Louise Distras: EP Review

Louise Distras

Heart Strings On A Hand Grenade

A rogue-folk hybrid somewhere between Bikini Kill and Martha Wainwright

Just because you haven’t heard of her don’t go believing she’s a new arrival with nothing to offer. That is the arrogant assumption I made (and I should know better) when Louise Distras first came to my attention. Further investigation revealed her to be much hyped and knee deep in so much critical acclaim it probably makes her bleed from the inside out. Any appreciation for something you create is the greatest feeling - but appreciation via the huge amounts being flung at her and at such a fledgling time in her existence - can only be wondrous! The 3 track EP ‘Heartstrings On A Hand Grenade’ is as good an account of oneself as any singer/songwriter might hope to bring for your consideration of their art. Her singing voice spits out mini-dramas and oscillates from raw to tender,  - her guitar playing - powerfully commanding to consequential nostalgia. Lyrically she is a critical essayist, the mouthy narrators perspective laced with vitriol and heartfelt emotion the same. The opening track ‘This Is Your Life’ begins with a bouncy acoustic guitar and lightly sweetened vocal delivery before scratching away the veneer to unfurl the first glimpse of what seems a naturally stabbing voraciousness - the spat-out words, gravely voice and tormented guitar work conveying the nature of her mood clearly enough. ‘Bullets’ is a guitar/tambourine paroxysm of rage-fuelled bitterness and frustration executed with perplexing greatness and lucidity via the enterprising voice/six string combination - an effective employment of the two things she’s clearly proficient in. Her final song ‘Blue On Black’ is the jauntier of the three - a multi-chorusing, whistling, feel-good tune disguising the jabbing lyrics lurking behind the fake whimsy of her chosen demeanour. Comparisons to Frank Turner/ Billy Bragg/Beki Bondage and every other British protest folk/punk singer wielding a guitar are to be expected, it’s the nihilistic manner that encourages the formation of such opinions, but although she isn’t about to become a genre differentiating guru on the strength of what’s here she will gain serious respect wherever she lays her proverbial hat. And who the fuck’s Brody Dalle anyway?

(photograph courtesy of louisedistras.co.uk)

LOUISE DISTRAS HOMEPAGE

Live Review: Pete Doherty.

Pete Doherty

Liquid Room

Edinburgh

21/09/11

the man with the soul of a busking poet returns 

Wearing a black suit but no trademark trilby hat Pete Doherty strolls onstage, picks up his acoustic guitar and, beneath stark unfussy violet lights begins his solo set as casually as if he’d just stopped for a 15 minute break before coming back out to pick up from where he’d previously finished. Only the reaction of the crowd - all screams and cheers - suggest his time away from this city has been so much longer than that - and tonight they were happy to see him back. He’s stirred up more hysterical media hype throughout his career than anyone else and split public opinion as fervently as any insincere politician might. His recent jail sentence for cocaine possession only chucked up another fresh source of nourishment for the frenzied to feast on. His intelligence, natural gifts and poetic intuition have endured long spells subdued by his addictions while his ego took off with Kate Moss for a while. Tonight all we can do is wait to see just how much of him has come back from the wreckage.

Swaying as he sings his way through ‘The Bowery Song’ his eyes barely lifting upwards he wheels away from the mic to face the wall before quickly strumming a chord change into gear and spinning back round to head straight into ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ from his Libertines legacy and suddenly the Liquid Room has joined him - a full voiced choir - ‘cornered, the boy kicked out at the world, the world kicked back a lot fucking harder’ as he paces and steps the stage, singing with them, then dropping away again as they sing and he plays - a guitarist in a band of several hundred frontmen. He refrains from speaking between songs but still charms without trying , strumming out random chords before quickly changing the structure and breaking into another song. He’s aimlessly cool,  it catches them by surprise and they roar approval every time. He continues the journey through his Libertines, Babyshambles and solo work effortlessly and his volleying vocal on ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ drops and yelps and soars with perfection. The surreal bohemia of two ballet dancers gliding across the stage during ‘For Lovers’ reminds you just how creative the mind of Pete Doherty is. Bringing the song to its end all three bow theatrically to their audience before he fires onwards with a frenetic ‘Killamangiro’ followed by ‘Beg Steal Or Borrow’.


He stays with the older songs, ‘Music When The Lights Go Out’ and the biggest cheer of the night is kept for  Libertines catchy chant-along favourite ‘What A Waster’ the audience feverishly singing along with him as the line ‘get back inside you’ve got nothing on, oh mind yer bleeding own you 2 bob cunt’  fills the room. He continues, repeating the lyric ’2 bob’  over and over just so everyone can sing ‘cunt’ repeatedly. He’s spent the whole gig swaying and prowling the stage, spinning around and walking away, strumming random half tunes and changing the pace of songs midway. Wheeling his acoustic guitar up from his waist to his chest, playing one handed, jabbing it forwards or stopping completely. The last few songs are again pulled from his Libertines era and include ‘What Katie Did Next’ with its catchy ’shoop shoop shoop de lang de lang’ harmonies  and ‘Time For Heroes’. His debut solo single, the harmonica laden ‘Last Of The English Roses’ is next up before he finishes back in the past again with ‘I Get Along’ A fight breaks out at the side of the stage just as he brings the gig to an end. Security mop up the mouthy ones in less than 2 minutes, a perfectly timed operation indeed as Pete Doherty returns to the stage. He grabs the mic and announces ‘That’s your lot, it’s time to go, there will be no encore’. He smiles, picks up his guitar and kicks straight into ‘Fuck Forever’ As some of the crowd appear onstage beside him security quickly pull them down only for another lot to appear in their place, and again a third time.  It was all very jubilant and celebratory as they bounced and sang along with him, this man that they’d all came to watch, this man who hadn’t let them down once tonight, this man who had played a blinder here and was a joy to witness. He brings the song to an end, unstraps his guitar and holds it above his head for a few seconds as if celebrating a victory,  quickly smiles and throws it into the crowd. By the time they look back up he’s gone.

