Which is why this paragraph is an honourable mention to some of the albums just missing out on our list. All are equally worth your further investigation, so please check out; Fat Goth - One Hundred Percent Suave, The Phantom Band - Strange Friend, Now Wakes The Sea - Bildungsroman, The Amazing Snakeheads - Amphetatmine Ballads, King Creosote - From Scotland With Love, The Son(s) - The Things I Love Are Not At Home, Stanley Odd - A Thing Brand New, and Deathcats - All Hail Deathcats.
As has become tradition at Scottish Fiction, our end of year radio
show/podcast, unveiled our top 20 Scottish albums in reverse order, playing a track from each. It's well worth a listen and you can do so right here. For those who want to just get the skinny on what the full list was, then look no further as below is our Top 20 Scottish Albums of 2014.
A worthy winner, and a list full of great music I'm sure you'll agree. Or maybe you don't. Such is the nature of lists. For most of the albums on the list you'll find a link to a full review courtesy of Scottish Fiction, plus a link to buy the album if you don't already own it. Go on treat yourself. And below you can hear a track from each album on our Top 20 Scottish Album podcast.
What a year of music 2014 has been. Unleashing new albums from stalwards like Mogwai, The Twilight Sad and We Were Promised Jetpacks. Serving up blistering debuts from Honeyblood, Machines In Heaven, and Poor Things. And seeing Young Fathers pick up the Mercury Prize. All in all it's never been harder to whittle down our list of favourite albums to just twenty.
But I've managed it, and that's what this podcast runs down in reverse order. As has become tradition at Scottish Fiction, our end of year radio show/podcast, unveils our top 20 Scottish albums from the year we are saying goodbye to. I'll play a track from each album, so during the next two hours you can expect to hear from PAWS, Remember Remember, Jonnie Common, Beerjacket and more. Who will be number one? Well you'll just have to listen and find out. Or you can sneak a peak at our blog post here. Either way, look back on another excellent year for Scottish music, and enjoy the show! Subscribe/listen to the podcast via iTunes.
Scottish Fiction gets Christmassy on this week's show as some Christmas tunes both old and new slip into the playlist along side new music from Errors, Collapsible Mountains, Turtle and Vasquez. T'is the season and all that.
Keeping things festive are my session guests Campfires In Winter, who joined me in the studio for a stripped back session ahead of their Christmas gig at Sloans on Wednesday 17th December. The band played three tracks, including a never before heard exclusive, and chatted about their plans for an album next year.
Our latest session guest Adam Ross, is better know as the frontman of Glasgow based octet Randolph's Leap. As well as being the band's lead singer, with his soft falsetto vocals, Adam serves as the band's chief lyricist, penning the whimiscal rhymes and playful wonderings which both amuse and probe audiences. Joining me in the studio for a solo session, Adam played tracks from the band's album Clumsy Knot which is out now on Lost Map Records.
Below are videos for the tracks Weatherman, Foolishness Of Youth and I Can't Dance To This Music Anymore which were recorded at Pulse 98.4 as part of Randolph Leap's Scottish
Fiction Session. To hear the full show, including interview, check out
the Scottish Fiction Podcast for 7th December 2014.
And check out this EXCLUSIVE video of Black and Blue recorded for the Scottish Fiction blog.
Our latest session guest Adam Ross, is better know as the frontman of Glasgow based octet Randolph's Leap. As well as being the band's lead singer, with his soft falsetto vocals, Adam serves as the band's chief lyricist, penning the whimiscal rhymes and playful wonderings which both amuse and probe audiences. Joining me in the studio for a solo session, Adam played tracks from the band's album Clumsy Knot which is out now on Lost Map Records.
This track, Black and Blue was recorded at Pulse 98.4
exclusively for the Scottish Fiction blog. To hear further session
tracks and an interview listen into the full show here.
