Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
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This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past & present) and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you've never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
Twitter - @murrayeaston
Email - murrayeaston {AT} gmail {DOT} com
Written in '77. Gerry Rafferty's break up and move-on song when Stealers Wheel split. It's smooth, starting with flute, congas, cymbal rolls and a hint of fretless bass before the swooping sax solo chorus glides in supported by solid piano stabs high in the mix. There's a distinct air of swing about it. Sexy and at home on a Roxy Music album. Warm strings enter as we move from the bass and congas in the verse to the bridge. "You used to think that it was so easy" continues the horizontal, feet-up, hands behind the head feel before the chorus returns. If it's an advert ... it's for yoghurt.
In '92 Undercover record it, there's a longer Mickey Modelle clubland version and 20 years later and 20 years ago Baker Street appears as the final track on a special edition of FooFighters' ' The Colour and the Shape. It's the antithesis of smooth, the soundtrack for Hurricane Ophelia.
A single snare crack wakes dual rhythm guitars. Bludgeon riffola - overdriven to the point of darkness on the edge of down and out badness, 180 degree drum fills drive it, before the lead guitar comes crashing in playing the sax melody we all love. It's brutal and bionic.
Released into the verse, spoken word vocal sits atop a picked guitar line and another lightly strummed. Neither acoustic and teased along by bass drum and rim shot.
A leap from 2nd gear to 4th for the bridge, heavy duty drums on the one and returning distorted double rhythm guitars provide a contrast to the laid back voice and whooping and sliding bass that hark to the original. Grab your sixteenth note seat belt before kicking into top with the guitar solo chorus shadowed by dive bomb slides that add a whole lotta love and a sonic whiplash. FooFighters replace give up the booze and the one night stands with give up the crack. Kinda sums up the transformation. The song climaxes with 2 mins plus of instrumental guitar and drum riffery with a solo that's true to the original, doused in lighter fuel and alight.
If I was 20 odd years younger I would probably be a little jealous of Spinning Coin; releasing on Stephen Pastel's Geographic label with support from Domino, recording with Edwyn Collins and touring with Teenage Fanclub and Dinosaur Jr... the stuff of a young indie guitar fans fantasies.
And as I approach 42 it still is a kind of fantasy of mine to put together an indie guitar band and have loads of fun. I can't afford the mid-life crisis sports car, so that might happen!
It is a reality for Spinning Coin, they are playing great shows, they have recorded a great indie guitar album that is at times; fragile, raw, rough n ready and full of harmonies, humour and playfulness.
Photo by Stuart McIntosh
Spinning Coin have released a number of singles from the album over the last couple of years; drip feeding their sound on to record tables and into hearts.
Only 5-songs (one by a mere 2 seconds) across the 14 on Permo break the 3-minute barrier. They don't mess about with the two songwriters Sean Armstrong and Jack Mellin displaying their talent in many ways.
Fuzzy melodic guitars and beautiful strained vocals usher in Armstrong's Raining On Hope Street, while there is pace, power and more frantic riffs to Mellin's Tin.
We then have two songs referencing money in the title; Money For Breakfast and Money Is A Drug. The first has some beautiful lyrics and has a great melancholic vibe to it, a kind of stoned groove.
So soothing, it's so soothing when the sunlight reaches your bed
Armstrong's fragile and melodic tunes with his storytelling lyrics that somehow fit into a song are pretty special. It almost kind of should't work, but it really does as evidenced on Metronome River.
Floating With You is a gorgeous tune, possibly my favourite from the album. Did I mention stoned groove earlier on? Well this is the sound of someone in a special place, just happy, gloriously so.
Everything you say just gets me higher
I'm happy just floating with you
Sides punky pop urgency has delightfully simple lyrics that we can all relate to and a brilliant guitar break/riff halfway through that propels the song towards a great conclusion with Mellin and Armstrong's voices combining deliciously.
Telling lies all the time
Telling lies is a waste of time
I've blogged about Sleeplessbefore and it is another fave; melodic, fragile, heartfelt and soulful with lovely chiming guitars.