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Photographs by Suzanne Hancock

Motorhead: The Complete Early Years Boxset

The greatest contribution Hawkwind made to rock music was firing bass player Ian Fraser ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister in 1975 following his arrest at the Canadian border on charges of drug possession. Lemmy, as we now all know, formed new band BASTARD before heeding the advice of his manager that any band with such a name would be completely overlooked by the music industry - so the band was renamed after the last song he ever wrote for Hawkwind - that song was, of course, called MOTORHEAD -and the rest, as the stereotyped expression loves to tell us….is history! Their loud, raucous, fast punk tinged heavy rock & roll biker chic was a revolutionary explosion of graceless rebellion explicitly employing conflicting genres of music with ceaseless audacity, and such smug nihilism has served them gloriously well - the years have not diminished the power. 

To mark a career which, to date, spans more than 3 decades, Sanctuary/Universal are to release Motorhead: The Complete Early Years Box Set. Housed within a unique Motorhead skull case are the first 8 albums, seven early singles, a limited edition print, concert programmes, badges and a collectors guide to the band. In fairness the band have completely distanced themselves from the whole thing and a recent statement from Lemmy urged fans not to buy it, claiming they have ‘no control over what’s done with their early songs’ and ‘wouldn’t want our fans to think we’d ever be involved in putting out such a costly product’. As endearing as his sincerity may be it’s a product possibly far too appealing for the hardcore collector to disregard based only on the disgruntled front-man. The first 8 albums are, without doubt, the most potent and concise of the Motorhead heritage. Among them…

MOTORHEAD (1977): The stripped back heavy rock with tinges of raw punk - this is the embryotic stages of their development - including the brutal, grit edged wall of noise title track as album opener - the hard rocking ‘Vibrator’ and a stand-out version of the Johnny Burnette song ‘Train Kept A Rollin’ 

OVERKILL (1979) Everything fell into pieces here as Motorhead unleash the sound and style they’re known for. Everything about this album is literally groundbreaking. The title track’s unrelenting holocaust of drums and hefty rock & roll paves the way for a collection of awesome compositions including ‘Stay Clean’ a snarling ‘No Class’ and ‘I’ll Be Your Sister’

BOMBER (1979) Surprisingly average record that failed completely to live up to the expectation OVERKILL churned up. Probably their weakest release ever - but it still contains a couple of classics like ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ and ‘Stone Dead Forever’ The majority of it is all a bit uninteresting and lacks the muscular drive of previous songs.

ACE OF SPADES (1980) This is Motorhead at their fast-paced, unstoppable best. Fiercely delivered arrogant rock & roll with depth and cleverness rooted at the foundation of every moment. Some of their best songs appeared on this album - (We Are) The Road Crew, ‘Live To Win’ ‘Jailbait’ ‘Ace Of Spades’ and ‘Love Me Like A Reptile’ A solid monument of pure brilliance.

Making up the rest of this extensive collection are…
Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers (1977)
Louie Louie (1978)
Golden Years EP (1980)
St Valentines Day Massacre EP (1980)

Iron Fist (1982)
Another Perfect Day (1983)
Stand By Your Man EP (1982)
No Remorse (1984)
Shine (1983)
Killed By Death (1984)

Make no mistake, this IS the perfect collection for any serious Motorhead follower. Every second of their greatness is right here - and the collectors shall welcome it with frenzied joy.

Billy Liar: Interview (from my archives)

Interview with Billy Liar in August 2010 for Subba Cultcha. Article published Aug 30th 2010.

The acoustic punk rocker Billy Liar sits down and answers my questions

The natural poetics capture normal life’s balance and tension while the clever idiosyncratic fusion of punk rock and acoustic guitar is each observations fanfare. He’s a town centre wordsmith and back street philosopher combination, engaging your weary minds with songs you can relate to without ever feeling patronised or wrongly represented. Already a veteran of his craft, and aged just 23, he’s possibly played more venues than someone from his generation would expect and recently added a shed-load of air miles clocked up during a recent series of gigs… in New Zealand, something most of his peers can only gawp at. Ever since 2007’s debut EP ‘Come Back To Edinburgh’ enchanted both public and media alike it’s been more swings than it has roundabouts for the Glasgow based musician. The recently released second EP ‘It Starts Here’ was produced by Acey Slade of Murderdolls and Amen notoriety and it continues to spearhead the march of Billy Liar across our planet. Fresh from his  slot at this year’s Rebellion Festival in Blackpool I tracked down the itinerant punk and demanded he answer my specially prepared questions. Like a true champ he obliged most kindly.

From Billy Liar the band to Billy Liar the solo performer is a transition you made some time ago now. Was there specific reasons for wanting to go it alone?

It’s a one man mission! How else can I say it?! I will keep playing with friends of mine but it will never be a band again.

You can never be accused of not putting in the spadework when it comes to playing live. You’ve pretty much graced every punk rock/live music venue in Scotland plus as many beyond that. It’s obviously something you are passionate about doing, and I know it definitely wont be about the cash. Is it more about playing live for you than it is is anything else or is it a means to raising the profile for your future development as an artist?

It's just purely about trying to play my songs to as many people as possible. The more times I play, the more I learn how to make them better and also I just love meeting new people. Touring non stop gives me the opportunity!

Staying with the live thing, you played some gigs in New Zealand recently. How did that come about? How did they take to the music of Billy Liar?

I supported The Rabble when they played in Scotland and became really good friends with their drummer Rupe. He put me in touch with Andrew who runs a company called Act-Up Promotions and has been The Rabble's booking agent in NZ for years and has also been involved in the making of lots of their music videos. Andrew sorted the whole tour and I had a blast while I was out there. A lot of people came to the shows and Andrew shot a video for me while I was there which is getting edited just now. I will put it online as soon as it's ready! Also, check out 5th Threat, a great New Zealand punk band, and great friends of mine.

