- Label: 'Last Night From Glasgow'
- Genre: 'Punk/New Wave'
- Release Date: '11.9.26.'
Our Rating:
A Dogs Breakfast is the long overdue debut album by Mackenzies who formed in Glasgow in 1985, recorded 2 Peel sessions, were on the legendary C86 album, but got sidetracked and failed to complete the bands debut album, well they have finally finished it. Recorded at Glasgow's Green Door Studios and featuring songs from the 80's along with new compositions. The Mackenzies are Paul Turnbull, Iain Beveridge, Gary Weir, Peter Gilmour, David Allen and Peter Ellen.
The album opens with New Breed that has a No Wave dislocated funk edge, to the bad habits they are singing about. Dogs Breakfast has jerky rhythms a wailing sax and fusillades of drums for those who have overstayed their time, stepping out of line, while disjointed nagging away at you like a lost A Certain Ratio tune from way back when.
Man With No Reason is ever so off centre, etiolated distended guitars and declamatory vocals, letting us know what fun that Man With No Reason had for using his gun, this is disturbing and thought provoking with Sax stabs in a Serious Drinking meets the Contortions style.
Blow By Blow has a dirty great bassline and funky guitars in a Talking Heads re-imagining Bauhaus car crash, that works in ways that will give you a pleasant kick in the head while not tolerating ignorance or fallacy.
Mealy Mouths has a central wailing sax solo and dark dancehall bass rumble, allowing the questioning vocals to decide which way to turn, twisting like crazy to those repeating guitars.
The State I'm In (Cake it Mix) takes place in a Delicatessen where they get more than a few tasty treats, with dreams of cold ice cream and funky distractions, deep loping bass line hustling them across the dancefloor, you'll be glad of the State I'm In and the effect it will have on you.
Milk is seeking profit and pleasure at the funkier end of the street, like the Contortions dissolving in a drug induced fog and bright sax stabs, while I wonder what alcohol they have mixed in with the Milk, while they want your blessing in your hand, that sounds like it could be a seedy request.
Dig that mixes its punk funk with an angst that might get you crying out Dig at them, when you hear the lyrics, but it might also mystify, at the thought that they can get Tommy to Dig for them, before the rather lush sax solo.
The album closes with Anomaly that reworks the John Travolta mantra Staying Alive with some vocoder and deep funk guitar and salutary sax, for the desire to stay alive as long as they possibly can, well until they can complete a second album perhaps, while they fantasize with cables twisting around them, increasing the funky energy this album is full of.
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