There is definitely an element of Collins and Goddard to some of Mellin's songs in his style, phrasing, lyrics and delivery. Powerful is an example of the raw yet melodic punk pop racket he demonstrates throughout the album.
These words just can't express
Just how much I have been blessed
Starry Eyes has an unexpected political tone, while Running With The World is another of my favourites before the album closes with the gorgeous I Feel The Need To Be An Actor.
Well I sure love the rain
I love the way it defeats me
I try to explain
But I don't have the brains to
You can order the vinyl from Monorail's website with a signed print, or pop into the store.
Last night I caught two stunning bands in the basement of Nice n Sleazy, both blew me away.
I introduced L-Space in a previous blog. I was really looking forward to seeing them live and they didn't disappoint. Singer Lily wore a headband that lit up and started the set kneeling in front of a tiny keyboard at the front of the stage, picking out a beautiful melody, covered by an umbrella that also lit up. Her band mates created a beautiful wall of noise to back her up.
The 4-piece were refreshingly different to any band I have seen in Glasgow in a while. Gordon Johnstone played some brilliant riffs and melodies on guitar, before at times unleashing some ferocious white noise. Synth player Maura Keane looked super cool, creating some great sounds, whilst bassist Dickson Teller kept the groove.
Blue Flowers was a highlight for me as I've really fallen for that song, but in truth the whole set was incredibly impressive and there were knowing nods from the people around me that we were witnessing a band with huge potential. The crowd responded with increasing applause and hours after each song. A great set.
Sun Rose were launching their debut LP The Essential Luxury by playing their first ever show after a grand total of four rehearsals. The album was created by Albert Kawmi, Calum Muir and Gus Wemyss between Glasgow and Manchester, with emails playing an important role.
The trio gradually pieced together a stunning album full of inventive beats, breaks, layers, sounds, melodies and harmonies. With no band name, social media or gigs to concern themselves with, this gave them an almost unique freedom in todays day and age to take their time.
I'll be blogging about the sublime and blissful album in the very near future. What were they like live?
The trio became a 6-piece for the night; lining up with Calum and Gus playing back to back synths, Albert on bongos, maracas and very occasional synth, backed by guitar, bass and drums.
What a treat! The band played superbly. Albert told us how it was his first live show in 4-years. He looked confident and full of joy. Calum and Gus looked deep in concentration, playing synths, getting involved in funky percussion and both complimented Albert superbly with harmonies and backing vocals. Their band mates looked delighted to be playing to a packed Sleazys and to be involved in creating such sublime music live.
Debut single Smirk gave us an indication of the style and capabilities of Sun Rose live. They were on it - funky, sublime and able to recreate the layers and changes in pace that they beautifully offer on their album,
Dry In The Water was outstanding; surging upwards, dropping back to almost nothing before soaring sky high and taking the audience on a journey with them.
Second single Minima was blissful and the band had the confidence not only to sing a song in Arabic but to also drop in a cover version of The Pointer Sisters Automatic.
Singer Albert was quick to thank the band, their friend who drove them to and from Manchester, the audience and then his wife Lynsey who was celebrating her birthday. The audience sing song was followed by Albert coming into the audience for a kiss. There was a collective awwwww, a nice touch as Albert when back on stage and told us of how he broke the news to Lynsey that they were launching the album on her birthday.
The band ended their set with Counting Upwards, the beautiful closing number from their album. They got lost in the gorgeous sounds they were producing and there is a section where things just build to a euphoric mantra.
There was no encore. Just grateful thanks to the audience and to Last Night From Glasgow who Albert said the album and gig wouldn't have happened without.
What will they do next? Will they play again? A packed Sleazys will hope so. And for any festival promoters reading this - get them booked. Blissful, funky and euphoric.
Album review to follow. Check it on Spotify HERE or order vinyl HERE
The older I get, the harder it becomes for a new young band
to get me really excited. Or it could just be that although there may be
countless new bands and not that many of them are actually very good or exciting! It’s
probably a bit of both.
I mean, do I need to go searching like I used to when I
already have access to so much music I love and the fact that it is easier than
ever to explore back catalogues of bands/artists of years gone by?
Of course I do! I’m always looking for new music to fall in
love with, I will forever chase the buzz of falling head over heels for a new
band that are breaking or just waiting to break through.