Last year you released the ‘It Starts Here’ EP. It was produced by the legendary Acey Slade ( Trashlight Vision, Murderdolls) which isn’t something many solo acoustic punk singers can add to their c.v.  Tell us a bit about that?

Acey is a really good friend. We met years ago at a Trashlight Vision gig in Edinburgh. I grew up listening to his music in Murderdolls and Amen, and loved what he was doing with Trashlight, and so I gave him a copy of my first EP. About two weeks later, I got an email from him saying we needed to work together. Voila!

Are there any plans or offers to head into the studio again for the follow up?

We're talking just now about that. I've been writing a lot of new songs and getting them ready to record my debut album. I recorded my first EP in Scotland, and my second in London. I think this time I will do the album half and half. I really want to get as many of my friends on it as possible, so I will see how it will work out! I can't wait to get the new songs recorded!

Your lyrics are very ordinary observations of the world around you. A believable world that most of us frequent. You have a sharp poetic insight though which makes for interesting narration. What is the most vital part of the whole process for you. Writing the lyrics or writing music good enough to bring out the lyrics?

Thank you. A bit of both really. The lyrics and the story are definitely where the song stems from but then it has to have a strong melody to carry those lyrics throughout the song. The best songs are the ones that come from nowhere. Those are the ones I try and hang on to. I can wake up with an entire song in my head or be sitting on a bus and suddenly frantically scribbling on the back of my bus ticket, with a complete song spilling out of me; lyrics and music.

What bands and artists influence you?

At the moment, I've been listening to Jesse Malin a lot, and his new band, Jesse Malin and The St. Marks Social. I saw him play recently at a sold out show at King Tuts in Glasgow, and it absolutely blew me away. The sheer energy of the band and the relentless smashing out of songs and passion with which they were executed was something I hadn't seen in some time. They played nonstop until they were literally dragged off stage by the promoter. Their album is incredible too. Also, been listening to Kings Of The Delmar, The Dead Class, I.C.H, Pascal Briggs, Sorry And The Sinatras, Bomb The Music Industry!, The Hold Steady and Andrew Jackson Jihad.

What does the immediate future hold for you?

Just got back from Rebellion Festival and that was one of the funnest gigs I've ever played - made so many new friends, saw so many amazing bands, and caught up with so many old friends. My friend Wayne from Kings Of The Delmar described Rebellion as a place where bands who normally pass each other in motorway service stations like ships in the night, get a chance every year to catch up properly and have a laugh. I think he's right! As for right now, I'm taking a bit of time off touring at the moment (for the first time in a long time!) to get the tracks ready for my album and decide which label I want to put it out on. I may sneak in a UK tour with Wayne before the year is out, and there's talk of a tour of Finland with Deek from Oi Polloi's new band, Kansalaistottelemattomuus, AND a tour of Australia, but we'll see how this year and next pan out!

Finally, who’d win in a fight between yourself and pint-sized Communards terrier Jimmy Somerville? 

Hahahaa why? Is he wanting a fight like? I'll box the cunt!

And on that note I thank you, sir!

BILLY LIAR HOMEPAGE

For all Billy Liar gig listings and further info click the link at the bottom of this page

For press queries including requests for interview, guest listings, photographs, bookings and material for review contact Iain McDonald at  booking@billyliarmusic.com

Glasvegas Live Review (from my archives)

Glasvegas

Liquid Room

Edinburgh

March 1st 2011

Things could have went either way for Glasvegas between 2008 and now. A platinum selling debut album, a fan base that stretched from Glasgow to god knows where and, as if that wasn’t enough, the press proclaimed them ‘the most significant British band of the decade’, passed them the captains arm band and sent them out to show the rest of the world just what all the fuss was about. That kind of overwhelming pressure would possibly cripple most bands lacking the artillery required to live up to such critical acclaim but, as history did record, Glasvegas played the countless blinders of the gifted, weaving their way around the potential banana skins of hype to emerge at this end nearly two and a half years later hardly troubled. These days they don’t have to prove themselves to anyone. Their second album ‘EUPHORIC/HEARTBREAK\\’ (an italicised torment for any grammar pedant surely)  was road tested early January with a series of low key gigs in remote Scottish towns and villages and the reaction has been pleasing. So…new album, new songs, new drummer (Jonna Lofgren in for the departed Caroline McKay) and a new decade…..

Ditching the black clothes that had for so long been ‘his look’ Glasvegas front-man James Allen leads his band onstage for tonight’s sold out gig dressed entirely in white - an image from which the cultivation could either be symbolic or whimsical, I wouldn’t know, but the thundering collective roar that welcomed their arrival from a crowd who’ve packed this venue to it’s capacity is a sure sign, regardless of who’s wearing what and why, that Glasvegas are a band that matter to these people. Opening song ‘The World Is Yours’ is raucous rock & roll with a guitar driven seam and shuddering bassline unlike anything they’ve done before. The drumbeat, much heavier and more defined than it’s ever been suggests a definite shift in musical direction from the wall of sound style they employed on previous material. As the opening chords of ‘Geraldine’ ring out inciting  celebratory bedlam and the first of tonight’s crowd sing-alongs it’s obvious how much the older songs are still wanted as they tear the words from the mouth of James Allen before he’s had the chance to sing them - and he allows them this - happily staying quiet as they take it for their own, before re-joining the song with them through the last chorus and end. Staying with the older material, his soaring lead vocals during ‘It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry’- the self wounding confessional of a cheating bastard coughing up his guilt- crack in the air as he sings ‘it’s funny how me fucking her about has got me in this fucking mess’, before it’s seized upon by the crowd and launched to football terrace proportions as they sing with him ‘what’s the story morning glory, I feel so low and worthless, yeahhhhh’. Once again the way he wrings a song of epic proportions from the bones of normality and human nature is an outstandingly poetic event.

