-up year, the inestimable Dr Roddy is the first to share his favourite tunes that saw him through lockdowns 1 and 2, and are probably sustaining him right now in lockdown 3, along with those Breakfast Club and Mannequin re-runs… So without further ado… 10 King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Automation With that guitar mantra … Continue reading Dr Roddy’s Favourite Tunes of 2020
Here is the final part of this year’s countdown of our favourite tunes of 2020. Many thanks to MM stalwarts Chris T Popper and Dr Roddy (whose personal selections will come in the next couple of days) and to anyone who has read / listened and discovered something new in a year that truly sucked. Happy New Year and here’s to a better 2021. … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Best Tracks Of 2020: Part 4 (25-1)
Here is part 3 of our countdown of our favourite 100 songs of 2020. 50 Peel Dream Magazine – Emotional Devotion Creator 49 Slow Weather – Great White Male 48 Blackbird & Crow – The Witch That Could Not Be Burned 47 Frances of Delirium – Quit Fucking Around 46 Adia Victoria – South Gotta Change 45 Dream Wife … Continue reading Mad Mackerel’s Best Tracks Of 2020: Part 3 (50-26)
The Mad Mackerel 