Month: May 2010

This Week’s Records

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Quite a lot out this week, so lets get to it.

Tokyo Knife Attack release Cool Kids, it should be available from iTunes by the time you read this. It is a cracking wee tune too.
The Lava Experiments have their Backbody Vol. III EP out today too. I liked it lots. It’ll be available from all good download places, or visit the Lava Experiments website to get a CD.
Kid Canaveral release a new single, You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night. I like it too, no surprise there. Backed with remixes by Kwaing Creasite and Becky Becky Parentheses the single is available on cassette or download, visit Bandcamp for a listen and to buy.
Ming Ming and the Ching Chings unleash their new EP, Not In Anyone’s Gang. Guess what? Liked that too.
Stanley Odd release their debut album, Oddio. I’ve not heard this yet, so I’ve no idea if it will be good or not, but reviews have been good, as have the few Stanley Odd songs I’ve heard previously.
Silver Columns have their much anticipated debut album out today also. I’m eagerly awaiting my copy arriving in the post.
Meursault‘s new album, All Creatures Will Make Merry, is now available on general release after being sold at gigs for the last few weeks.
Finally, one of my favourite bands return after five years. Yup, Teenage Fanclub have a new album out! Shadows is released today, and one of the first things I did after getting up today was buying a copy.

Words Per Minute - WPM2

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Just a wee reminder that this Sunday - June 6th - sees the second WPM event take place at Creation Studios in Glasgow.

I’m far from the most literary minded of people - normal the phrase “spoken word event” is enough to make me look for a hiding place - So when I tell you that I really enjoyed the first WPM event that should give you a clue about the quality of the performers, and how accessible it is to all. Even people like me that don’t read nearly as much as they should and are terrified of poetry.
If you never went to the first one and want to find out what you missed then you are in luck, as thanks to the magic of the internet you can listen to the whole thing, or watch some lovely videos. Videos of the performances can be found on YouTube, and podcasts of the first event are here. You can still read the interview that Kirstin and Anneliese did with me prior to the first event here too.


Performing at this month’s event are: Sophie Cooke, Emily Ballou, Craig Lamont, Adrian Searle, Iain Campbell, Adam Stafford and Rodge Glass. If you visit Aye tunes for the music - which I presume you do, since there’s not much else - then the last two names should be familiar to you.


Adam Stafford is label boss, film maker, and musician as part of Y’all Is Fantasy Island and more recently on his own. Recent single Shot Down You Summer Wannabes is by far my favourite thing Adam has done, and as it is a free download you could do much worse than check it out.
As well as a musical performance, I believe there might also be a screening of The Shutdown, a multi-award winning short directed by Adam Stafford, novelist Alan Bissett recalls growing up next to one of Europe’s largest petrochemical plants and the harrowing experience of an explosion that temporarily deformed his father.

On the subject of Adam Stafford, Euan McMeeken of The Kays Lavelle (whose debut album Be Still This Gentle Morning is out now) recently sent me a track from a covers album that Adam Stafford is making with Emily Scott which I’m allowed to share with you, but hadn’t gotten round to fitting in yet, so here’s a chance. The song is a cover version of The Twilight Sad’s Walking For Two Hours.
Adam Stafford and the Death Bridge Convention - Walking For Two Hours

Rodge Glass is another one of those disgustingly talented people. Having gained attention as a novelist Rodge also has a critically acclaimed biography of Alasdair Gray under his belt. As if that wasn’t enough he is currently Writer in Residence at Strathclyde University, where he also teaches Creative Writing. Then there’s the song that Rodge wrote for Vashti Bunyan that appeared on Ballads of the Book, and more recently the quite splendid Burnt Island mini album.
Sticking with Burnt Island for a moment, please go here to have a listen to their cover of Elliott Smith’s Between The Bars. If you like it, pay the quid to download it, all profits go to Depression Alliance UK.
Rodge, along with Dave Turbitt, will be giving a sneak preview of their new graphic novel Dougie’s War at WPM2. Being something of a comics geek, I’m rather looking forward to that.

WPM2 will be starting at 4pm on Sunday, so try and get down a bit before that, maybe for about 3.30pm to get in, grab a drink and a seat and get comfy, and runs till 6pm, followed by a DJ set from Miaoux Miaoux.
Entry is £2, and you can bring your own booze if you buy a food voucher for the Creation Studios cafe.

For lots more details visit the Words Per Minute website.

This Week’s Gigs 31st May - 6th June

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This week, and most of June, is quite frankly insane for gigs. Look!

