Why do all good bands split up?

Why do all good bands split up?

Lenin Death Mask were a four piece indie/punk band from Aberdeen.  They formed little over a year ago and in their short life span they managed to play many shows up and down the country as well as releasing a bunch of demos and two singles.

The sore thing about LDM's break-up is that they were constantly going from strength to strength.  We played alongside them in a tiny Aberdeen venue called Cellar 35 back in July 2014 and I can remember thinking at the time, ”fuck, this band rules.  Fuck, they are going to be insane after a few more shows”.

Unfortunately, I was right and I was wrong.  At the tail end of 2014 Lenin Death Mask ventured down to Nottingham’s best kept secret: DIY punk art/music/whatever space JT Soar to record what would be their final release.  It was also very shortly after that the band announced their split.

Tried To Confess/Drowned  is the final release from Lenin Death Mask.  I almost can’t put into words how much of a step forward these songs are from what I heard back in July.  Filled to the brim with vocal and guitar melody’s that have been in my head for days.  My personal taste is that I don’t massively care about the precision of vocals or the lyrical distinguishability - is that a word?  If not, get yolo oot the dictionary pronto because that’s going in - or lyrics.  Infact, I kind of prefer if lyrics are yelled and emotion/character comes across more than anything else.  Again, this approach is something that Lenin Death Mask absolutely nail in these two songs.  Add in some inventive bass lines and some angular, almost post-punk style guitar parts and you have two Aberdonian punk treats. Tried To Confess  in particular is very interesting.  It’s very rare that I’ll listen to something and think "I wish I had thought of that".  But this song has a bunch of cool dynamic changes that pretty much make the song and make me feel that way.

I am finding it particularly hard trying to compare these songs to anything.  And if you read my last post you’ll know that I’m not a big fan of comparing bands to other bands.  I kinda feel like I should though.  So, if you like any of; Titus Andronicus, The Cribs, or Fucked Up; you should check them out.

In fact, fuck the list.  Fuck comparisons.  Just listen to the songs.  Please listen to the songs.  This is genuinely one of the most exciting releases from a Scottish band I have heard in a while.  I am absolutely gutted they are no more.

REST IN PUNK LENIN DEATH MASK

Oj x

Algernon Doll TAKEOVER #4 - BANDSPOOGE - Lost Limbs

If I had a blog I'd like there to be a feature where I talk about who I'm most excited about locally right now.  I've decided it would be called, 'Bandspooge' as I think that's hilarious.  Anyway, I've picked Lost Limbs for my feature today and here's why they're deserving of your attention.

Lost Limbs are a 3-piece screamo/indie band from Glasgow/Dundee.  I'm not going to get into the definition of screamo but in the vein of Raein / Daitro.  What interests be about Lost Limbs is the structures and melodies.  All members are gifted players and while the riffs are technical, they don't sound forced.  All notes adding something to the melody and texture.  To me, these are indie songs with grove and girth!

They have a two track demo on Bandcamp now and there's still a few CD's available if you want to support them.  I know they're working on a full album with Ross Middlemiss (Little Anchors, Stonethrower, Pensioner) which is one of my most anticipated releases of the year!



Catch them live on 12th February in Glasgow @ Bloc, 15th February in Dundee @ Redd Suite and 31st March with Spanish emoviolence/ scramz band Enoch Ardon at the Old Hairdressers!

Oh...they have a bit wi blast beats too!

Algernon Doll Takeover #3 - Wull Swales Edition

Hi all!  I'm Wull the resident low end guy in Algernon Doll.  For me one of the best things about playing in a band is travelling around and making new friends along the way, so not too dissimilar to OJ's post I'm gonna be talking about some bands that I really like from outside Scotland in the UK and beyond.

So it's a hard one to start but let's start with some of my favourite people The Winter Passing, generally when someone asks you how a band are and you answer with “they're lovely people” you assume it follows with “but the band aren't up to much”.  In this situation it couldn't be further from the truth.  The Winter Passing come from strong lo-fi punk roots and combine that with great well crafted songs with melodies that will get stuck in your head for days.  They'll have a new record out this year which I'm really excited about picking up.  When we were on tour with them in November after doing a house show we joined them on a video session for Already Heard (Mikey is the man) for the single they released during the tour you can watch below.



