Catchy, unrefined, The Clash-influenced punk...
Taking their name from Hamburg-era Beatles, Mach Schau profess to be 'Southampton's finest punk rock 'n' roll group', building up a dedicated fan base and earning themselves support slots with the likes of Special Needs, Arctic Moneys and Babyshambles.
'Feel This Way' bursts straight out of the starting blocks, with big, brash guitar hooks that instantly captures the energy of their dirty rock 'n' roll coupled with trashy British punk. John MacIsaac's shouted vocals echo those of punk heroes Joe Strummer and Paul Weller and combined with a dirty bass line give a really raw, live sound to the track. 'Shoot The Blues' has an instantly more structured sound; though still slightly rough round the edges, this track is much more laid back, with its catchy, shuffling guitar rhythm and infectious melody. While the punk influences are still obviously present, 'Shoot The Blues' is much easier to connect with, and perhaps a little more radio-friendly, until 'She Said' returns to the crazed punk assault of 'Feel This Way', with more simple-but-effective, slightly distorted guitar hooks, undulating bass, pounding drums and crashing cymbals. Up-tempo, intelligent and catchy, with a distinct influence from The Clash, 'She Said' is undoubtedly the best track of the three here.
The dirty, unrefined sound of 'Demonstration One' suggests that Mach Schau are a band who need to be seen live to really appreciate them properly; however, the raw punk energy and catchy, uncomplicated melodies do still manage to be affective on this single, making Mach Schau a band with a lot of potential and well worth keeping an eye on.