You've read our Top 20 Albums of 2012 post haven't you? Well why not now listen to the latest podcast, which was an end of year special where I run through my favourite 20 albums released last year, playing a track from each. There's been some amount of special music released in 2012. The majority of it features on this show. Enjoy!
Right now that all the merriment and festivities are over with, and the impending dread and doom of going back to work is hanging over you, let me lighten the mood a little by reminding you all about this little doozy of a gig.
New year, new venue.
Same bloggers, same mission. To bring the finest Scottish live music to
the stage on the last Saturday of each month.
This time round we've moved to The 13th Note and are bringing along three fantastic acts on Saturday 26th January.
First up are Plastic Animals who are a Edinburgh five piece who are
responsible for a wonderful EP called 'Automaton' released earlier this
year.
Also heading along the M8 from Edinburgh is King Post Kitsch, for what I
believe will be his maiden Glasgow gig. Equipped with his band expect a
glorious array of fast paced garage rock and songs from new EP
'Repulsive Sunsets'.
Headlining are four boys and one girl who call themselves The Yawns.
Nothing yawn inducing about their self titled début album, for which the
band are touring to promote the physical release. The album has earned
it's place as one of our favourites of 2013, and a live rendition is
not to be missed.
As always be great to see you there and tickets are the usual £6 with
entry at the door or online. Saturday 26th January with doors at 8pm.
So a slightly belated BAMS 2012 announcement from ourselves, and I'm sure the majority of you who care will have seen the results on one of the other 41 blogs and music sites taking part. However we always like to show our support and for those who've maybe missed it, here is the Scottish BAMS 2012.
If you are unfamiliar with the BAMS, then let me elucidate the possibilities. The BAMS stands for Bloggers And Music Sites, and each representative submits their favourite five albums of the year. These results are then tallied, checked and collaborated in an intricate scoring system by head BAM Mr. Peenko to produce a final top 10 list. In
total there were had 41 different sites take part, which I guess just goes to
demonstrate just healthy the Scottish music scene is at the moment.
As I am sure you will want to know who took part, here's a list of the sites/persons who voted in this years BAMS :
Head BAM Lloyd caught up with Meursault frontman Neil Pennycook. Here's what he had to say:
"Congratulations Neil, you are this years' winners of the Scottish BAMS award, how do you feel?
I
feel like the chubby lad at school after being picked first for the
football team. I fear that any minute now I'm going to be told it's all a
joke and you're going to burn my shoes and flush my head down the
toilet.
It seems to have been a pretty exciting year for the band, what with European tours supporting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah to headlining the Queen's Hall back in July, aside from winning this years BAMS, what's been your personal highlight of 2012?
My
highlight is probably the QH gig. I've wanted to play that venue since I
was 18. Feels nice to have ticked that one off.
Last
years the BAMS was won by Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells, who later went
on to win the SAY Awards. Have you allowed yourself the thought that you
might potentially be in with a shout at next years SAY Awards?
What? I thought this was the SAY awards? You ARE still giving me £10000 though right? (whip round anyone? - Peenko)
I
noted that once again you've decided not to head over to Austin for
next years SXSW, is not something that interests you or are you just
keeping our friends on the other side of the pond waiting?
It's
not something that appeals to me to be honest. I get really tired of
the competitive aspect of playing music and do my best to avoid it. I've
no interest in travelling halfway round the world (at great expense) to
pedal my music to pissed up strangers in laminates . Playing in the
states is something that I'm keen to pursue but not that way.
How important do you feel that the support of music blogs has been to the band?
It's been hugely important for us. After all it was a blogger (song, by toad) who put out our first 3 records.
Seeing as we are on the subject of albums of the year, what have been your personal favourites of the last 12 months?
I've not sure if all of these came out this year but I'm going with them anyway...
It's Christmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas! As you tuck into your turkey, and neck three paracetamol to cure the over indulgence, here's our latest podcast jam packed full of Christmas songs with a Scottish twist. Covers a plenty, some tracks for charity and plenty of original material, we hope you enjoy this podcast and have a great Christmas!
