I'm absolutely deeeee-lighted that Glasgow based musician and producer Julian Corrie, better known to you and me as Miaoux Miaoux, is back with a brand new album dropping on Chemikal Underground on 1st June.
From that album comes lead track It's The Quick. Sharp angular beats, pitch shifting every now and then, as well as urgent synths, Corrie's usual wispy vocals juxtaposed with the dead samples, the whole track is a glorious fusion of trance, pop and dancefloor melody. It all get's a bit excitable towards the end, providing Miaoux Miaoux hasn't lost any of his frenzied enthusiasm during his down time.
Released for Record Store Day on 18th April, Groucho is the latest single from the ever veritable Glasgow duo Tuff Love. It's hot on the heals of their last EP Dross which came out via Lost Map back in February, proving the bank don't wait around to make the next impact.
Groucho bursts out with intent. An short intro that wouldn't be out of place in a Cure track, warps into a sun-baked, forceful track, which retains a 'laid back' vibe throughout partially thanks to those lazy vocal harmonies. Suse and Julie recorded this track at the same time as the Dross EP but left it off. Listening to the tracks together you can tell why, and as a stand alone single Groucho really hits home.
The track is available on a split 7" backed by Portrait from London's Lazy Day. Go grab a copy from your local record shop or direct from Lost Map.
When you are a solo artist, the last thing you want if for people to forget your name, which is why there can be no confusion when it comes to I Am David Laing. The Gourock singer-songwriter, writes and performs with confidence gained during time served in bands. Now that he has stepped away from the bands and into the spotlight by himself, he is crafting folk songs with classic pop sensibilities.
Hello! How the devil are you?
Hello! I’m rather well thanks, yourself?
Not too bad thanks! It's the question everyone hates, but could illuminate our readers with a little bit about your music and your influences?
I normally write songs about things that have happened in my life, normally about girls, or more specifically, getting knocked back by girls!
I’m influenced by Del Amitri, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell, Gregory Allan Isakov and Frightened Rabbit.
What's your song-writing / creative process like?
I tend to come up with an idea, for a songs lyrical content, then I’ll just mess around on the guitar or piano until I find suitable chords. Then just spend ages trying to get something that sounds alright which can take a lot of time depending on the song.
Tell us about your recent single Marmalade.
Marmalade was written during a particular ‘rejection section’ of my life in late 2013. I have a tendency to write a lot of downbeat tracks, so I liked the idea of writing a song that was upbeat, but had rather melancholy lyrics that people could relate to.
What could we expect to see from a live show?
My rapidly receding hairline, some shite patter, but hopefully some alright songs!
What else have you got planned for 2015?
There is a second single coming in a few months with the album coming out at some point before the end of the year. I'm also planning a couple of split EP's with some of my fellow musicians.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Joni Mitchell- Court and Spark, pretty much everything Del Amitri have ever written, The Beatles - Revolver,
Stornoway - Bronxie,
and Sufjan Stevens - Michigan. I'm actually still waiting on his new album arriving!
There are two things about today's post that get me pretty excited. One: a new track from Poor Things who are consistently one of the finest Glasgow bands at the moment. Two: A NEW SPLIT 7" WITH FOUR BANDS FROM GERRY LOVES RECORDS!!!
Let's focus on the track first; it's a stonker. Whether a flat our refusal to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's attempts to lure St Johnstone top goal scorer Michael O'Halleran away, or just a cool song name, it's a track with passion and intent. More upbeat and energetic than last outing Friends the band don't stray too far from their warm fuzzy guitars and alt-punk ethos. Singer Craig Angus delivers some sweet harmonies, and an emphatic "woo" at the end. All in all the track reminds me a little of now-defunct Glasgow band Deathcats, which is a very good thing indeed.
As for the split EP, all we know so far is that it's scheduled for release in June. I'm delighted to see Poor Things and Gerry Loves Records hook up as in my opinion it's a match made in vinyl heaven. What you can also be sure of is that judging by this track the quality will be high, and as it's Gerry Loves the final package will be a thing of beauty.
Fronted by ex-Over The Wall frontman Gav Prentice, ULTRAS came onto the scene late last year with This Is Where I Fall. Since then there's been relative radio silence, which generally in my experience is a good thing as it means the band are taking their time to craft their next set of tracks.
And from listening to new track The Path To Getting Paid we can hear the results of that crafting. Marching drums create an inviting intro, with bouncy guitars quickly filling the air, before Prentice's warm and authoritative vocals begin his political tinged tirade.