New song ‘Shine Like Stars’ is followed by another fond look backwards with old songs ‘Polmont On My Mind’ and the poignantly heartfelt ‘Flowers And Football Tops’ - a song about the death of a child from the perspective of the mother - which is tonight fittingly stripped of all instrumental contribution except for a haunting solitary keyboard and lead vocal so gentle it’s more a ghostly scrape along a surface heavy with grief. It could be the desperate cries of any parent in the world heard grappling with heartache in the line ‘my baby is 6 feet under/ just another number/ my daughter without her brother. A performance so mesmerising the Liquid Rooms is reduced to silence. A loud, energetic cover of The Korgis hit ‘Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime’ is followed by another crowd favourite ‘Go Square Go’ with its repeated refrain ‘here we, here we, here we fucking go’ being, as expected, the loudest sung lines of the evening. Ending, pre encore, on new single ‘Euphoria, Take My Hand’ before coming back out for ‘Daddy’s Gone’ and ‘Ice Cream Van’. As they left the stage for the final time the crowd were still chanting for more. They hung around...not wanting to move away...just incase... but they didn‘t come back. They didn’t come because it never hurts to leave an audience wanting more.

Written by Alan Baillie for SUBBA CULTCHA

Photographs by Suzanne Hancock

Thanks to Tilly Knowles at The Charm Factory

GLASVEGAS OFFICIAL

Remembering The Mix Tape Years

Making your own tapes was hugely popular from the late 70's to mid 80's and became a huge part of youth culture. The most common home made tape though was the mixtape, a compilation of songs from the same artists or various artists recorded from borrowed vinyl albums or album cassettes. Sometimes the creation would be for social events - like a party or a mates car - sometimes it was for the individual's own personal collection - or for a current girlfriend/boyfriend becoming a highly personal statement of feelings. Mixtapes defined lives, they narrated emotion and can still evoke the memories that will always be tangled up in them.

Listen to a huge selection of mixtapes at ART OF THE MIXTAPE

View the largest cassette image gallery online at PROJECT C90

A demo tape gallery at TAPES

Plenty cassette info at MY CASSETTES

Album Review: The Proclaimers

The Proclaimers

'Like Comedy'

(Cooking Vinyl)

Scotland 9 England 0

If our national football team were as skilled at their profession as the musicians and bands our country produce are at theirs we’d have won the World Cup so many times now they’d tell us to just keep it and start up another one without telling us. Even at that - we’d still win it! The Proclaimers are one of our greatest examples of this mastery. Ever since first hearing them on The Tube back in 1987 my opinion of them hasn’t changed - they are a great band who write outstanding songs and are flawless when playing live. They may forever exemplify, in the eyes of many, the image of ‘unlikeliest rock stars’ but I doubt the ignorance of such  derogatory conjecture will keep them awake at nights much anymore. If any band need never again have to prove themselves or justify their place in music it’s them. The intellectual depths of their lyrics never fail to amaze…( Letter From America, Beautiful Truth, What Do You Do, The More I Believe etc etc) and then there’s the truly heart pounding anthems of sheer undiluted stirring devotion ( Sunshine On Leith, The Joyful Kilmarnock Blues, Throw The ‘R’ Away, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles, Oh Jean and Act Of Remembrance) among so many more. Born in Leith, raised in Edinburgh and Auchtermuchty, as Scottish as you’ll ever get then. The ‘unlikely rock stars’ return with their ninth studio album.

 Love, self destruction, masculinity and romanticism are rummaged through and delivered in the customary Scottish, straight talking, thought provoking etiquette they have so gloriously made their own. Jaunty opener ‘Whatever You’ve Got’ is trademark Proclaimers energetic pop/rock with much guitar and sing-along catchy hooks. Hushed ballad ‘Simple Things’ serves only to create a grand entrance for new single ‘Spinning Around In The Air’ a bouncy, piano/guitar/chant drenched anthem of comedic but nicely written lyrical wit - ‘let me give praise to your sparkling eyes and your coloured hair, let me spend ages on poetic phrases to show I care, let me go grazing on dapple green pastures with you the mare….let me rephrase that, I think there’s a better line there’. A cross between endearing nonsense and the over emphasised thoughts which giddy declarations of love shall project, it’s simplistic genius and guaranteed to lift a nation to it’s feet - reluctantly or otherwise. Further balladeering - just another example of Craig and Charlie’s versatility - comes in the shapes of sadness tinged ‘After You’re Gone’ the intimate piano led ‘Dance With Me’ and profound ‘There’s’, an observational list of thoughts and ponderings as direct as they are softly uttered  - ‘there’s the irony I lack’ ,  the presence of the sincerity which is forever the backbone of their songs can be heard again and again, refreshing in it’s truths, romantic in it’s vulnerabilities. 

The Proclaimers have once again served up the songs you’ll eventually connect with. They’ll make you think, make you reminisce, make you happy and comfort you through sad. Intuitive lyrics welded to perfectly angled musicianship….and the foot-tapping, feel good factor is yours free of charge. Craig and Charlie Reid are THE chiefs…and Leith will once again be drenched in the sunshine they make. 