Frightened Rabbit - It's Christmas So We'll Stop Behold The Old Bear - Christmas Stalking
Malcolm Middleton - We're All Going To Die
Aidan John Moffat - Last Christmas
Lovers Turn To Monsters - It's A Very Roland Emmerich Christmas
Kevin P. Gilday & The Middle Class Lovers - Crooked Christmas Tree
AMBULANCES - The True Meaning Of Christmas
Drunk Mule - Feels Like Christmas
The Last Battle - Stay (Another Day)
Randolph's Leap - One More Sleep 'til Christmas
Jo Mango - As A Child I Awoke
Campfires In Winter - Christmas Song
There Will Be Fireworks - In Excelsis Deo
Esperi - Just Like Christmas
Colonel Mustard & The Dijon Five - Christmas Pimping
Mogwai - Christmas Song
Flutes - Matchstikes (Geez A Kiss)
Withered Hand - Real Snow
Dave Hughes - Fairytale Of New York
How To Swim - Mele Kalikimaka
Naming The Saints - Our Loves Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Laurie Cameron - Merry Christmas From Scotland (Lulled With A Stiff Drink)
Julia And The Doogans - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Time to complete the Scottish Fiction 'Best Albums of 2012' countdown. With numbers 20 to 11 being unveiled earlier in the week, it's down to the business end of the chart. Rumour has it Scottish musicians have been crouched at their laptops in anticipation, as they vie amongst themselves for the coveted title of Scottish Fiction's Best Album of 2012.
Then again maybe not...
Some facts and figures about this years list. Seminal label Chemikal Underground account for a fifth of the albums on the list. There's two self released records (to the best of my knowledge). There's only two ladies (although some bands include the fairer sex) in the form of Jo Mango and Rachel Sermanni. Half of the list is début albums, including three albums which come from 'solo projects' or 'side projects' and there's two self titled efforts. There's one Englishman on the list (the horror!) and four, yes FOUR, albums released on the same day; 17th September.
So without further ado, here is numbers 10 to 1 in our countdown. Go forth and enjoy!
Released on Bandcamp at the end of October, and with a physical released on vinyl and tape lined up for January (see the next Scottish Fiction Presents: Aye Tunes vs, Peenko gig for more details on this!) this self titled album from The Yawns may turn out to be 2012's Happy Particles. Released with almost no fanfare, it's won it's way into the hearts of bloggers and muso commentaries alike with it's breezy, indie-twee appeal. Fans of Camera Obscura, Teenage Fanclub, et al. will thoroughly enjoy.
When album preview track 'Beetle In The Box' first surfaced back in January, then followed by lead single 'The Paper Trench' in April I was champing at the bit to hear the album. At the time I though it was slightly suffering from second album syndrome, but nearly six months later it's a solid offering from one of Scotland's best indie-folk bands. Tracks such as 'Guest Of The Government', 'Old Fools', 'Isn't This World Enough' and the above mentioned singles, cement 'Tree Bursts In Snow' as a worthy inclusion in this end of year list.
Back with their third album, three piece electronic rockers Errors made more strides in just how bloody good they sound. Again released via Mogwai's Rock Action Records label, 'Have Some Faith In Magic' dropped on 30th January and has been a mainstay in the Scottish Fiction record player ever since. There all sorts of electronic wizardry at work as Errors impress with shimmering shoegaze, blazing electro-pop, and exploring synths. 2012 was a great year for the band as they also released to much acclaim EP (or album I'm not sure!) 'New Relics'.
Cue gasps. The scandal! Yes Miaoux Miaoux, a.k.a Julian Corrie comes from Nottingham, however since having relocated to Glasgow in 2010, having spent time in the city earlier for a BBC placement, he's become a kind of sacred figure within the Glasgow music 'scene'. Energetic live shows across the city's venues (Corrie has the energy of a Energiser Bunny on speed, switching from guitar to synth to vocals whilst fiddling a gazillion buttons and switches in between), self released singles and a release with Gerry Loves Records, a host of remixes, all culminated with 'Light Of The North' being released via Chemikal Underground. This album is an absolute joy to listen to, there's so much creativity packed into these ten songs, the promise of more to come means Miaoux Miaoux is a name to watch out for.
