Don't let the fact that Natasha Noramly was once the bassist for Scotland's interminably sluggish post-rock latecomers Ganger sour your pre-conceptions toward her latest group Fuck-Off Machete. The differences are night and day.

With one album already under the band's collective belt, their new EP If Gold Was Silver and Silver Was Gold (on Highpoint Lowlife) has Fuck-Off Machete poised to come out swinging wildly (and loudly) in 2006. While the EP's title track begins with a riff reminiscent of something from Helmet's Meantime, it almost immediately shifts gears into the kind of arthouse punk-pop perfected earlier this decade by One Louder faves Life Without Buildings. In fact, there are several instances throughout the EP which betray an appreciation of LWB's Sue Tompkins—if not necessarily in style, certainly in spirit.

Almost as stark an influence would be Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, especially on the track available for download at label's site: "Copper and Lead Fight" (MP3).

So naturally an EP like this would wrap itself up with some noodly, more experimental song, wouldn't it? Not in this case. The most straight-forward of the songs is "Fall in Trust," which proves Fuck-Off Machete can pen a memorable hook if they desire—even if that hook is like an island in the sea of dissonant guitars and pounding 4/4 percussion which surround it.

The label hints the band's second LP will be out this Spring, but the band's site only mentions that another single/EP has been completed and will be released soon. Either way, I'm eager to hear more of what this trio can accomplish.