As I mention during the course of the show, ever since Adam Ross, lead singer of Randolph's Leap, last appeared on the Scottish Fiction radio show, I've been itching to get him back for another Scottish Fiction session. Who says dreams don't come true! Adam joined me for three tracks off Randolph's Leap's album Clumsy Knot, as well as chatting about the band's plans for 2015.
All of our usual features are scattered throughout the show amidst new music from CHVRCHES, Young Fathers, The New Fabian Society and Oxford Coast.
After some weeks of teasing and anticipation, octet Randolph's Leap unveiled the wonderful video for their stunning track Weatherman on Monday.
Featuring arguable the most famous weatherman of all time (Heather the Weather comes in at a close second), Weatherman features Michael Fish as the titular role, whilst the band bustle and hustle around getting ready for the broadcast.
Fish
was a weatherman with the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and was brought on
board for the project by video production company Wake Up Advice, who
produced the finished article.
The track, a morose swipe at an
ex-partner's new boyfriend; the line "he talks like a weatherman" being
the most insulting thing the jealous ex can think to say; is one of the
standout tracks from Randolph's Leap recently released debut album Clumsy Knot,
which is shaping up to be on many critics 'Best of 2014' lists. The
song is also a fan favourite and stand out in the band's live shows.
Check
out the video below, and don't forget to tune into Scottish Fiction on
Pulse 98.4 community radio from 5pm on Sunday 7th December as lead
singer Adam Ross is in session, playing three tracks and chatting about
all things Randolph's Leap. You can listen in on 98.4 FM in the East
Renfrewshire and Glasgow area, or online at www.pulseonair.co.uk, and if you miss the live show as always the show can be listened back to via the Scottish Fiction podcast.
For someone with his fingers in so many creative pies, Johnny Lynch; a.k.a
The Pictish Trail, a.k.a. head honcho at Lost Map Records; is one laid back man.
It's over a year since Lynch, along with the active members of the 'Fence Collective' splintered from the Fife based label of over 15 years, and struck
out on their own trail. It's for this reason that I'm chatting with
Lynch; him holed up in Stirling following a show at the Marcobert Arts Centre,
me in a cosy yet glitchy radio studio on Glasgow's Southside.
"It was really good yeah" opines Johnny as I ask him how the
previous night's antics had gone down. "The crowd was lovely and the
set went down really well. And it was a beautiful venue as
well" The gig was part of Stirling's Fringe and was a Lost Map
showcase, where The Pictish Trail and members of the label played stripped down acoustic sets. Was that
gig then designed specifically to mark one year of Lost Map as a label?
"No not really" answers Johnny. "It's strange because
we announced the new label at the Green Man Festival last year (August 14th
2013), and I found myself down there again this year, so that was kind of
fitting. We are planning however to mark the year with a new feature on
our website, as well as some new music and a video from our Howlin' Fling
festival." I'm also assured that Johnny, and fellow label organisers
Kate Canaveral and Malcolm Jack, are making plans for Lost Map's second year.
In some ways Lost Map is a continuation of what Fence Records was in its latter
years. Lost Map's roster includes Kid Canaveral, eagleowl, Monoganon,
Seamus Fogarty, Rozi Plain, and of course The Pictish Trail. The label
also continues the tradition of hosting its own secluded festivals and gigs, as
well as a love for unusual releases. Where Johnny has looked to
differentiate from Fence is the latter's perceived tendency to veer towards
singer-songwriters.
"I mean I've no problem with singer-songwriters, it's what I do
myself. But I felt that by signing Tuff Love, we were really staking a
claim that Lost Map isn't purely for bearded songwriters."
Tuff Love, the fuzzy three-piece championed by the likes of Ally McCrae and Jen
Long, were the first 'new' act to Lost Map, who hadn't been associated with
Fence before. Lost Map approached the band and offered to work with them,
essentially pushing the band and their music out to the wider public, a plan
which has seen debut EP Junk released earlier this year as well as
numerous gigs across the UK.