Three albums in and the boys from Kilsyth change tact, dropping the 'wall of sound' for synths. No one can deny that The Twilight Sad require a little effort. They are
not, and much to their credit, a band who tag along with the latest
fad. For established fans, 'No One Can Ever Know' gives a slight tweak on their sound revelaing a new
facet of a rough piece of coal to examine. For new listeners, well
you've stumbled across their finest work to date. 'Another Bed', 'Sick', 'Kill It In The Morning', 'Dead City', all are glorious examples of how to make music.
That magic date 17th September again. I will never tire of saying how I became captivated by Rachel Sermanni the first time I heard her on stage in Edinburgh in support of Admiral Fallow. I will never tire of watching her gain in stature and confidence as a performer. I will never tire of proclaim the beauty of her voice and the subtle wit of her lyrics. And I will never tire of listening to her long awaited (but well worth the wait) début album 'Under Mountains'.
In 'Reject' Stanley Odd have an album which rivals the beats, rhymes
and hooks of anyone operating in the genre of hip-hop right now. And
further to that they are not afraid to mix in other genres too, and hold
up a truthful mirror in many respects. This album contains many
moments of brilliance for those willing to listen, including my favourite lyric of 2012, "putting an x in the box says you're watching back'. A wonderful introduction to the Scottish hip-hop community.
For those not already acquainted with RM Hubbert, his second album 'Thirteen Lost & Found' offers an
excellent opportunity to ease yourself into his work. Début LP 'First &
Last' won't be for everyone, but the very heart of this LP is still the raw beauty and emotion
that is conveyed by Hubbert's music. Given that all this stems from
Hubbert using music to deal with issues that have affected his life, it
reinforces the power of music to communicate. It also features one of my favourite tracks of 2012, 'Car Song'.
I said at the time when I reviewed the album on the blog, that it would be hard to top. And so it's proved, as Django Django and their Mercury nominated self titled début album takes the title of 'best of the rest'. Number two on our list for a behemoth of an album. Quirky, inventive, fun, jerky, influences from electronica, pop, Afro-beat, reggae, surf rock, and barrels more.
In the end it was a tough choice, but I've plumped for the stunning début from PAWS, which was released via Fat Cat Records on 8th October. There's so much to love about 'Cokefloat!'. From it's acid inspired album art (taken from a comic strip 'Cokefloat!' by Jess Penfold), to it's punk and garage rock influenced sound, to the real and raw emotion conveyed in almost every track. It's an album that packs a punch, as lead singer Philip doesn't hold back from taking about his mother's death, feelings of anger, abandonment, and loss. Musically it draws from a rich vein of punk and garage rock, delivering a frenzied stramash of guitars, distortion and drums. Wonderful stuff!
On the day of the impending Mayan apocalypse, let's all take a few moments to celebrate and reflect on just how bloody good a year it has been for Scottish music. Last year when compiling this same 'Best Of...' list there was always a clear winner in my mind, Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat's 'Everything's Getting Older'. That was vindicated by the same album taking the BAMS 2011 title, and more importantly the inagural SAY Award back in June.
This year however, I've chewed this list over and over. I've mulled on my favourite, re-jigged the order, and cried at the albums I had to leave out. It was a difficult list, but I've finally settled on this, the Scottish Fiction Best Of 2012. So enjoy, listen, disagree, engage however you please.
Presented in this post is numbers 20 to 11 in our countdown.
The Glasgow quintet released their much anticipated début album back on 7th May via Stow College label Electric Honey. It's a romp of an indie-pop effort, which holds real emotion beneath the catchy melodies, and features a number of their singles released already such as 'Younger' and 'Numbers'. The band were also rather kind to come and play the first Scottish Fiction Presents: Aye Tunes vs. Peenko gig back in October, which was lovely!