http://www.proclaimers.co.uk/

Album Review: Shonen Knife

A concept possibly lost on most of our most ‘serious’ performers or, at best, greeted with hearty indifference by same self proclaimed shape shifters who, in reality, churn out vapid slabs of jaded wank rock awash with their own unearned triumphs - is the art of being oneself. It’s the only thing that matters yet usually the only thing glaringly overlooked. The milestones of their past achievements may glitter and span continents - but the shelf-life is so ludicrously short you’ll have binned it and moved onto something else before the ‘repeat chorus to fade’ option has even had the time to carry out the task it’s named after. All the aforementioned, and unmentioned, will never apply to cult lo-fi pop punk Japanese trio Shonen Knife - formed in 1981 they’ve been together (including changes in personnel) an incredible 30 years now and armed with little else but endearing honesty and catchy 3 chord sunnyness (which they’re very good at) they’ve notched up the greatest example of staying power I’ve ever known. Kurt Cobain was a huge fan and once claimed that after hearing them he was ‘transformed into a hysterical 9 yr old girl at a Beatles concert’, the band later toured with Nirvana and opened for them on their 1991 UK tour.  No strangers to a casual cover version ( their version of The Carpenters ‘Top Of The World’ is probably their most recognised song worldwide) they have performed as a Ramones tribute band - Osaka Ramones. Here then, is Shonen Knife, in that very guise as they celebrate their 30th anniversary with an album of Ramones cover songs. Both experts at the 3 minute pop/punk anthem (Ramones were, Shonen Knife are) this album is precisely scrupulous in its entirety except for a slightly more polished production than the originals and lead vocalist/guitarist Naoko Yamano’s buoyant accented voice replacing Joey’s grit edged delivery - but mastered in every other way note for note, chord for chord, style for style. The obvious tracks are here and their delivery is faultless - ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ ‘Beat On The Brat ‘ ‘Rock n Roll High School and ‘Sheenah Is A Punk Rocker’ but it’s a combination of other things that make this a worthy album as much as it is evidence of just how good a band Shonen Knife are - the great guitar work on ‘Chinese Rock’, the proper garage sound they bring to ‘She’s The One’ or the effective harmonised vocal on ‘ The KKK Took My Baby Away’. They also tackle the lyrically darker ‘Chinese Rocks’ and ‘Psychotherapy’ with no significant problems. If, like many in the UK, you’re unfamiliar with Shonen Knife then this album is as good a place to get acquainted as any. 

http://www.shonenknife.net/index.html

Album Review: The Ray Summers

The Ray Summers

'Russian Tearoom'

(Keep Calm Recordings)

A hugely listenable album drenched in the retrospective coolness of a neo-60’s sound

Pop music with touches of soul and a cantering ska-esque beat embellished in a vintage dressing by a collective of musicians clearly skilled in their chosen art - The Ray Summers have been refurbishing drab corners of music’s most jaded places, with the chipper effervescence of their retro tinged uniqueness, since 2008. In a timescale which, in contextual music based statistics, counts for no time at all, they’ve toured the UK, released singles, shone among the festival crowds and sold out Glasgow’s King Tuts….three times. All of that, if you will, can be considered a great start for any band. But do they have the artillery to advance further? Can they step up to where releasing an album requires them to be? Of course they can, and they have….effortlessly…it would seem.

Russian Tearoom is an account of all that influences them…the different styles, tempos and genres is a gathered input crafted into something remarkably catchy and new, testament, surely, to clever, established musicians completely tuned in to making an album that must conceivably express their sound. Opening track ‘The Rush’ has an affecting psychedelic exuberance with hazy harmonies that stretch across the song’s diameters…a subtle effectiveness that works in a way they probably intended. The simpler, hook-filled  retro pop of ‘Follow Me Down’ is sharp edged, tightly bound and seamless. Atmospheric stand out ballad ‘Lord Forgive Me’ with a propelling lead vocal as tender as it is ferocious is a dichotonic change of direction and pace against the livelier ‘Travelling Man’ or the cinematic brilliance ‘The Ballad Of A Bitter Man’ bristles upon. The Ray Summers are incredibly coherent song-writers and Russian Tearoom is a nostalgically British sounding album - and one they should be hugely proud of. 

https://www.facebook.com/theraysummers

Album Review: Right Said Fred

Right Said Fred

'Stop The World'

(LUV)

They unrolled their catchy, tongue-in-cheek, disco beat pop songs across the face of the early 90’s and secured a level of success you possibly didn’t envisage for them. Debut single ‘I’m Too Sexy’ reached No 1 in the American charts - the first time a debut record had done this since The Beatles. Three more hit singles quickly followed (Deeply Dippy, Don’t Talk Just Kiss and Those Simple Things) duly gifting the album that spawned them - debut ‘UP’ - platinum status. The quirky, good-time tunes rattled with humorous innuendo (and a funky bassline) earning the band - which consisted of brothers Richard and Fred - plus hirsute buddy Rob Manzoli - mega success worldwide.  Though further singles and albums followed they failed to follow in the footsteps of earlier releases and momentum was lost. Their popularity dropped like stones and dragged them below mainstreams radar ( though Germany still loved the bones of them and Japan politely snuggled up to them also) 

New album ‘Stop The World’, though maybe not as quick heeled as earlier stuff, still bristles with the chirpy, jingle-jangle moments they’re renowned for. Uncomplicated slabs of electro beats and obvious pop additives are the dominating parties crafting the direction and shape of the music. It shifts, momentarily, between electric and acoustic with subtle nods to ‘almost’ techno - as the title track and ‘Waiting For A Train’ are built upon with great effect. The lyrically serious, or more serious, ‘We Are All Criminals’ opens into the most light-hearted of choruses - the much craved ‘pop hooks’ find a place here - and within the acoustic guidance of possibly their strongest track ‘Two White Boys’. It’s Right Said Fred - fun packed jovialities and catchy tunes - with nothing ever likely to make a dent in the armour of ‘groundbreaking’ music - but they’re not losing sleep over that anyway. As he once did sing 'i'm too sexy for my car, too sexy for my car, too sexy by faaaaaaar’  Indeed!

rightsaidfred.com

Mark Chadwick: All The Pieces

Mark Chadwick

All The Pieces

Stay By Records

The debut solo album from the Levellers front-man

With none of the grandiloquent tub-thumping or boisterous manifesto deliveries he’s best known for Mark Chadwick is making a substantial musical departure from the sounds he’s spent the last 25 years creating with his day job band the Levellers.  Written over the space of two decades it’s the chronological story of his life  unfurled across a 12 song terrain with wide-eyed honesty and (surprisingly) unpretentious vulnerability. Various genres have been quarried during the writing process which, at times, creates endearingly delicate, understated moments of acoustic folk/pop. It’s here you find him, in the unconventional circumstances of a solo album, just a songwriter and his songs really, having nothing to do with something you’d perceived he must be - but clearly isn’t. 