The track moves away from the electronic fun that was This Is Where I Fall but is a thrilling listen; challenging and fun in equal measures. "Cause what's fir ye, won't go by ye" assures Prentice with a typically brogue delivery. Keep churning out tracks like this and what's for ULTRAS certainly won't pass by.
Drenched in grunge and slacker-rock vibes Growler is the latest track from Paisley twins Chloe and Hannah, better known as The Van T's. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, the kicks off with a deep growling bass line, before reverb heavy guitars chime in. Youthful fun flows at the heart of the track, as the vocals alude to - "I liked you more on a drunken night".
Describing themselves as "all you ever wanted from a '90's dream" it's clear there's heavy influence drawn from that early '90's alt-rock period, but this is far from a throwback sound, with comparisons to The Dum Dum Girls, Wolf Alice and closer to home Honeyblood.
With a voice that can pierce through the dull monotony, Eilidh Lawrence; better known to you and me as Lidh; puts it to good use on latest single Murmur.
Murmur takes heed from the woozy ethereal music of Cocteau Twins, almost dream like at times as guitars and mandolin lap against the listeners ear. Lawrence's vocals are just as delightful; a clear folk grounding but drifting off into dream-pop regions during the choral sections.
"You'd have to mumble, or murmur, to fill the air" sings Lawrence. The vocals may be a murmur, but the track has an instant connection, leaving you humming long after the three and a half minutes are up. Grab a free download via Lidh's Bandcamp page.
Returning with his first new material since the immense Imaginary Walls Collapse album, released two years back via Song, By Toad Records, Adam Stafford's new track Atheist Money hits all the right spots.
Hiccuping guitars create the jagged texture, beneath smooth landscaped melodies which are utterly sublime, which intelligent and gentle vocals complete the package. Never one to shirk expanding beyond the norm, Stafford doesn't overload the track with loops or samples, but continues to defy the limits of what one man can do with music.
This track is a precursor to a new album, penciled in for an October release, called Taser Revalations, and it will be out on 1st May. Welcome back Adam Stafford!
It's been a few weeks since the last Scottish Fiction show but we're
back this week with a fresh two hour batch of delicious music. Off the
heels of Record Store Day there's a fresh out the wrapper Vinyl Play
track. We play all four tracks from our new Almost Scottish Fiction EP,
plus there's all the best new music from Scotland including Miaoux
Miaoux, FFS, Kill The Waves, Lovers Turn To Monsters, and Adam Stafford.
Enjoy!
Twins Chloe and Hannah make up The Van T's and '90's alternative drenched songs are their tour de force. The band have started to up the ante in terms of profile, helped by the fact that songs like Fun Garcon and Growler are must listen to tracks.
Hello! How the devil are you?
All is well!
It's the question everyone hates, but could illuminate our readers with a little bit about your music and your influences?
We have a lot of influences. We love bands like Wolf Alice, First Aid Kit, The Pixies, Courtney Barnett and Girlpool. We also live punk-tinged girl bands such as Bleached and The Death Valley Girls.
As well as the obvious grunge comparisons that tracks like 'Growler' will span, to my ear there's a much closer to home sound in your music.
Are Honeyblood an influence and if so does their success inspire?
Yes! We have loved Honeyblood right from the beginning. We are actually huge fan girls. Stina is very talented so I guess it does inspire!
Over the past 6 months to a year, there's an ever growing legion of a DIY and fuzz-rock in Glasgow (bands like Catholic Action, Poor Things, WOMPS, Pinact). Why do you think that early '90's alternative sound is coming back around?
Because it's just an awesome sound! At gigs I think it really stands out. I'm really proud and excited that our band are going for that sort of sound.
What's your song-writing / creative process like?
Our song writing technique can vary! Hannah and I will always write our music first before we add lyrics, that way it's like a blank canvas! Occasionally we will sit down and write a song together seriously, but our favourite thing is just to jam!
How has the band evolved and progressed over the last year?
We have got a lot heavier and more focused on recording, also doing shows with good bands who are friends.
What could we expect to see from a live show?
Most likely grungy riffs, harmonies and some swaying.
Also a lot of playing about with pedal boards... Mostly having fun.
Here To There is the latest offering on Fatcat Records from Glasgow songwriter C Duncan which blends his now signature scene scape of transcendental and ethereal folk music. His classical background forms the foundation on which he layers vocal harmonies and melodies which have both a folk root, and suggest an operatic undercurrent.