Late in 2013 we got the opportunity to play with Hey Joni in Dundee but didn't get the opportunity to see them due to some travel issues, but luckily last year during out summer tour with Pinact.  We ended up crossing paths three or four times, we even stayed in a squat/abandoned house together in Norwich... while they previous owners were essentially tearing the place apart, we literally had to find squares of carpet of appropriate size to sleep on.  Touring is swell.  Oh yeah, as I was saying Hey Joni play pretty explosive angular punk with big doses of noise and military precision, they are one of the best live bands I've seen.  Our last minute gig with them in Manchester was one of my favourite shows of the year.  They recorded a new EP out in France last year with a bunch of great songs but I still highly suggest checking out Isabelle.

When I mention Hey Joni I don't think I can not mention the band they were touring with Durham's finest Healing Powers.  Their 7" that they released last year was amazing and you can check it out below.  For the me the stand out track is Weirdo's At Work,  but they are all belters.  They play aggressive hardcore influenced walls of noise with sweet smooth transitions.  Live they are incredible and almost bleed energy on stage.  You should probably go see them soon.



So when we played what I think was our first full band show out of Scotland last year we were invited to do a festival in Nottingham with a bunch of great bands one of the ones that really stood out for me was Muskets from Brighton and they did not disappoint in the slightest, this a band who take playing live seriously and are an incredibly good band to watch.  We all got to play with them twice on our summer tour once in the fun night in Norwich and in their hometown of Brighton.  Brighton is now one of my favourite places, even if I spent a whole bunch of my time there trying to find out if someone could fix my bass amp after if blew up the night before and then in turn I accidentally left my pedal board at the venue and went to London without it... thanks to Dan from the band for helping me get it back.  They have a new record out this year and you can check out the song Focus  below.

Next up is Kamikaze Girls from Leeds, as a band they've played 3 shows however up until like November last year they went under the name Hearts & Souls who we had the pleasure of playing with at one of the Struggletown gigs at Bloc and have since seen them again playing another Struggletown showcase.  They have produced some fantastic almost indie laced thought provoking emo punk with a great use of dynamics and again like all the bands I've mentioned above put on a great live show.  They released a tape last year which you can buy on their Bandcamp and you can check a sample of what's on it on below.



If you know me even a bit you'll know I'm a big fan of board/card games.  Most specifically I'm a big fan of the game Magic The Gathering so when we were in Chicago I decided to play in a little tournament.  I went 2-2 with a Temur aggro deck.  Anyway in my last match I got paired against a guy called David who was playing a Jeskai tokens deck.  We got to talking about music and I mentioned about being out there to record and he was telling me about his band Stoop Goodnoise.  When I finally got the chance to check them out I really digged them, the band have great hooks with a big dynamic sound with lots of reverb and delayed lines up the neck and some solid grooves to back it up.  You can check out the title track to their last album The Sea One  below.

We got the opportunity to play with, stay with and party with so many great bands last year and I wish I could write about more of them so I'll just leave a bunch more quick links down here.

Bluebird
Jaded
Hora Douse
Forrest
Hindsights
Home Schooled
James Carroll
Arizona
Algiers

Stay Punk,
Wull x

Algernon Doll Takeover - Day #2

Awrite.  My name is Owen and I play drums in Algernon Doll.  Most people call me Oj, so if we ever meet, go for that.  As you probably know, Neil has been kind enough to leave his blog in our hands for the week and now it's my turn to say some hings.

I've decided that it could be a good shout for me to tell everybody about some Scottish bands that I'm dead excited about this year.  I know that's not particularly creative or anything but I didn't really know what else to say.

I'm gonna list three bands who definitely have records out this year followed by a few mentions of other bands I like a lot.

Herbert Powell

I think I've only seen Herbert Powell twice now, which seems insane.  They're a 4 piece band from the surrounding areas of Glasgow and they seem to play aw the time in the city, which is great.  Imagine Gang of Four, Fugazi and Speedy Ortiz all had a wean.  They're kind of like that, but also so very different.  Anyway, they're releasing a record this year and I really can't wait for it.  They're always on great bills too so definitely go and see them live.

Pinact

Pinact are great.  They write pop songs that are awfy fuzzy and awfy loud and awfy gid.  I have no idea how many times I've seen Pinact (gonna guess around 20?) but they put on a good show everytime.  We toured with them last summer and are touring with them again next month which is gonna be aw the fun.  They also have a record coming out this year on a cool label so that's defz something to check out.



