Vancouver’s favorite pissy-drunk Scottish-Canadian sons are at it again with their third full-length LP “Loch’d and Loaded.” This marks the Real Macs debut in the spotlight, so to speak: on Honest Don’s Records, a subsidiary of Fat Wreck Chords. This is no surprise, as Fat Mike, the owner of both, once raved the Macs were “the best band I’ve ever seen.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Macs, I’d say that if, back in the 13th Century, William Wallace commissioned the Rezillos, the Skids or any other upstart, ’77-style Scottish punk band to march alongside his pipers into battle, this was what you would get: anthemic, melodious and fast-driven punk songs, propelled along by bagpipes, a healthy dose of Scottish pride, and fuelled by the water of life. Suffice to say, the troops would be pumped enough to fill Loch Ness with the bodies of invading Englishmen.

While their first two efforts were solid and, in several instances, brilliant, their third LP eclipses all expectations. The production is first rate and all the songs scream melody. Call-and-response vocals fill the songs and they stick to you like the spleen of the enemy you just hacked apart out on the Scottish glen. The musicianship has also vastly improved and the album rocks with a sense of Gaelic purpose on the verge of going AWOL. The Macs do the ’77-style so right, it’s scary and the pipe playing is top notch and utilized in nearly every track. Lyrically, the Macs deal with themes of rebellion, drinking and most other things Scottish and it works very well, in a more humorous and light-hearted tone than many other bands of the genre.

So, although the other two Macs releases seemed spotty, (and are harder to get anyway) this exceeded all my expectations. Favorite tracks include “Nessie,” “Pickled,” “Scots ‘Round the World” “Swords of a Thousand Men” and my favorite, “Wild Cattieyote.” Also included are the trads “Flower of Scotland,” “Bonnie Mary,” and the hilarious “Donald Where’s Yer Troosers?” (Once done to perfection by the Men They Couldn’t Hang.) Pick it up as soon as possible, by a bottle of Glen Fiddich or Glen Livet (any Glen will do) paint your face, put in “Braveheart” with volume down and throw this in and see if you have any furniture left in tact at the end of the night.

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September 2001

Review by Sean Holland