There is undoubtedly a travelling theme to some of his recent creations and he himself has admitted, “The sea comes up a lot” in his compositions. However, with the chopping, reverberating guitar and the syncopated drum rhythm, the suggestion is more towards a train journey; soothing and rhythmically meditative - “Take the train from here to there” - onward in a straight line.
C Duncan has a unique skill, his songs are born of melodies and harmonies, and he paints his narrative from a visual artist's perspective. His songs are uniquely fresh and inhabit a slot in the Glasgow music scene which is much the richer for his presence. This is a rather perfect song and the line “Something tells me we’ve been here before, it’s so familiar” although descriptive and relevant to the journey we are on, is, however, unreflective of the composition. Go seek it out.
- Bobby Motherwell
C Duncan - Here To There is out on April 27th via Fatcat Records and is available to pre-order on digital download here.
What a whirlwind year it's been for Edinburgh's favourite sons as their first proper record Dead amazed critics, pleased fans and won some award down in the big smoke. A lot of bands would see the latter as an assurance that they're doing alright. They might go off for a few years and work on another record, or ride on the wave of album sales that follow a Mercury win. Young Fathers have taken their winnings and recorded a brand new record for us, and it's great. One thing's for sure, don't assume Dead is Young Father's finest hour just yet.
Album opener Still Running announces the album by caving in the wall rather than using the door, blowing heavy electronic dirty pop our way. The tribal noise marches in with soft peculiar xylophone underneath. The combination of separate sounds merged into hooky pop songs is a theme that continues throughout White Men Are Black Men Too.
So far we've heard two singles. Track two, Shame is one of those and it's the first of many on the album which will send crowds into frenzied dancing when the band take this album across the UK next month, especially the exploding glitch towards the end of the track. Other single Rain or Shine is the album's biggest draw popularity wise and it's a perfect fit into the album's ordering. The track builds up Kilimanjaro sized with crushing drums, rising synths and vocal 'whoa's which then lead into a Godzilla-esque siren which tears everything in its path.
Loudness on the album is important. Early number Feasting is the closest piece of music to embodying the first beam of light that pierces your eyes when you draw open curtains in the morning, such is its loud bright sound. John Doe is as close to indie rock as Young Fathers get on this record, with it sounding fairly like a TV on the Radio cut, with a big chorus.
The lyrical content of the record is as creative and powerful as the big sounds on show. The track 27, plods along like a happy Passion Pit song fell into a mixing bowl of distortion but in truth the track is about the worry of falling into the 27 Club, the name given to brilliant musicians who left us too early. Sirens is a pause to get your breathe back over the frenzy but it's a song about the band empathizing with family over what sirens mean, normally the worst.
The controversial album title would suggest the album would heavily focus on race, but this is no Kendrick Lamar LP. Young Fathers do bring up the line, and the idea that Africa gives our Western culture lots of great things, and receives little back, on track Old Rock N Roll. The band do this by creating a mesmerizing mix of charged lyrics with the gorgeous tribal drums and stringy guitars, to showcase what music Africa has given us. The African influences stick for a few tracks too. Nest which features grand piano and Lion King-like chanting in the background continues the African feel, and honestly feels a bit like a Nina Simone tune at times, it feels vintage. Liberated uses the Leith Congregational Choir again to help with the extra voices and sunny sound.
The album finishes in pretty spectacular fashion too, with Get Started being, as the band describe, the universe getting laid for the first time. It's certainly a closing four minutes that an album of this magnitude sonically and creatively deserves.
- Scott Hastie
White Men Are Black Men Too is out now via Big Dada and is available on 12" vinyl, CD, cassette tape and digital download here.
Make sure you check out their current UK tour, as you’re not going to want to miss the madness that these songs will bring out in crowds when they’re performed live. The band play Neu! Reekie!'s #UntitledLive at Edinburgh's Central Hall on June 9th. Tickets available here.
Polarnecks are a band with real momentum at their feet as they rise up amongst the community of alt-rock/punk/DIY bands. Having recently supported PAWS, and made it onto the Quiet Night In Bloggers' Showcase gig, I caught up with Innes from the band for a quick chat.
Hello! How the devil are you?
Heyo! We’re doing great, thanks.
It's the question everyone hates, but could illuminate our readers with a little bit about your music and your influences?
There’s a bunch of different dynamics that come into it. We draw a lot of influences from the bands that emerged from the Seattle and DC scenes in the late '80's; Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du; as well as a bunch of more contemporary folk like Idlewild and Cloud Nothings.
