We are very honoured to premiere today the swinging new fuzz-laden single ‘Grenades and Stomach Flu’ from the delightfully named General Mack’s Grapeshot (GMG), the musical project of Australian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer, Mitchy McIvor.
There is a hint of the swinging sixties – a Carnaby Street paisley-infused bounce – in the jaunty pace, with a fuzzy buzz that propels the track like a shot of adrenaline administered straight to the heart. McIvor’s vocals have just a hint of laid back insolence, posed and enigmatic, augmented by backing harmonies. You can detect elements of a psychedelic Beck and The Kills in the insouciant delivery.
The lyrics reflect the cool delivery:
And the sky will open and unzip in two
Like you’re outside time looking through
Don’t go backward unless it’s what you want to do
Leave behind your grenades and stomach flu
Grenades and stomach flu
Grenades and stomach flu
The track comes with a video made of footage from the film ‘The Yesterday Machine’, a fitting assemblage of images that seem to fit the music perfectly with its cadence and rhythms. General Mack says:
The footage reflects the song’s lyrics that explore time and the impact, or otherwise, of transporting
into another time dimension. The absurdist dancing scenes perfectly represent the strange, empty
ways of existence, and the unlikelihood of real change, regardless of any capacity to do so.
This is deliciously laconic stuff from GMG:
‘Grenades and Stomach Flu’ is out on Wednesday, 28 August 2024 and you can pre-save here.
And where does the intriguing moniker come from? General Mack was an Austrian general most remembered for commanding an embarrassing surrender to Napoleon.
Having played in numerous bands in Melbourne and LA, including Cannon and Damndogs, Mitchy
McIvor drew on moments from his previous work creating cinematic textures with drum loops and oscillating synth bass. With scrapbooks filled with notes, phrases, and conversation, GMG’s music takes inspiration from novels, short stories and poetry, drawing on dominant production techniques inspired by the works of Beck, The Kills, St Vincent, Danger Mouse, Serge Gainsbourg, and the War on Drugs. Admirable source material indeed.
Feature Photograph: Laura May Grogan