The first of four, yes count them four, albums released on 17th September to feature in our top 20. The Edinburgh band put out this very accomplished album which is full of well written love songs that actually convey real emotions,
landscape sounds at times rivalling those of more establish indie acts,
and full of awkward dance moves as those oh-so-cool indie kids try not
to dance. Another charming band who came and playing for us in October. Cheers!
Teenage Fanclub are an institution that can do no wrong. Luckily that also extents to their constituent parts, including bassist Gerard Love who, with the help of some other Glasgow musicians, released his début solo album under the guise of Lightships. The influence of the Fannies is clear, as is another Glasgow institution The Pastels, under whose label the album was released, yet there's plenty of originality and a breezy summer day feel throughout.
Back in 2011 I had the pleasure of seeing Olympic Swimmers support Admiral Fallow at The Arches, and shortly after 'Apples And Pears' became one of my favourite tracks. I'd kind off forgotten about the band until... BAM 'No Flags Will Fly' dropped on 4th June and propelled the band to greater things. The first four tracks contribute one of the strongest starts to an album all year, especially my favourite 'Knots'.
Over The Wall frontman Gav Prentice chose this year to 'go solo', something which he'd been toying with for a while and was encouraged to go for during a lull in OTW activities. And just as bloody well, because début 'The Invisible Hand' genuinely does stand alone from Prentice's previous band and serves
as a vehicle for the him musician to say something he couldn't have got
across as a collective. Full of small town angst, frustration and threats of violence, it's a stonker of an album well worth checking out. Peenko, Aye Tunes and I had the pleasure of 'launching' the album at our gig in November. Jolly good so it was.
After 2010's self titled album from former Aerogramme lad's Craig B and Ian Cooke, a follow up was always expected. Thankfully it was delivered via Chemikal Underground in August, and it firmly delivered surpassing the standards the duo had set with their début. Ian Cooke has been a busy bee this year as well, popping up as part of CHVRCHES, who may, arguably, surpass TUH popularity. Time will tell. In the meantime enjoy 'Afterlives'.
Time for my favourite named album of the year, the wonderfully titled 'Something For The Weakened' from Meursault. Led by Neil Pennycook, Meursault returned with their third offer, displaying progression in their songwriting and a more 'human' and acoustic sound. Featuring tracks such as 'Flittin', 'Dull Spark' and personal favourite 'Lament For A Teenage Millionaire', this is a fine fine album worthy of your time.
The first of two appearances for DIY Glasgow label Olive Grove Records. Jo Mango's second album 'Murmuration' was a labour of love, taking six years to write and record. It's certainly worth the wait though as there's such beauty, craft, intricacy and emotion weaved throughout. Each track is a real labour of love, and for true, original songwriting you can't look further than 'Murmuration'.
And here's numero two for Olive Grove, which has nothing to do with our recent gig foray with Lloyd, and everything to do with the extraordinary collective feeling they have developed and used to entice The State Broadcasters to release their second album 'Ghosts We Must Carry' with them. The second album on the list to have been released on the magical date, 17th September, The State Broadcasters have crafted an album full of
folk/American/traditional musical influences which broads with real
human emotion.
Human Don't Be Angry, named after the literal translation of the German name for the board game Frustration, is of course Malcolm Middleton, who turns his hand to electronica and '80's influenced music on this album. Released via Chemikal Underground on 23rd April, it's an album that has intriuged me and stuck with me all year round. Sound truly landscaped sounds, tapping into the electro sound which is prevalent at the moment. Wonderful live as well. Chill out and have a listen.
For our last live session of 2013, we welcomed Jo Mango into the Pulse Community Radio studio for a chat about all things Jo Mango! Listen back to hear Jo chatting about her music and influences, the making and release of the 'Murmuration' album, and hear her choice of tracks through the first hour. And if that wasn't enough there's three live tracks, including a little Christmas number, snuggled in there too!
On top of that we played music from Rick Redbeard, Evil Hand, Fat Goth, Insect Heroes and much more! Enjoy!