Although not the fully melodious, perfect album, in whichever sense of that meaning, ‘All The Pieces’ has a lot of great things about it and is a more than decent representation of Mark Chadwick’s songwriting abilities away from the other stuff as he attempts to capture the undoubted joys and emotions that make him the person he is. The best bits of this record are standout - like catchy, gospel tinged opener ‘Elephant Fayre’ complete with psychedelic 60’s sound interweave and cosy collective ambience giving it the ‘All You Need Is Love’ resemblance. The up-tempo, slightly countrified ‘Satellite’ sweeps along with its a violin-driven charm, and, the predominantly folky/Levellers vibe which sprawls all over the title track, makes for two more opportunities to appreciate the craft of the man. Where he shines greatest though is on ‘Seasons’ with its tumbling acoustic melodies, and the swaggering blues number ‘The Great And The Dead’, his spine tingling tribute to those who inspired him ( Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash, Neil Young among others) to come out the other side with something worth saying.

There will always be bits that grab you on this album, Levellers fans will embrace it I’ve no doubt, but you don’t need to be one to appreciate what he has done here and that’s where the real achievement can be measured, its appeal. Mark Chadwick is a singer/songwriter blessed with incredible versatility and intuition. He may not always have the ability to impress all of us all the time but, on the evidence presented here, he might propel us to hang onto his every third or fourth word.

http://www.markchadwickofficial.co.uk/

Live Review: The Wickerman Festival 2010

The perfect jewel in Scotland’s alternative crown

With less  corporate thuggery at its helm than others I could mention, The Wickerman Festival will always captivate a far from maddening crowd. Sure, they just may get a little rowdy at 4am when stumbling around in the wrong campsite shouting like drunken foghorns through the mist as they attempt to locate each other, which will always be to the annoyance of the less than tolerant minority slumbering in their tented palaces upon the hill. But that’s possibly the very worst that ever happens and it beats having your tent stolen or being caught up in a platoon of rioting neds. This is the festival with the retro vibe snaking right through to its heart where things feel spontaneous rather than planned. The alternative festival catering for alternative tastes, just like it promised on the tin. The presence of mainstream here is conspicuous only by its most beautiful absence. Modern day counter-culture movement it sure is. As if the gods would ever not be smiling down on us - it’s blazing sunshine and the bluest skies as the 9th Wickerman Festival begins, and for the briefest of moments you wonder if it’s the forces of nature we should be thanking. Of course it’s not! Bring on the individualists!

Friday

You’d turn yourself inside out in the effort to see every single band playing here. See, you want to see them all, because they’re more than worth that, but with over 130 of them playing well it just aint possible guvnor! I tried it once - chasing my tail for 12 hours  - I doubled back on myself so severely I missed most and had to get a taxi to my tent where I did descend into dizziness for the duration. You gotta be brutal then - you gotta schedule things, be firm and choose one over the other. Crossing off lists until you end up with a timetable that shall be your map for the weekend. Yes, until the aforementioned schedule becomes a crumpled bit of paper stuffed into a corner of your rucksack never to be considered or even consulted again! So just live in the moment and do it how you see fit.

Root System: The ska/punks from Fife are much favoured among Wickerman goers and are a regular ingredient in The Scooter Tent, Today they were an instant burst of vitality. The energy and spirit unleashed would possibly generate enough kilowatts of power to kick-start a dead man back to life. They are a solid wall of ska beats infused dramatically with punk rock’s urgency triggering mass enthusiasm in the crowd which, eventually, evolved in to a frenzied abandonment. On songs like ‘Revolution’ and ‘Take It Easy’ they had this corner of the festival on it’s feet as soon as their first note was played. The crowd seized upon them immediately, let this be evidence of how good this band really are.

Ed Tudor Pole: He has such a gallivanting restlessness that it always seems as if he’s on the absolute verge of breaking down into a perplexing muddle! The cartoon-like demeanour and natural eccentricities he has makes him totally spellbinding to watch. Of course he has the great songs to enhance his status - and he played the greatest ones today. Ten Pole Tudor’s back catalogue, including the brilliant b-side ‘Love And Food’ were rolled out in great health and sounding better than they ever did, his singing voice veering from a cracked yelp to deep rambling. His defining moment in my opinion came when a shouter in the audience asked for Who Killed Bambi ( the song he wrote during his brief time with The Sex Pistols) and the big man replied ‘ never mind who killed bambi, who killed Malcolm Mclaren’  Ed Tudor Pole is a stately home built on a council estate and I love him!

The Futureheads: Just one of tonight’s Main Stage artists that I didn’t get the chance to see much of but what I did see of the new wave/post punk experimentalists was utterly standout. Front man Barry Hyde is a charismatic rabble rouser completely tailor-made at birth for the job he does. I caught them doing last single ‘ I Can Do That’, plus one other that I hadn’t heard before, and they completely filled the place and probably the surrounding countryside with their powerful sound. Ever seen a field undulating with rollicking human beings? Shoulda been there then!

Teenage Fanclub: Not everyone’s choice but Teenage Fanclub are legends of the Scottish indie scene. I haven’t ever seen them live before and, regardless of how great or not so, I was at least determined to say I’ve now seen them. They have been nurtured over the years by a very committed fan base who can see nothing beyond them and it’s always very much like that in Scotland ( Trashcan Sinatras are another who earn the same treatment) Tonight ‘the fannies’,( which is how I heard several people refer to them as and is obviously a term of endearment rather than the stinging insult I first considered it might be), sounded as good as you’d expect they might be for a band who’ve been doing it more than 20 years. Their sound is very much the chime and jangle type of indie and it did sound pretty special tonight. Among their set list was ‘Everything Flows’ ‘Sparky’s Dream’ and ‘Baby Lee’.