It gets loud live, taking wee pointers from the likes of Sonic Youth and Slint, but maintains this sort of soft core much like The Cribs have done over the course of their career. Small town boys making loud noises. We recently described ourselves as playing loud songs about being 20.
What’s your song-writing/creative process like?
Lukas will usually write the majority of our material by himself on guitar. It takes on quite a lo-fi bedroom project vibe until he brings these songs to practice where I (Innes) will wrap my head around the rhythms and we’ll develop them into fully fledged rock songs. A lot of the material is grounded in the realisation of being a young adult; coming to terms with being a functioning human, I suppose.
Tell us about your latest collection of tracks Winter Demos.
Winter Demos just came about at the end of last year when we played our last gig with our bassist at the time, Craig. Craig was wanting to dedicate more time to his project Dec ‘91 and then went on to do some traveling around North America. It was an uncertain time for the band, but also seemed to ignite this creative flourish in Lukas where he wrote around 9 or 10 new songs.
So instead of fucking about for too long waiting to see if we could accommodate a new line up, Lukas just went ahead and recorded these new songs by himself in the comfort of his cold wee flat. The album encapsulates quite a tenuous time with Lukas where there was just a lot of uncertainty with everything, but rather than leaving it to fester he got it all down on paper and made this album out of it. We’ll maybe get round to recording the songs again with the live band this summer.
What could we expect from a live show?
It’s usually pretty fast and pretty loud. Good music to get angry to. A big difference to the recorded material. There’s only three of us so we compensate a lot of free space in the music by turning up our amps. But we keep it pretty inclusive, we still want people to be able to dance and enjoy our wee 30 minute slots on stage.
What else have you got planned for 2015?
Summer’s coming up, so long days spent locked in bedrooms recording is the main thing we want to get done. We want to get a lot more material released with the full band to give people a good flavour of the places we’re in musically. Aside from that I think we’re just going to accept as many decent gig offers as we can and organise a few ourselves because playing live really is the joy of being in this band.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Within the band there’s a good few artists we’ve been really enjoying recently. Lukas and I went to see Alex G recently, his stuff is excellent. Really fragile songs with ridiculously good arrangements. He’s a songwriter, kind of like early Smog, but draws influences from folk like Aphex Twin so you know it’s going to be something worth checking out.
Slightly more progressive though, Viet Cong are really doing it for me. Stupidly complex arrangements, furious, dark post-punk.
On the Glasgow circuit we really have to shout out bands like Antique Pony and Cherry Wave though, seen them both a lot in the past few months.
Scottish Fiction and Almost Predictable, Almost are delighted to present the Almost Scottish Fiction EP's, which will be a monthly series of free EP's featuring tracks from our respective blogs favourite artists. Ultimately we want to provide a monthly snapshot of creativity in Scotland, full of bands we love and want to share. Each month artwork will be provided by Findlay of DIY punk clothing
Burnhouse Industries.
The EP's will be available to download for free
and will be uploaded on the first Monday of each month.
Exit-Omni feat. Dear Lara - Wandering on a Night Without Stars
This track brings together two artists from different musical places; dreamy electronica producer and introspective acoustic singer-songwriter, to woozy laid back effect. Exit-Omni; producer Ross Woodhead; and Dear Lara; the stagename of David Lan; weave together well in a track that wouldn't sound too out of place in Air's back catalogue.
Malmo - The Bridge
Malmo are a Scottish based three piece who produce epic scale, cinematic, electronic influenced pop. The Bridge shows the band at their best with the track combining John Barry-esque instrumentation with the melancholic feel of Pet Shop Boys in their Behaviour phase.
Wozniak - Five Star
Wozniak are swiftly becoming one of the finest shoe-gaze band's in Scotland. Hailing from Edinburgh, the four piece are working on their debut album, and Five Star is an insight into their world. It's a fascinating track with deep complexities.
Twissted - Machines
Twissted are Vicki Milne and Zoe Burnett, a duo based in Glasgow. Their electronic pop is a joy to behold and Machines is a standout track. Presented here in its extended edit, Machines mixes Kraftwerk like synthetic precision with an irresistible pop hook and it is a track that you can't fail to love.
Errors are Glasgow’s quirky electronic trio. Armed with their synths, they have been defending the frontline of Scottish electro for nearly ten years now. The release of their new album Lease of Life sees the band’s first new music since 2012. A little older now, perhaps a little wiser after extensive touring, their new sounds are richly adorned with worldly influence.
