The Margaret Hooligans – Royal Octopus Canal (2024)
Just as I happen to push one song from The Margaret Hooligans from my mind, the duo hit me again with more pounding rage from another single. Following the critically acclaimed ‘Alley Cat Stomp’, Meg Cratty (vocals and electric ukelele) and Mr Strontium (drums and percussion) screeched into 2024 with ‘Main Street Zulus’. They head from there to ‘Sammy wasn’t a good boy’, a collaboration with the indie-rock band I Am The Unicorn Head; and this month they jump about with their latest release ‘Royal Octopus Canal’. Are you brave enough to delve into this with me?
Known for an eclectic blend of Bikini Kill, Sex Pistols, Hole and Patti Smith, the ferocity of The Margaret Hooligans knocks people’s socks off with their sound. While insanity reigns, a harmonic sincerity and soothing belies the madness. When it comes to ‘Royal Octopus Canal’, the US-based duo lean toward a hard rock song with a warm smoothness to Cratty’s vocals.
Recorded in the basement of Piety Street Publishing, mixed and produced by Mr Strontium and mastered by KRAMER of Shimmy Disc Records, ‘Royal Octopus Canal’ combines heavy drums with rolling electric ukelele flooding the single with hard-hitting classic rock. Yet, while ‘Royal Octopus Canal’ is tinged with rock inspiration, Mr Strontium inserts the distinctive Margaret Hooligans’ eclecticism. Piercing the flowing single with obscure percussion, the clips, clicks and twangy gratings simultaneously belies the rock sound and bind it in an innovative shimmer of “what was that”.
Along with the off-kilter distortion true of The Margaret Hooligans, Cratty and Mr Strontium tackle profound themes and the distressing emotions beneath. ‘Royal Octopus Canal’ is “a gritty breakup song… an anguished lament where Cratty bemoans what went wrong… in this case, she growls along like a wounded animal to greater effect.” Sincere and sentimental with gruff vulnerability and pain, ‘Royal Octopus Canal’ is the fifth single off The Margaret Hooligans’ upcoming album ThunderHole Rock ‘n’ Roll.
In addition to the single, The Margaret Hooligans release an official music video for ‘Royal Octopus Canal’. This video can be viewed below or on their YouTube channel.
Find out more about The Margaret Hooligans on their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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