Other notable releases seen on Lost Map this year have been a re-release of
eagleowl's album This Silent Year, F A M I L Y by
Monoganon; which had been planned for release on Fence; and the debut album
from indie-folk prodigies Randolph's Leap. I ask how Lost Map came to
release Clumsy Knot, an album which has been eagerly awaited by
local music fans for some time now.
"Well I had been in talks with Randolph's Leap for a while about putting
out an album. We released Hermit on Fence, and I just think
that Adam [Ross - lead singer of RL] is a really special songwriter. It
just pours out of him and he's a really exciting guy to be involved with."
Another new act to be signed to the Lost Map roster are Insect Heroes, whose
album Apocalypso was released earlier this month. Having
known George Thomas, the man behind Insect Heroes, for a number of years.
Johnny felt that Lost Map could give Apocalypso the release it deserved.
"When I first heard the album [Apocalypso was self released in
2013] I thought 'Oh my God, this is amazing!' It's pop music that is
really fun, and George was doing it all himself, which I know can be really
daunting and exhausting. So when we signed the band to the label, I felt
that re-releasing the album on vinyl was a good introduction to their music. Plus it's kind of an endorsement to have your
music released on vinyl. I mean there's still an audience who want a
tangible product. As an artist having your album out on vinyl is a good
expression of your music. It pays the artist respect I think."
The label have also continued Fence's love of the physical product, with all
releases thus far being granted a vinyl release, plus a continuation of the
Postcard singles, as well as the elusive Lost Cat Cassettes.
"They are secret cassettes, which are not listed on our website"
enthuses Johnny. "We've done three Lost Cat's [with eagleowl &
Woodpigeon, Monoganon, and Monogan and WeGoda] and they are great because
there's a sense of discovery with them. We don't list them on the site
and they are only available in actual record shops, meaning they are harder to
get. There's maybe a sense of achievement if you find one, which I think
is important for the appreciation of music. Not that it's incredibly
difficult to find them mind you!" Each Lost Cat tape contains
exclusive tracks from Lost Map artists, and, highlighting Johnny's sense of fun
and word play, the artwork is a genuine lost cat poster.
"Yeah we just took some posters off the street to use as art work"
laughs Johnny. "Actually I've secretly been kidnapping cats, just so
their owners will put up posters which we can then steal! What happened
to the cats? Oh we used them as food at the Howlin' Fling. It's the
secret life of a record label boss; kidnapping and killing cats!
As we talk, and uncontrollably laugh, it's clear why Johnny Lynch is able to
run Lost Map as a close knit family rather than an ‘at distance’ label.
Johnny exudes confidence and warmth, laughing throughout our chat, and giving
out the sense that he genuinely loves the music and artists he's so closely
involved with. I ask him if that sense of community is an important ethos
to the label.
"One of the things I've tried to do is to be as involved with the music as
much as each artist wants me to be. I will make suggestions and changes,
but I've already got 100% belief in all the releases already." I ask
if Johnny had a sense of where he wanted the label to go when he started to
which he verbally shrugs his shoulders. "There were no set plans;
however I wanted to work with people that I like, and with music that I
like. I'm chuffed with how it's gone, and it's largely due to trusting my
gut."
That sense of community seeps beyond the label collective and into the fans as
well, with events such as Howlin' Fling on the label's spiritual home of the
Isle of Eigg developing a sense of togetherness and showcasing all the label's
wares at the same time. It's an ethos which Johnny is keen to pass onto
the bands, and has seen Randolph's Leap host their inaugural I Can't Dance ToThis Music event, while Kid Canaveral's Baubles now rolls into its fifth
year. Elsewhere eagleowl host a night branded Irregular Owl Movements,
further showcasing the lack of taking things too seriously at Lost Map.