Poor Things

Poor Things released a record in 2014 that for some reason seemed to slip completely under the radar.  It's an absolute banger anaw!  They also write pop songs that have fuzzy elements, and other cool elements.  I really hate describing bands.  I'm sorry.  Just go and listen to them k.

Here's a list of a few other bands/acts that may or may not have releases lined up this year. Regardless, they excite me and I look forward to seeing them play again.   Manuscripts, Pronto Mama, The Sinking Feeling, Lost Limbs, and Chrissy Barnacle.

Thank you if you took the time to read my beige patter.  But trust me, everyone listed above is well worth checking out at some point.  The Scottish music scene is pretty exciting just now.  As I type this I'm thinking about more bands and labels I could talk about.  Go and find cool stuff!

Oj x

DIY and Staying Punk in the 21st Century

Hey!  Algernon Doll are taking over Scottish Fiction for the week.  My name is Ewan and today we will be talking about DIY in Scotland and all the good people that inspire me and create the culture and scene I live in.

When you first pick up your instrument, camera, pencil or headphones you're innocent.  You have no care but to express yourself, enjoy it and embrace a new skill and I don't see why that ever needs to change.  I've spent my life playing in punk and hardcore bands.  The music that's always interested me the most has never been popular enough to convince me that there's a career in it or anything and I think that's a great thing!  The people I've met are no more driven than the laddy indie bands sucking up for a "lucrative" record deal but I'd say they're driven in a more honest and worth-while direction.

I grew up, for the most part, in Perth and Dundee.  Small towns in the East of Scotland.  There's not really a bunch of activities for kids and teenagers so most of my friends just hung about skating, throwing rocks at windows to get a chase and causing minor inconveniences to the general public for a buzz (lame, I know).  The positive of growing up in these places is that the sheer boredom
of our group of friends seems to have sprouted in extreme creativity.  We started making movies, forming bands, putting on our own shows, taking promos for our own bands, doing drawings for album covers. The shows that we had were better attended than any pay-to-play deal going and the money was reciprocating amongst our own community. Shows became fests and this led to us being able to book bigger bands and make enough money to finance our own records and contribute to charities we all hold close to our hearts.  Now would be a good time to mention Make-That-A-Take Records in Dundee who put on Book Yer Ane Fest every year and raise thousands for local water safety charities. 

Bands in Perth and Dundee often don't get much exposure.  Some of my favourite bands in Scotland are Dundonian (Kaddish, Bonehouse, Uniforms, Terrafraid, Little Anchors and many more). Knowing this, I moved to Glasgow to start this band I play in now.  Initially I felt sick as at first glance I saw bands being ripped off left, right and center for zero exposure.  Some of the 'best' venues offer NOTHING in regards of promotion and milk local bands on, essentially, pay-to-play deals to make themselves money claiming that there's no other way to run a venue.  That's so far from true!

After a few months of emailing and going to local shows that I enjoyed I met some really great people here.  DIY is alive and well in Glasgow.  Blogs like this one, Podcart, Ayetunes, Jock Rock, TYCI do a great job of listening to what you have and giving it exposure.  I had zero confidence in my new musical direction until a lovely response from Halina at Podcart a few years ago spurred me to keep doing what I was doing.  The fact that people still love hearing new music at the risk of being bombarded with emails gives me hope! Steven Hill (Struggletown Records), Boab (Punk Rock Rammy), Iain Gillon (Repeater) and Aileen and Hannah (Milk Glasgow) run 95% of the shows I go to.  These people are all doing this in a manner that's not only successful but beneficial to the bands.  They are the life-blood of the music scene!

The benefits of DIY outweigh the effort.  You will make good friends and contribute to something that helps others like yourself.  I use the word, "punk" pretty broadly...  To quote Derrick Johnston of MTAT Records, "Punk rock is not an image it's a life philosophy".  Don't wait for help from others, just go do what you want.  It doesn't matter what genre your music is.  It doesn't matter if you're a writer or a pet-shop owner just express yourself and do it ethically.

This is the part where I truly appreciate how difficult it is for bloggers to stay on track with these things so I'll leave you today with some suggested upcoming events and pages.  Ya'll be good to one another and #staypunk4eva.

Punk Rock Rammy Listings inc. Pianos Become the Teeth

MTAT Season Ticket. A year's worth of shows including Book Yer Ane Fest

Struggle 43 - Slowlight

Repeater #8 Algernon Doll - Sinking Feeling - Chartered Trips