The Buzzcocks Headliners in The Scooter Tent and I’m told they pulled the biggest crowd of the weekend in there. Tonight I declare The Buzzcocks stunning! They still have that rawness and the songs are still brilliant - 36 years later! With Pete Shelley still fronting and Steve Diggle back on guitar this was classic old school jubilation. For a couple of geezers well into their 50’s they ripped the place apart unleashing song after song from their magnificent legacy. You name it, they played it - ‘Orgasm Addict’ ‘What Do I Get’ ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ and ‘I Don’t Mind’ among others. The Scooter Tent was bouncing inside, and, outside where just as many couldn’t get in, were bouncing too. I heard a few people complain that The Buzzcocks should have played Main Stage so everyone could get the chance to see them which is fair enough, but I can’t help thinking an atmosphere like the one they created tonight would be lost if it was transferred outside.

The Charlatans: Veterans of the Madchester scene are Main Stage closers for Friday night. With an earlier promise to play ‘just one from the new album’ ( which I think they kept to) the majority of their set felt entirely familiar. As August shall be the 20th anniversary of their debut album (Some Friendly) they quite rightly dipped into the track listing of it tonight. For a band who can occasionally flicker between really good and really average they were closer to the ‘really good’ version of themselves this time and the crowd they drew filled the whole field and its perimeters, not to mention the ever growing mosh pit at the front. The Charlatans were psychedelic and they were shoegazey and they were rock and roll personified, hurtling through the songs which included ‘Jesus Hairdo’ ‘Can’t Get Out Of Bed’ ‘Weirdo’ ‘How High’ and that new one they said they’d play ‘Love Is Ending’ ( which is also the new single) they were pretty flawless and gave as good an account of themselves as anyone else did and are clearly embracing this reawakening they seem to be going through.

Other artists who played Friday include Goldie Lookin Chain, Tony Christie, Counterfeit Clash, Back To The Planet, Mitchell Museum and many more.

I was so late back to my tent even the sparrows were looking at me with their little legs folded and their heads shaking, and they’d be saying ( no seriously bear with me on this one) ‘Every year,eh! returning not just in daylight but ‘broad fucking daylight’, tssssk’  But I never answer them, I’m too clever, and they hate to be ignored. As do the starlings!

Wickerman Saturday see’s a huge influx of new arrivals, the ‘one day only’ ticket holders who’ve come to see the bands and watch the ceremonial torching of the 30ft Wickerman at midnight. Today the sun has gone and the stop/start rain has galloped in from the west (possibly) just to poke at the psyche of those who haven’t slept all night. I get the ‘scruffy/tired’ award for the 7th year running. Am I bothered? Am I bothered?

Saturday

Doll & The Kicks: Morrissey’s little favourites played an excellent 45 minute set in The Scooter Tent, shamefully I only saw the last 10 mins but they showed just why they were hand picked by Morrissey as support act on his 2008/09 European/Russian Tour. He described them as ‘very powerful, very unusual and very striking’ and the man’s never wrong.

The Saw Doctors: It feels like the Irish rockers have been on the go forever but they only formed in 1986, positively fledglings in the great scheme of things. They enjoy cult following status in Ireland, and certain parts of America, a pleasure not quite granted to them in the UK really.They never quite broke through into the mainstream possibly because The Pogues had set a precedcent that was now to be expected of every Irish band since then. The Saw Doctors though were nothing like the drunken effigies  lyrically brought to life by Shane McGowan and his crew, instead they cornered the same kind of market inhabited by the Levellers, The Men They Couldn’t Hang and The Waterboys, though never as politically minded they did bear a Celtic likeness to the others, and it’s this genre they occupy, like it or not. They’re a great festival band though and first class audience communicators, which may not have suited the impersonal expanse of the Main Stage so much but credit to them they worked it as best they could and enticed a decent crowd to drop by.

PAMA INTERNATIONAL: Filling what must surely be the toughest slot of the day, The Scooter Tent gap between The Sex Pistols Experience and headliners The Undertones, penultimate headliners then, the ska/dub/reggae collective fronted by Lynval Golding ( The Specials) are no strangers to the gig circuit and certainly not phased by being the middle bit of a punk rock extravaganza when you’re not a punk rock band. Lesser men would have wilted at the very thought and died tragically in front of our very eyes as we watched their demise through the gaps in our splayed hands, the carnage viewable only in quick bursts of cameo. Not so Pama International, capable and gifted masters of their craft. With their musical influences steeped more in rock steady/ reggae than its  casual ska cousin this was a seasoned performance, a musical education by men educated in the music they play. It’s no casual throwaway performance but one created from the roots of their past and engineered by these modern troubadours. Addictive and deep rooted reggae beats which instantly stopped everything else in its tracks before claiming the Scooter Tent as theirs. Never mind punk rock, this hour was easily won by a much more ancient genre of music.

The Undertones: With original front man Feargal Sharkey long gone and replacement Paul McLoone at the mic for the last 11 years The Undertones have remained a constant presence barely missing a beat since 1975. True, the quivering vocal delivery of Sharkey no longer fills the rooms, but as far as getting as near to it as is possible, well McLoone manages that pretty well to be honest. Tonight he’s great, they’re great and that’s the opinion of every old school punk jammed into The Scooter Tent alongside me. From the very second they begin with ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ it’s non stop. It’s the most celebratory trawl through the best songs of a great era - and everything gets its chance to shine - ‘My Perfect Cousin ‘It’s Gonna Happen’ ‘Teenage Kicks’ ‘Here Comes The Summer’ and ‘Wednesday Week’ among them. It’s possibly what everyone here this weekend came to see.