Monday:
We Are Jawbone have a free gig at Pivo Pivo, with Mother Midnight, Forgotten Sunday and The Parting also on the bill.
Tuesday:
Scout Niblet plays Stereo, with support coming from The Martial Arts and Donald MacDonald.
Just announced, Remember Remember are playing The 13th Note. They’ll be debuting new songs, and a new line up.
Wednesday:
Wednesday appears to mark the start of silly season. Check out this lot, all on one night.
Team Ghost and Deathpodal are playing The 13th Note. Deathpodal’s EP is brilliant, and the live show should be pretty memorable too. (Side note: looks like I’ve got a spare ticket going for this, so holler if you want it…)
Detour move out of Bloc this week, down the street to The Buff Club. Playing for them this month are Song of Return, There Will Be Fireworks, The Second Hand Marching Band and Meursault. Now that is a line-up! Tickets are £5 and available here.

Open Swimmer, Maple Leaves and Kettle of Kites are at The Captain’s Rest. We like Maple Leaves a lot round here, even though I’m still waiting on Julian serving up a restraining order on me for stalking him, of which there’s plenty chances this week by the look of it.
Since that lot isn’t enough, there’s also Glissando and Debutant at Bar Brel.
Thursday:
Oh Thursday, you saw there was loads happening on Wednesday and just had to try and keep up, didn’t you? You swine.

Antimatter present the second of their Music Box nights at The Universal. Playing live are Call To Mind, Error Response, Cracks In the Concrete, and Nomogram, with visuals courtesy of Ruan Suess, Awai David Wan, Erin Hardee, and Parallax. Visit the Antimatter website for more details, and to buy tickets.
The Last Battle and Yahweh are supporting Peggy Sue at Stereo.
Kochka are playing at Maggie Mays.

Washington Irving launch their debut EP with a gig at Mono, with support from Endor, Randolph’s Leap and The Social Services.
Sleepingdog play Brel, with support from Euan McMeeken.
Finally it is the latest Elba Session Presents gig, with acoustic sets from Shambles Miller, Blue Sky Archives and My Cousin I Bid You Farewell. We like all of them round here.
Friday:
Radar are branching out from writing about music to putting on a gig (hey, why didn’t I think of that?) at Nice n Sleazy. Miaoux Miaoux is playing live, offering another chance for Julian stalking, and you get another chance to see Blue Sky Archives and My Cousin I Bid You Farewell if you missed them the previous night, but playing louder this time.
Saturday:
The Lava Experiments launch their wonderful Blackbody Vol. III EP with a gig at The 13th Note. Also on the bill are The Hundred Metre Club and Mammals. See The Lava Experiments website for cheap tickets!
Mi Ami, Ultimate Thrush and the brilliantly mental Divorce are at Nice N Sleazy, presumably making lots of noise.
Sunday:
WPM2 takes place at Creation Studios at 4pm on Sunday. There’s a post on that coming up tomorrow, needless to say there’s a great line-up.
Macabre Scene play King Tut’s, supporting Murder by Death.
Little Yellow Ukuleles, Galleries, Pacific Theatre, He Slept on 57 can all be found making noise at The 13th Note.
Spoiled for choice, or taking the piss? You decide.

The Lava Experiments - Blackbody Vol. III EP Review

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Roughly a year on from the release of Blackbdy Vol. 1, The Lava Experiments have completed their promised trilogy of EPs with the release of Volume III.
When listened to back to back you can really hear progress with each release. Blackbody I was good, Blackbody II was better generally with a couple of real standout moments and now Blackbody III has arrived and takes another step up.

I love my music to be atmospheric, and The Lava Experiments deliver in spades. They make dark, at times cinematic, shoegazey soundscapes that are just dripping with atmosphere. Like previous releases (and funnily enough The Release from Blackbody II in particular) the songs on this EP draw you in and trap you in their midst as they swirl around and wash over you as you listen.
Atmosphere is all well and good, but of course there needs to be a bit more about songs than just that to hold my attention. Lurking amidst the darkness there’s no shortage of hooks and melody, spine tingling riffs and drumkits being beaten into submission, while listening to this EP there’s little danger of my mind wandering.

Great stuff, from a band that seemingly keep improving.

Lava Experiments: Website - MySpace
Blackbody Vol III is released on limited edition CD and download on May 31st, with a launch gig at The 13th Note in Glasgow on June 5th.

What’s Happening This Week?

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Quick answer, not all that much.

No guide gig proper this week, partly due to there not much being on, but mostly down to me being in a bloody horrible mood today. Instead of doing a gig guide, or replying to the pair of ridiculously bitchy emails that put me in a mood today has been spent hanging around in the garden with a couple of beers and cheery tunes.
There’s a couple of decent gigs this week, so I’ll batter through them quickly.
On Wednesday Kitty The Lion play Stereo, along with The Invisible Republic.
Thursday has Over The Wall, Gdansk and Adam Stafford at Oran Mor, a line up which is quite likely to tempt me out of the house.
Friday (and Saturday) has both a decent gig and worthy cause going for it, in the shape of Dusk To Dawn. This is a two night thing at The Buff Club, presented by TBC (Together Beat Cancer). Friday’s line up includes Admiral Fallow and Louise McVey & Cracks In The Concrete, while Saturday has Findlay Napier and Alan McKim, amongst others. Visit the TBC website, and check out our PodcART pals for all the details you need.
Records out this week include singles by Teenage Fanclub and God Help The Girl, a Julia and the Doogans EP, and an album by Jack James.
Next week, and pretty much all of June, promise to have gig guides that will kill me - not to mention going to the gigs themselves - with the amount of stuff that’s on, so it is probably a bonus that I can save my energy this week.

