This is Serious Mum (TISM) – Machiavelli and the Four Seasons

This is Serious Mum (TISM) are making their way back into the public sphere after being a crowd favourite as Australia’s entry to  Eurovision 2015.  So right now is the best time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 1995 release Machiavelli and the Four Seasons.

The album is an odd combination of several genres but the main two that stand out is a mixture of punk rock and electronic music. The guitar, bass and drums throughout the album have a 1990s style of punk using very basic chord progressions and light distortion with upbeat and simple drums. At the same time, layered with these instruments is 1990s electronic music heavily influenced by the genre house. With this combination it gives the album an upbeat tone of synth driven dance music with soaring guitars.

The lyrical side of the album aims to give a reflection of music and Australia. In the opening track, (He’ll Never be An) Ol’ Man River, the idea of idolizing celebrities, even when they are bad influences, is taken apart when it rips into certain celebrities for their lifestyle choices (e.g. Bon Scott and drinking, Jimi Hendrix and hard drugs). The song as a whole gives the listener a sampler for the rest of the album as it includes synth driven verses and an overwhelming guitar filler.

Another good example of their unique mix of punk and electric is the track Lose Your Delusion II, which is a rip of the 1991 Guns N’ Roses album. The song uses spacey vocals on top of soft house music with the same distorted guitar playing over. The following track !Uoy Sevol Natas has a similar structure. The title is ‘Stalin loves you!’ spelt backwards and this plays on the old belief that rock music, when played backwards, aim to spread ‘evil’ messages.

Some of the other stand out tracks include Greg! The Stop Sign!! which sounds like a recycled Beach Boys song and Play Mistral for Me which looks at how musicians should take care of their fans. The last two tracks, Give Up for Australia and Russia, are very dance heavy.

Looking at the album as a whole, it creates this mixture of dance and punk, the likes of which no one at the time truly had a grasp on. In parts you can hear what could be played at a Daft Punk show whilst other parts sound like you could be front row for Green Day c. 1994. 20 years on and it is still a standout in the Australia music scene.

 Below is (He’ll Never be An) Ol’ Man River, written by TISM