MOTHER VULTURE: On Skindred, Seeing What Fits and Choosing Violence.

If there’s one band out there that should have more attention than they get, it’s MOTHER VULTURE. The band always get recognised for having infectious energy on stage, and with their newest album, Cartoon Violence, it's only on the up from here.

Making sure 2026 will be their year by kicking it off with the release of their latest album Cartoon Violence, we spoke with guitarist Brodie Maguire to discuss the creative process and the evolution of MOTHER VULTURE. The band have had an extremely packed past year or so with festival appearances and releasing singles. Brodie reflects on their busy 2025, “We went out to the Netherlands at the start of this year and did four dates, then we’ve just got back from Belgium in December. We also did a couple of dates with SKINDRED over the past year.”

This influence is heard on the record, as Benji Webb features on the interlude, Corporate Programming. “We got Benji from SKINDRED to do a bit of narration for one of the tracks, which came from being on tour with them, which was pretty cool.”  

Whilst this was a massive triumph, they did face some struggles with recording the album. Brodie reflects, “Being in a band and having to work a nine-to-five alongside it makes juggling things pretty difficult.” All band members having different schedules whilst trying to write and record an album isn’t going to be easy for any band, but MOTHER VULTURE made it work. “When we did the drums, Georgie, our vocalist, wasn't there, and then we did all the guitars, the bass and the vocals separately in our home studio.” 

Cartoon Violence was also almost entirely self-produced, with SIMON JACKMAN (LASTELLE, BLOOD COMMAND) mixing it. Speaking on how different making the record was, Brodie explains, “All of the recording, apart from the drums, we did ourselves at home. So it’s been a little bit weird not working with each other in that sort of sense. Usually, when we do record, we're in a room together. It's been pretty chaotic.” 

Talking further on the making of the album and having to sit with it unreleased for so long, Brodie tells us, “I'm going to get a sense of relief from getting it out there.  When you make an album, you're always sat on it for so much longer than you want to be, because by the time that the first single comes out, ideally you want the album to be done, if not very close to being done. 

"We've been sitting around with this thing for what feels like a really long time, because you have to take into account getting the vinyl made, which can take months and months.” 

 Cartoon Violence may just be what MOTHER VULTURE was made to sound like, and fans knew this from the first few singles. “I would say especially the first track that we put out, Slow Down, that was a bit of an indicator that we were taking things in a slightly different direction, at least in terms of the production value and how we were recording things. It's a bit darker and that seemed to go down really well.  We got to work with Fender and Gretch on the Phoenix track, which is exciting, especially for a guitarist.” 

When discussing how many songs they had written in total for the album, they had around seven that didn't quite make the cut, as they had to shorten it down to the ones that they felt fit the album the best. “We maybe had like 17 tracks in total at one point, we kind of whittled it down to the best ones. But they might see the album after this one, because there's some potential in those ones.” 

MOTHER VULTURE has always been praised for their stage presence and live show in general, this would stem from the connection all of them have. Instead of saying which artists influenced them when writing the album, they all influenced each other with ideas, and the fact that all their music tastes are so different made the album become a little bit of something for everyone.  

Brodie expands on how this affects the writing process, “What kind of happens is, Chris will come along with an idea for a song, then I'm doing second-hand listening to what Chris's influences are. Based on what he's writing, I will come up with an idea or what will end up following up on another song that he's written and vice versa. Chris isn't massively into classic rock like I am necessarily, but he ended up writing Phoenix, which is arguably the most classic rock-sounding song on the album, just because that's the way we bounce off each other and influence each other.” 

This is the album for you if you like a little bit of everything in your playlists. It also features some MOTHER VULTURE inside jokes. “We kind of in our heads always liked the idea of getting a bit more comedy and a bit more silliness into the albums. With a title like 'Cartoon Violence,' it just seemed like this was a good opportunity to do it.” 

MOTHER VULTURE will be heading out on a run of UK shows in February. For the setlist, Brodie hints there will be songs for all old and new fans out there.  “I think most people could appreciate, if you go and see a band, and they don't play any songs that you know or too many new songs, it can be a bit of a drag. The art of it is just to find the balance between getting new stuff out there and not bogging people down with too many songs.” 

CARTOON VIOLENCE is out now on all streaming platforms. “We're just really excited for people to hear it, I think we could all agree that it's the best thing we've ever made. We like the first album a lot, but I think this one captures a lot more of what this band is about.”

MOTHER VULTURE are on tour next week. Find tickets here.

Words: Isabella Jacklin

Photos: Mother Vulture

With Thanks To: Cosa Nostra PR