"It brings fans together" states Johnny. "Ideally I'd like
all our artists to curate their own events and build things outside of just
their recorded music, whether that's live or online. Each act will express
themselves differently, but I feel it gives the artists a lot more
involvement"
Unwittingly that may have been an insight into why Fence fell apart, however
it's clear that with Lost Map, despite professing otherwise, there's a clear
plan ahead for Johnny and the team. Build each act up, encourage them to
take on board other duties, and in a way help them learn the way that Johnny
himself learned at Fence. It's certainly worked for him, as this year's
reissue of Secret Soundz Vol 1 & 2 on Moshi Moshi Records
shows. It's important to remember that whilst running a label, Lynch is
still a writing, performing and touring artist in his own right, and the
"seal of approval" from Moshi gave him a self-admitted confidence
boost.
"I was chuffed when they took the record on board, and it's also
interesting to see how they do things, which is completely different from Lost
Map." Is there another Pictish Trail album in the works I ask?
"I'm currently working on the next record. I've got lots of ideas, and
Moshi are very supportive.”
So what lies ahead for Lost Map? Well as you'll guess of course there's
things under wraps that can't yet be disclosed, but Johnny confirms there's a
few records lined up for 2015, and that the plan remains to work with the
artists on the roster already. More of the same seemingly, although don't
write out anything just yet.
"If an amazing record comes our way, then yeah we'll look at it. But
if not, we'll stick with what we have, getting our artists more involved and hopefully
a lot more aware of their surroundings too."
- Neil Wilson For more about Lost Map, and to buy any of their releases check out lostmap.com
Lost Map celebrated its first year anniversary on 14th August 2014, and has
released material from Randolph's Leap, Monoganon, eagleowl, Insect Heroes,
Tuff Love, Seamus Fogarty and Kid Canaveral. To celebrate the label have
unveiled Clumps, a new section on their website which promises a mix of
podcasts, photos, gossip and other stuff. Clumps kicks off with Lost Map
label sampler, and a short film; by The Forest Of Black; about the legendary
Howlin' Fling festival.
You have to take your hat off to those wonderful people at Tenement TV, the concept of the Tenement Trail isn’t new by any means – 5 venues providing a day of great music and all within walking distance of each other in Glasgow – it’s been done before for sure. So what is the difference? The difference is the sheer quality of Scottish talent on show, and all for only £14 entry fee. The key difficulty becomes immediately obvious when you look at the line-up. Who can you bear to miss out on?
My day started early with The Rockalls. And what a way to kick off the day. With the darkness of the basement at Nice 'N' Sleazy’s contrasting the sunshine outside on this Saturday afternoon, as did the mood, you would be forgiven for thinking that midnight had arrived as The Rockalls – grown by one from a standard five to a six piece for the gig – burst the Tenement Trail into life. With an explosion of accomplished garage/punk noise, one could be forgiven for feeling that The Cramps and The Damned were having a set-to on the stage. Encouraging the crowd to squat down and to explode onto their feet at their very command, signalling a refreshing arrogance and command for the first band of the day, they romped through their set with No Comin' Back a particular standout. The band also included a cover of Kraftwerk's A Model which had both a familiarity and new edge at the same time.
Next up were Acrylic who painted a more familiar sound, drawn from the Glasgow indie/pop pedigree, but none the less captivating for it. Having recently received justified praise from Hector Bizerk, the five piece ensemble delivered their very own brand of sailing close to the edge indie pop, in the well-trodden footsteps on Franz Ferdinand and Dogs Die in Hot Cars.
With the shortest journey of the day between Broadcast and Sleazy’s, once Acrylic finished I found myself next door in no time, watching Vladimir
storm the space with their Dundonian brand of near anthemic punk
thumping rock. With an already impressive list of support slots
including the magnificent Fall, and a sound reminiscent of Deerhunter
and Radiohead, and an eerie cover version of Born Slippy, the
foreboding and sinister sound hung well in our small collective cell.
The set ended with a reverberating chant of "We are Vladimir" as the
band left the stage, and even as the crowd filtered out, we were left in
no doubt who we had just seen. Headline slots are in the wings and
deservedly so.
