In 2002 the frontman and creative force behind The Beautiful Girls began riding the wave as the band’s Morning Sun EP became the radio hit of the Australian Summer. In 2010, after 12 world tours, eight records and 285,000 album sales, the wave reached a musical high-water mark with the critically acclaimed Spooks – a dub tour de force which peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts and debuted at number one on the Australian Independent charts. The album won over critics around the world and took McHugh to the US for two national tours in the one year. The first with his band to see the old fans and the second to the church of John Butler with nothing but an acoustic guitar between him and a new cast of thousands. The latter was a watershed moment – and now the tide has receded to reveal a new world of inspiration for one of Australia’s best-loved songwriters.
“Spending a year of my life working on Spooks was an amazing journey and it’s a brilliant record, but The John Butler tour was as influential to me as anything in my musical career so far. It was such a grounding, emotionally-fulfilling experience. I’m used to playing in a band to a few thousand people who are having a party, but playing solo to two or three thousand people, I felt connected. Music, for me, has always been about communication. It was a turning point as far as working out what I was going to do next – and that’s what 2011 is about,” Mat muses.
The result is devolution. Mat McHugh’s first album as a naked, raw solo artist. After a decade of striving to get bigger, better, louder and more colourful, the focus is on being transparent. Simple. Honest. Intimate.
This is a roots record in every sense of the word. No computers. No auto-tune. Nothing but guitar, bass and drums. It’s back to where it all began, albeit through the eyes of a man who has spent three quarters of the last decade sampling beats from around the globe and melting them down in his own brand of earthenware.
Devolution isn’t about fashion. It isn’t about what everyone else is doing. It isn’t about trends. Devolution isn’t about a marketing plan and guest appearances. Devolution is about music at its purest. “I want to contribute to the musical landscape in 2011 by making something more about feelings and emotions than it is about musical cleverness,” McHugh says.
“My favourite records, whether they’re Johnny Cash or Nick Drake sound like they could have been made in 2011 or 1960. There’s nothing added, it’s a simple formula. They’re just a little statement of what the people who created them believed to be inherent truths and that’s all I’m trying."
Bad Blood
Mat McHugh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Counting all the things she's got
Jack tried being a communist
But just kept counting all the things he missed
And after all this talk of bad blood
Of enemies and of destruction
We realised there really was none
Spinning around the sun
The aces in their motorcades
The joker and the king of spades
I'd try being your best mistake
But i know that it's my heart you'll break
And after all this talk of bad blood
Of enemies and of destruction
We realised there really was none
It just gets lonely
Spinning around the sun
Minga =D
Mat McHugh's Bad Blood is a melancholic tune about the human tendency to accumulate material possessions and take lonely routes even in a world of plenty. The song begins with the image of a queen counting her possessions in the parking lot, suggesting that she is someone who values material wealth above all else. Jack, on the other hand, probably tried communism as a reaction to the glamorization of capitalism and the conformity it promotes. However, he too falls into the same trap of counting what he lacks instead of cherishing what he has. These characters represent the paradox of our times: we have access to an unprecedented amount of resources but end up feeling empty and isolated. In reality, we are all spinning around the sun, looking for meaning and connection in a vast universe.
The chorus of Bad Blood, "And after all this talk of bad blood, Of enemies and of destruction, We realised there really was none," juxtaposes the emptiness of our modern lives with the rhetoric of conflict that we often hear from politicians and the media. The song suggests that the only enemy we have is ourselves, our greed, and our inability to connect with others. We have created a world of abundance but are still stuck in a mindset of scarcity. In essence, Bad Blood is a call for introspection, for breaking free of the capitalist mindset, and for finding joy and fulfillment in the present moment.
Line by Line Meaning
The queen is in the parking lot
The woman in charge is examining her possessions in a public space
Counting all the things she's got
Taking stock of all her belongings
Jack tried being a communist
The man attempted an alternative political ideology
But just kept counting all the things he missed
However, his focus remained on the things he lacked
And after all this talk of bad blood
Despite all the conflict and animosity that's been discussed
Of enemies and of destruction
Of rivals and violence
We realised there really was none
It became clear that there was no actual hostility or threat
It just gets lonely
It's simply a lonely existence
Spinning around the sun
Moving through life without any sense of direction or purpose
The aces in their motorcades
The powerful and influential people traveling in their luxurious vehicles
The joker and the king of spades
The wild card and the dominant figure
I'd try being your best mistake
I would attempt to be your most memorable blunder
But i know that it's my heart you'll break
Yet I am aware that in doing so, you will shatter my heart
Writer(s): Matthew Mchugh
Contributed by Bella K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.