Colossal Estates presents an amalgam of heavenly sounds, laden with sweet strings and choral sound bites. A determined drum beat builds up, creating some beautiful momentum. This opener is full of hope and energy, soon warping into a slightly chaotic ending – a promising start and an exciting prologue to the album.
The record’s title track is immediately transcendent, peppered with jungle sounds that create a spiritual sense of adventure with cool layered vocals and fast paced beats. Spacey synth and even Scottish vibes contribute to the fun amalgam of crazy influences working together to make this exciting and fresh. The 80s vibe is strong with notable funk – this is a generous feast of sounds, melodies and rhythms that feels alive.
A come down from the chaos, Slow Rotor is chilled and ambient, yet with a quiet majesty from the bold melancholy of the melody. Build into this fast vocals and atmospheric claps and it creates a headily retrospective feel. Percussion is used to extend the story with more lovely layered vocals fuelling the emotion and harmony. The light, hopeful synth at the end feels like a ray of sun.
The album is starting to feel like a wicked 80s jungle with the serious tribal vibes in New Winged Fire. Determined structure becomes interspersed with tinkling rapid Asian notes and chimes that let you hear the world in a song. Early Nights isn’t even two minutes long, but the band manage to capture a brief feeling beautifully. The subdued slow notes take their sweet time; the effect is ultra-dramatic, like a film score or electro-opera.
The mood shifts tangibly with Dull Care, the sombre melody pipes through high vocals, and feels altogether more detached, cold and cosmopolitan. Errors are masters of mood – the addition of sax soon makes this a jazzy wander through the city at night. All the while rapid synth bubbles beneath the surface creating a sense of urgency throughout. Certainly unsettling, this track offers both listening pleasure and pain.
Genuflection’s intro satisfies with pace and catchy claps. Then the song lets loose into an undulating river of lovely sounds. The track embodies water – a stream of seriously solid beats that I’m happy to get carried away with. Jazzy sax is the cream atop of the chocolate fudge cake that this is to my ears. Whenever this comes on, I want to be dancing.
Asian influences are heard again in Putman Caraibe, where synth melody, percussion and vocals are expertly balanced to create this battle/warrior mood and a real sense of oncoming change.
The final track is a thirteen minute-long gift: Through the Knowledge of Those Who Observe Us is heralded by quiet plucking that dots colour on blank canvas, then a choir of low deep voices splashes warm tones on the piece. Feelings of celebration, community and unity are augmented by an organ interlude that resonates with the spirituality of the whole record. Your head is transported to another place, like paradise. The track fades away beautifully and slowly like a wonderful dream, and thirteen minutes still feels too short.
After listening to this shining new example of an electro record, you will see why these guys have stood the test of time. Here’s to another ten years of quality music.
- Maura Keane
Errors - Lease of Life is out now via Rock Action Records and is available on double 12" white vinyl, CD and download here.
Be sure to catch them live at the Art School on Saturday 11th April or at Wickerman Festival this summer.
Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled is the debut release from Aberdeen based solo artist Kathryn Joseph and, despite the sparse instrumentation and fragile nature of Kathryn’s vocal style, it is a powerful, almost soulful album that deserves much attention.
The songs are based around piano sounds that are skillfully produced to sound haunting and fragile and acoustic guitars that add to that mood. You start off feeling as if more needs to be added to the songs to give them depth but on your second and subsequent listens, it soon becomes apparent that nothing else is needed at all.
The nature of the lyrics, confessional and raw in places marries perfectly to the music, with each song drawing you in, time and time again. I must admit that, on first listen, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the album and couldn’t really push through the atmosphere that surrounds each track. Further plays of the album, and there have been many, have opened it up to me though and each listen is a rewarding one.
Perhaps the best example of how this album works is opener The Bird. A reverb heavy but beautifully melodic piano line leads into Kathryn’s Joanne Newsome like vocals which lend a real air of emotional fragility to the piece. The song is simple but fairly stark lyrically and, like many of the tracks here, gives you an indication that there has been recent heartbreak but never tells you the full story. Her singing style means you don’t pick up everything initially which is yet another reason to revisit the album time and time again.
Other standouts include The Want and closer The Weary, but my favourite track is The Why What, Baby? which is a beautiful centerpiece to the album offering some light and some hope, whilst still retaining the other worldly atmosphere that pervades the record.
There is real beauty on this album and one of its key traits is the simplicity of the songs and that is something that particularly enhances its whole impact.
- David McElroy
Kathryn Joseph - bones you have thrown me and blood I've spilled is out now via Hits The Fan Records and can download or purchased on CD/vinyl here.