Ming Ming and the Ching Chings - Not In Anyone’s Gang EP Review

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Even though they’ve been around for ages, honestly, Ming Ming and the Ching Chings are a band I’ve never really paid much attention to, for the simple reason that their name always makes me think of Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, and life is too short to spend time thinking about that particular talent vacuum.

However, since their upcoming new EP has made its way to me it would be rude to ignore it just because I dislike their name, not even I am that petty. A quick look at the band’s MySpace for a bit of background sees them start their list of influences with “Sergio Leone, Airwolf, Taxi”. This could all go horribly wrong, or very, very right then.
First impressions are promising enough, good hooks, scuzzy basslines, fuzzed up guitar, some parping brass, and a breakneck pace (along with my spellcheck screaming at me that many of those aren’t real words) and bags of attitude and served up in heaps on opener Season of Horrors. Secrets of Men does similar, but slows the pace enough to catch breath. Well, momentarily at least… This songs puts me in mind of the likes of The Cramps a bit, which is no bad thing.
After that brief breather Creepy Tales ups the pace again, before Punch in the Face verges dangerously close to Fratellis territory, but stays just on the right side of bouncy on fun to avoid making the song title into something you’d like to do to one of the band members.
Throughout the EP there’s bags of attitude and swagger about the band, but thankfully they’ve also remembered the thing that so many others forget, which is to back the cockiness up with bloody good songs.
By the time you’ve reached the final track of the five it becomes obvious that that short, sharp, infectious, filthy sounding pop is something that Ming Ming and the Ching Chings excell at. Just as you might wonder if there’s more to them that than the final track answers a resounding yes. In contrast to the songs before that struggle to average three minutes between them EP closer Straighten Up! comes in a few seconds short of a monstrous eight minutes, and there’s never a dull moment during it.
Straighten Up! is frantic, frenetic, and surely destined to cause carnage on dancefloors forever.
So, how did it go? Fears were dismissed early on, it all got very messy but very fun, and everything turned out gloriously right. Can’t ask for much more than that really.
I’m not convinced Ming Ming and the Chings Chings bring much new to the table, but when something is this much fun, energetic and charismatic that is quite alright with me. Still don’t like the name mind you, but I’ll deal with it.
Ming Ming and the Ching Chings - MySpace
Not In Anyone’s Gang is launched with a gig at Nice n Sleazy on May 30th, with the EP going on full release on limited edition CD and download on May 31st.

T-Break Announced

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I haven’t been paying much attention to T in the Park to be honest. I fear I’m too old for it now, and the main line up does nothing to convince me, or even think a little bit, that I’m missing out on anything by not paying attention.

However, tonight (or this morning for most people reading this) saw the line up for the T-Break stage announced, and there;s some really, really good bands involved.
Here;s the full line-up:
I’m of course delighted for all the bands who have been chosen to play at T-break this year, but I’m particularly happy for about half of them who have featured in one form or anther on this blog over the last year or so, and doubly happy for Mitchell Museum, who in one fell swoop have gone from playing a gig for a couple of guys that had no idea how to put on a gig to one of the major summer festivals.

Loch Lomond - Night Bats EP Review

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Loch Lomond might have a Scottish name, but they hail from Portland, which is somewhere over in that America place. They also pronounce their name funny. They are over in the UK at the moment though, doing a little tour to coincide with the release of this EP on Song, by Toad Records, which is why they are getting a mention round here today.

Well, that and the simple matter that the EP is really good, it doesn’t matter where good stuff comes from. Loch Lomond are a band that first came to my attention after a previous release on Song. by Toad, a split 12″ with The Builders & The Butchers, which I liked enough to send me scurrying to eMusic to find more from the bands. I picked up Night Bats then, but as I say, it has just been released over here by Song, by Toad.
Loch Lomond would fit in pretty nicely over this side of the pond if they ever fancy a move actually, since they do a good line in the sort of indie, folky sound that’s always popular round here. I get the feeling that if you enjoy the likes of Sparrow & The Workshop then you’ll rather enjoy Loch Lomond too.
Opening track Ghost of an Earthworm could happily rename itself Ghost of an Earworm without any problems, it is as perfectly sculpted a folk pop song as any you’ll hear, which lodged itself in my brain rapidly and won’t leave. Plus, it has handclaps. I’m a sucker for handclaps.
The EP gets off to a great start then, and doesn’t really let up from there on in. Title track Night Bats isn’t as immediate, being a more laid back affair that sneaks up on you rather than forces itself on you, but it is no less gorgeous, and makes for a nice change of pace. Particularly as the tempo is upped again by Spine (MMIX) a deceptively simple sounding song that stomps along, slows down a bit, then builds to a glorious climax.