Back to Sleazy’s for the last in the venue's hat-trick of openers. Deathcats
suffered slightly due to a crossover of start times, however the venue
soon filled and the band had the crowd dancing with their own brand of
pulsing pop and latchkey lad lyrics. The form and sound is both
convincing and compelling and all that was missing was a few 'Gabba
Gabba Hey's' and their cover would have been blown.
Back across in Broadcast, and next band TeenCanteen are just too lovely for words. A set of simple soaring soft centred pop perfections see the girls enter even the toughest heart in the room. Beautiful melodies and kissing harmonies delivered in a pleading local lilt make TeenCanteen one of the gems in the Scottish-pop jewellery box. Each time they take to the stage, they seem to add shine that little bit brighter, and from an array of tracks, the pick of this set was Vagabond. Having recently performed at Wickerman, T in the Park and on our very own Scottish Fiction Sessions, they are now commanding the attention of a larger fan base and the wider media.
Advertised as 'The Birth of Roxy Agogo' on their Facebook page, it was
with baited breath and stellar recommendations that I dropped by to
catch the band's first ever gig. I was not to be disappointed. Such freshness
from such obvious musical references and a star quality which shines
like a beacon, Roxy Agogo delivered a mesmerising short set of 5 songs:
Crocodiles, Saturday is Dead, Pink Performer, Fake Forever and When You
Dress Up, and in doing so both reignited the flame of
Bowie/Pop/Murphy/Numan in a new age, and touched down effortlessly on the
stage which has been lit and waiting for some time. Rozy Agogo are the real
deal and it was a delight to watch them take first breath.
Tiujana Bibles are the complete rock band in every sense of the word. Touring hard and performances at both Wickerman and Belladrum were the foundations on which this gig at the O2 ABC 2 would prove to be a showcase for just how accomplished they are, and with a set list of infectious tunes, this environment was bound to be a triumphant arena for them. From back to front they nailed every track, each individual member commanding their space as an individual and collective force alike. The crammed playlist began with the single Crucifixion, and the momentum continued through Toledo, Last of the Go Getters, 6 2 Midnight, Runnin' Red Fruit and finishing on Wild River. When it comes to live music, they are a 'must see'
So, with the end of the night approaching came the real difficult decision of the day, how to end it? With Hector Bizerk, Friends in America, Randolph’s Leap and Campfires In Winter all justifiably demanding attention, it was a given that someone would miss out.
In the end I opted for Randolph’s Leap at King Tut's, or as Adam indicated during a brief interlude “It’s only old folk that call it King Tuts Wah Wah Hut isn’t it?” Aye that’ll be me then.
Randolph’s Leap are a delight to behold. Lyrically endearing and musically sweet, their previous album/EP releases The Curse of the Haunted Headphones, As Fast As A Man, Real Anymore and Introducing… were all beautiful collections of angst ridden humour. Earlier this year the band released Clumsy Knot on Lost Map Records and they have delivered one of the albums of the year. Three songs in, and having delivered Goodbye, Foolishness of Youth and Nature to an enthralled crowd, a broken bass guitar proved a potential stumbling block until, as if by magic, a replacement was offered and after some tuning, we were back on course again, partying with Microcosm, as if you could do anything else to such a tune! Following older singles News and Hermit, the now iconic and trademark I Can’t Dance To This Music Anymore had the swelling crowd in sympathetic voice as we swayed and gazed into our emptying plastic glasses and contemplating journey home. Light of the Moon finished the set as each member took it in turns to reduce the stage presence by an eighth and downed instruments and walked off to a building applause.
And so we all followed suit, a wonderful end to a wonderful day of the best of Scottish talent. Tenement Trail is the best thing to happen to the Glasgow music live scene in many years, and I should know, I’ve seen many years.
- Words by Bobby Motherwell, pictures by Hannah McMillan
.JPG)
.JPG)
