King Tut's Summer Nights kicked off on Thursday 12th July with a line up of
Brazil Exists,
Dead Sea Souls,
The Little Kicks and
Pronto Mama, with a pre-show DJ set from Weaver of
Detour Scotland.
Chilling downstairs in the Tut's bar with a burger and pint was made much more enjoyable listening to the tunes being played by Detour's very own Weaver. CHURCHES' 'Lies' got the feet tapping, and of course, the band play as part of Detour's
CIRCA club nights during the Edinburgh festival.
Anyway I digress. First up on the Tut's stage were Stirling five piece Brazil Exists. I've been plugging these guys a fair bit recently, and it all stems from this show. "Hello, we are Brazil Exists", lead singer Andy McAllister rather nervously proclaimed. Their sound is at times rather Frabbit-esque, which is no great surprise given that Andy from the Selkirk band produced their recent EP. 'Echoes' in particular, a track about the cold Scottish winter, had the indie stylings of Frightened Rabbit circa 'Sing The Greys', whilst still maintaining that something a little bit different. That je nais se qua comes from Michael Reade's trumpet, which helps build the sound of the band. Unlike, the populous country from which the band draw their name, Tut's was, at this stage, slightly empty. Which is a shame, because the upbeat Maccabees influenced sound was a cry to dance. This was the band's Tut's debut, but which the strength of their new material we doubt it'll be their last.
Next on the bill were Bathgate band Dead Sea Souls. These guys are no strangers to Tut's and indeed are probably at a level slightly bigger than tonight's billing. However, they showed why they have built up such a strong and loyal fanbase with their brit-pop indie rock sound. Coming after the soft indie of Brazil Exists, Dead Sea Souls are a different kind of band, and the confidence in their own ability showed in in singer Gary Burns stage presence, not to mention his impressive mutton chops! The band have their new album 'We Were Always Electric' out on August 12th via Big Rock Candy Records, and their set was filled with tracks from it.
Following them were The Little Kicks, all the way from Aberdeen. With their electro-indie they managed to tease the crowd forward a little bit, and enticed some swaying of hips with the pounding electro beat of 'Loosen Up', a remix of which by Discopolis features on a recent remix EP. The band also played a new anti-war song, which had a sort of spaghetti western intro and a funktastic bass line. Lead singer Steven explained that the band had not played Tut's in a while, and that their sound has grown stronger since the last time. Certainly the band were very tight and musically assured, with a well honed electro-indie sound, akin to the likes of Discopolis or Delphic. Closing with 'Call Of Youth' which is available to download for free from the band's
website, Steven reminded us of the next Little Kicks gig in these parts which takes place at Flat 0/1 on the 15th September.
And so we come to the headliners, Pronto Mama. The unfortunate thing from this review's point of view is that sadly I couldn't stay for them, having to get Mrs Scottish Fiction home for a 5:30 alarm call the next morning. I was disappointed, but needless to say I know what's good for me. I am told however, by none other than Scottish Fiction favourite Michael Cassidy, that the band were on top form, and that the live performance of 'Still Swimming' from the most recent EP 'Lickety Split' was spin tingling.
