TISM
Machiavelli and the Four Seasons (1995)
There's not really much one can say about the anarchic, anonymous musical collective known as TISM. They trampled (well, tiptoed I guess would be more accurate) through the Australian musical scene for twenty years, treating the industry, and fame in general, with the complete lack of respect that it deserved. Unafraid to lampoon anyone in the universe (including themselves), their humour and intellectual wankery belied their ability to write pop hooks; I would even argue their intellectual wankery was not put on, these were just intelligent men playing games with all the conventions of rock music.
The group never really enjoyed critical and commercial success (though I reckon they were aiming for that exact outcome), however there was a period when TISM became what they hated - a successful pop band. That period was 1995 with the release of Machiavelli and the Four Seasons. Fusing their previous cheesy alt-rock sound with a healthy dollop of synth-based dance music, the group hit the charts and even won an ARIA (famously accepted by Les Murray, who insulted everybody in Hungarian). It's the subject of today's review in an attempt to explain why the album was such a hit.
The group never really enjoyed critical and commercial success (though I reckon they were aiming for that exact outcome), however there was a period when TISM became what they hated - a successful pop band. That period was 1995 with the release of Machiavelli and the Four Seasons. Fusing their previous cheesy alt-rock sound with a healthy dollop of synth-based dance music, the group hit the charts and even won an ARIA (famously accepted by Les Murray, who insulted everybody in Hungarian). It's the subject of today's review in an attempt to explain why the album was such a hit.
The Album
There are some cracking hit songs on Machiavelli, in keeping with TISM's ability to produce songs with a hook that stick in the ear, or that have you bopping along and singing the hook long after the song has finished.
There is also some abject shite, in keeping with TISM's ability to write songs that are abject shite.
It's a real mixed bag, in other words.
The good songs? Well, there's album opener (and competitor for best known TISM song) (He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River, rather tastelessly referring to River Phoenix, yet despite all the tasteless references to dead celebrities there's a hidden undercurrent of satire, poking fun at the rather modern obsession with vapid celebrity gossip and culture. Musically it's built around a rather loud guitar riff and a pumping dance beat, while vocalists Ron Hitler-Barassi and Humphrey B. Flaubert do their thing. Greg! The Stop Sign!! is a catchy slice of dancepop meets Beach Boys pastiche (just listen to the backing vocals and the falsetto chorus), with a danceable hook, about your future not being set in high school. What Nationality Is Les Murray is a more gentle pop tune about the great SBS football legend, pondering his nationality; the real highlight though are all the samples of Les calling the football with his dulcet tones, which take me back to a much younger time....
Garbage is not, surprisingly; a pulsating, club-ready dance track that later incorporates some booming rock riffs, and vocals that target the youthful obsession with recycling motifs from classic rock, and Aussiemandias is half decent, a throwback to TISM's early alt-rock sound, with lyrics that out the average human as a racist piece of crap who treats everybody else like shit (so, you know, a good positive mood piece.
The shite songs? Give Up For Australia is pointless techno junk with no discernible purpose other than to annoy, Jung Talent Time has rather humourous lyrics (witness the list of barely famous douchebags they name, including themselves) set to bog-standard drum 'n' bass, How Do I Love Thee features pointless screamed lyrics over atonal dance crap and All Homeboys Are Dickheads takes a (fairly accurate) lyric and pairs it with fairly boring pap. The other unmentioned tracks aren't shite but are just....well, filler, really.
My biggest kudos though has to go to the sheer number of literary, cultural and musical references the band pack into the album. TISM have always had a bent for what others would call pretentious intellectualism...in fact, they bask in it. However, they're so good at incorporating it into their material that you can never be sure that it's a joke, even though you know that it is. That fact makes most of the non-awesome material at least interesting, as you listen to the band's cheeky, irreverent lyrics.
The Verdict
It's fair to say Machiavelli and the Four Seasons went big on the back of two songs - (He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River and Greg! The Stop Sign!! - which were rather popular tunes, both making the Hottest 100 top 10 in 1995. In true TISM style, it offends just about everyone unapologetically, but generally wraps it up in a decent musical package.
It's not a stunning album but its highlight cuts are terrific tracks that deserve an audience, even today...and are, to the band's credit, still relevant today. Though that probably reflects horribly on society, and not on TISM.
My rating: ***
Standout Tracks
What Nationality Is Les Murray?
(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River
Greg! The Stop Sign!!
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