Saving the best for last, the EP closes with Wax and Wire, my favourite of an excellent selection. Mixing a bit of everything - strings, piano, excellent harmonies, even a bit of birdsong - into the song yet remaining sparse and open sounding Wax and Wire is just gorgeous, a song that leaves my spine tingling a little, and my day much better for having heard it.
Loch Lomond have a few gigs over the rest of the week around the UK which should be well worth catching, visit their MySpace or Song, by Toad for all the details.
Loch Lomond - MySpace

The Scottish Enlightenment - Pascal EP

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I mentioned this last week in the new releases round up, but this is the first that I’ve managed to batter through laziness to write a wee bit more about it.

The Scottish Enlightenment first came to my attention around October last year when, apparently after a lengthy hiatus, they posted a few tracks as a free download, and I was pointed in their direction. The freebies were excellent, and the band were filed away in my head as one to keep an eye out for.
When I heard they had an EP of songs that wouldn’t be on their upcoming album ready to go I was eagerly anticipating it then, even more so when some friends got their mitts on review copies and taunted me with how good it sounded. I waited impatiently on release, even going so far as checking to see if the label Armellodie would sneak it out early like they’ve done with the last couple of Super Adventure Club releases, every day for the week before release.
When I’m that hyped up for a release it would be really easy to be let down by it. Especially considering that the EP was to be composed of songs that hadn’t for whatever reason made the cut for the album. Let’s not beat around the bush and get straight to it, the Pascal EP is no collection of duff songs, it’s gorgeous, and more than lived up to the expectations I had heaped upon it.
The whole thing can be sampled using the wee player at the bottom of the post, so I won’t bother telling you what it sounds like, you can spare 20 minutes some time and find out for yourself.
If you are like me the dreamy, slow paced melodies will quickly have you hooked, and thinking something along the lines of “if this is the stuff that didn’t make the album, how bloody good is it going to be?”. All Homemade Things is one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. Simple, understated, and a bit brilliant. But there I go, raising my expectations again. Somehow I don’t think I’m going to be let down.
If you aren’t like me and find yourself unimpressed, well, you are of course entitled to your opinion, just know that it is wrong, sorry.
The Scottish Enlightenment: Website - Bandcamp
The Scottish Enlightenment’s Pascal EP is released by Armellodie Records and available now.

This Week’s Records

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It’s a good week for singles, but there’s a cracking album out too. Here’s the new releases.

Night Noise Team - You Won (single) Touched on this one in the round up reviews the other week. It’s a big disco dancefloor monster, and gets a large Aye Tunes stamp of approval. Released today through all the usual download places, and Bandcamp.
French Wives - Me Vs Me (single) We like this one a lot too. New single from the band that make me sing songs on the night bus, available on CD and download. Why not go along to LOVEmusic later today to see the band do an instore performance and buy the single there?
Camera Obscura - The Nights Are Cold (single) Twee pop loveliness, as usual. The A-side is a cover of the Richard Hawley song, while the flip side has a remix of The Sweetest Thing by Hawley himself. Out on 7″ and download.
The Whisky Works - Electric (single) Ahead of the (re)release of their debut mini album next week, here’s a new single. This is the song I didn’t like until it turned out all the things I disliked about it were due to a faulty mp3 file, and the song is pretty good, really.
Silver Columns - Cavalier (single) Another teaser for the upcoming Silver Columns album, with a couple of remixes thrown in for good measure. Out on 12″ and download.
Crow Road - What Your Hand Can’t Hold (single) Available from Wednesday, when there’s also a launch gig for the single.
The Red Show - EP (EP, obviously) Not actually a new release, but this is as good a time and place to mention it as any. Over on their (very swanky) website The Red Show are offering a chance to buy their next EP in advance of it being recorded. In return you’ll get the new EP as soon as it is done and a download of their last EP, along with some other unspecified goodies.
The Kays Lavelle - Be Still This Gentle Morning (album) Oops, I’ve still not written my review of this, have I? Short version then - it is really very good. Should be available from record shops across the land on CD, and a download option is on the way too, keep an eye on Wiseblood Industries for more info and buying options.
Maxwell Panther - Lovers reBEL (album) Another album from the prolific and endearingly lo-fi Mr Panther. Available as a pay what you like download on Bandcamp.
I think that’s the lot for this week, tell me if I missed anything.