Ocean Colour Scene: Although I missed the majority of their set ( bit of a wild card decision to put them on at the same time as The Undertones) what bits I did hear  sounded really good. It’s been a funny few years for Ocean Colour Scene after all the glories their first 2 albums brought them, they were the band of the hour when at their greatest level, but for whatever reason they failed to sustain it and very quickly disappeared into obscurity, and they’ve been down there a lot longer than is probably comfortable.  Credit to them though they’ve never shied away from putting in the spade work and they’re slowly pulling themselves back into view. Being the Main Stage headliners tonight is something I know they’ll be thrilled with, it’s a corner turned and a sure sign they’re on the climb again. A cover of The Beatles ‘Daytripper’ alongside their own ‘The Riverboat Song’ and ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ were among the songs they played.

Other artists who played Saturday included The Sex Pistols Experience, Sons & Daughters, Amphetameanies, The Go Team, and  many more

The highlight of the festival for many is this ritual torching of the 35ft willow effigy on the stroke of midnight. It’s believed to be a pagan practice carried out as a symbolic banishing of demons and evil - though much of the actual relevance is possibly lost in time somewhere. As the Wicker Man burns and the fireworks light the sky above so another festival prepares to pack itself away until next year. 2011 will be the 10th anniversary of The Wickerman Festival - they are already planning something special to commemorate that - so you don’t want to be elsewhere this time next year, you need to be right here. Anyway once you’ve been you’ll never stop coming back. I’ve been doing it for 8 years, you always come back. 

 And to quote the movie:  ‘Did I do it right?’  ‘You did it beautifully’

Thanks To Ross Weller and Laura Adams of 3x1 PR Glasgow

http://www.thewickermanfestival.co.uk/

The Real McKenzies: Shine Not Burn

The Real McKenzies

Shine Not Burn

(Fat Wreck Chords)

A live album from the merrymaking Celtic punk rockers

The Real McKenzies are as well known for the industrious stretches of extensive touring than they are for the healthy punk rock infusion they’ve been jabbing into the arm of traditional Scottish music since 1992. The result of that perennial spadework has earned them the flourishing worldwide fan-base that now surrounds them.  The energy, a substantial juggernaut when witnessed in it’s live state,  has been the heart and soul powering them unfalteringly for almost 19 years.  This album, taken from their intimate acoustic performances at Wild At Heart in Berlin last year is a unique, toned down collection of their greatest songs hushed to delicate volumes you’d never have considered until now and that’s what makes this such a unique album.  The bare bones of music stripped right back to it’s starkest point is, in this instance, pretty glorious.  Bagpipes, penny whistles, that acoustic instrumentation and the passion Paul McKenzies lead vocal has always been blessed with have come together quite nicely to make a great record.  Every song you like about them most is here ( Drink The Way I Do, Droppin Like Flies, Scots Wha’ Ha’e, Whisky Scotch Whiskey, Nessie) and everything else in-between. It may not be The Real McKenzies you’re used to but it’s still a commendable contribution.

Real McKenzies Homepage

Album Review: Howard Jones: Ordinary Heroes

Howard Jones

Ordinary Heroes

(D-Tox)

Howard Jones brought freshness to the jaded music of the 80’s when it was floundering in a sterile wilderness of its own making. His 1983 debut single “New Song” was the inventive synth/pop/new wave masterpiece that oozed vibrancy and promised new musical direction. His proficiency as a songwriter was undeniable and he quickly became the progressive standard bearer of those times. However, true to its own fickle ways, music began snaking in many different directions and, as happens to many artists, Howard Jones was no longer the preferred flavour. But he’s never gone away and has continued making music and has toured Europe and Australia as well as extensive UK dates.

New album “Ordinary Heroes” reveals further depth to his song writing, a now matured mindset produces deeper thinking lyrics and clearer versatility, musically, than ever before. If you’re expecting more synth based 80’s nostalgia then you’ll be looking at the wrong ,man, his creativity was always way too expansive to remain seated in the past. Strings, piano, drums, bass and vocals have all been utilised here and the results are incredibly impressive. There’s infectious radio friendly compositions, intelligent chord progression and intuitive arrangements at every angle. Remember when he arrived 26 years ago and defined music? He just may do it again.

howardjones.com

Album Review: Bonnie Prince Billy

(From my archives 2008)

Bonnie Prince Billy

'Is It The Sea?'

(Domino Records)

the genre juggling prince of starkness

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy  is the persona of American singer/songwriter Will Oldham. Before adopting this guise Oldham had already carved himself a healthy place in the corridors of musical conscience beginning with the 1993 debut ‘There Is No One What Will Take Care Of You’ then concluding pre Billy, with 1997’s ‘Joya’ album. The birth of current moniker came two years later when first Prince Billy album ‘I See A Darkness’ was released.  The march of this nom de guerre has been such a triumphant one it has brought him to this, his 10th album.

Recorded live in Scotland, Ireland and Newcastle in the spring of 2006 it finds the Bonnie Prince in the company of Edinburgh’s finest Celtic ensemble Harem Scarem who lend some stunning harmonies to the occasion as well as mood enhancing moments of fiddle, flute and banjo. He has also enlisted the wares of UK percussionist Alex Neilson (Jandek. Six Organs Of Admittance. Isobel Campbell) as reliable provider of the beat. With such  talented personnel in his employment known for making incredibly good music in their own right anyway, not to mention it being tailor made for the purposes of a Prince Billy song, the transition from record to live performance is a beautiful and mystical thing to witness. His impressive back catalogue is dipped into, quite rightly, in a generous but sympathetic way.  Within the haunting atmospherics of this though, they seem to stir the passion in a different way. Certainly the usually serene like ‘Master And Everyone’ suddenly grows up in front of your eyes and brims with a confidence this setting gifts it. Similar examples of such a coming of age wonder can be heard in ‘Wolf Among Wolves’.  The traditional ‘Molly Bawn’ is quite possibly the stand out track though, thanks mainly to the presence Eilidh Shaw (Harem Scarem)  brings.This is definitely his most sympathetic embrace of the mainstream. The songs are more accessible in this guise of folk driven storytelling. But whichever way he decides to go will never be at the expense of a compromise but rather an extended invitation to new friends. 

http://www.bonnieprincebilly.com/