Anyway, I’ve found a new band that I’ve fallen for. They are
pretty brand new, although they have already put out an incredible amount of
music through 2017. L Space are the band in question. Gordon Johnstone, Lily
Higham, Dickson Telfer and Maura Keane span the Central belt of Scotland and
come together to ‘write music about the future using big synths, dreamy guitar
and ethereal vocals’ and their Facebook describes them as dream pop, electronic
and cinematic.
L Space have released 11-songs to date through 2017 via a
series of digital (to my knowledge) EP’s and singles. The quality more than matches the quantity.
I chose Blue Flowers to check out first as I liked the title
and I fell for it on first listen; think Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval fronting
Portishead.
Photo by Brendan Waters
But there is so much more – this is not a band who find a
formula and stick with it, this is a band looking to utilise the sounds at
their disposal and the wonderful voice of Lily Higham. Brother Mars is an
acoustic comedown gem that those of my generation could compare to early Beth
Orton – sublime.
Space Junk meets their dream pop, electronic and cinematic
biog head on, whispered vocals that rise with ease, changes in pace and beats at
all the right moments and building to a glorious and euphoric conclusion.
When it all just gets too much
I can drift off, drift off, drift off
I am living like space junk
Southern Reach is a dark and menacing instrumental, dropping
to a bubbling synth and sampled vocal. Propaganda sounds like a companion
piece, with huge beats introduced to dramatic effect halfway through. Carry Armour has drum n bass beats with more sampled voices and a cinematic feel, while Escape V4.1 and So It Goes are hauntingly beautiful.
The band seem incredibly creative with their beats, layers,
soundscapes and melodies and I can’t wait to see them live. In the meantime check a Spotify playlist of their releases to date and an interview with the band below.
Photo by ChumChi
How
did L Space form? Where and when?
Lily:
L-space formed gradually in the prebiotic pools of various workplaces and arts
events. Gordon I met when we both needed to glue our shoes together at work,
Dickson I met through his spoken word and writing (check it out) and Gordon
knew him through his work with The Grind, and Maura I met in a world of
unending noodles at the restaurant we worked at. We glooped together and good
music came out.
Where
did the name come from?
Lily:
The name is based on an alternate dimension in the Discworld series of books by
Terry Pratchett. Because knowledge = power, and books contain a lot of
knowledge, they warp space and time, creating another dimension. You can access
the dimension through places like libraries and book shops where there are
large amounts of books, and when you enter you can see bookshelves stretch off
endlessly in all directions. In Terry P's words "[a] good bookshop is just
a genteel blackhole that knows how to read." Basically, I like books and I
like physics, so this name is cool.
Did
you have a vision for what the band would sound like then? If not, how quickly
did you arrive at ‘your sound’?
Lily:
I had some vision: I wanted to write beautiful, interesting, noisy music with a
mixture of electronic elements and 'real' instruments, creating a
retrofuturistic sound while not being too cold and digital. But most of our
sound came together naturally from the combination of the band's talents and
influences. For example, in my case, I read a lot of sci-fi and like to read
about future technologies that will make our world better, so those themes
often make their way into my lyrics. Also my voice seems physiologically fixed
to have a particular sound to it, and I am working with that sound and its
limitations and qualities to find melodies and tones that fit our visions.
Gordon:
I think I always had a clearer idea of what I didn't want us to be more than
what I thought we would sound like. I definitely didn't want us to be another
guitar band or a soulless electronic group. It's important to me that people
know there's a very human heart to our songs even when the music is largely
created on synths and tackles fairly futuristic topics. Many of the songs start
as fairly abstract soundscapes and become fully formed songs when we add bass
and vocals, so our sound is somewhere between the two extremes.
Dickson:
With writing most of our music on synths and having Lily as our singer, we
always knew we were going to have an ethereal sound. Then we added groove and
noise and . . . ta-dah!
Maura: Gordon and
Lily have been the main masterminds of the sound, but I think we're always
trying new things and looking for different influences.
You
have released 11-songs already. How do you go about creating/writing? Where do
you record?
Lily:
Sometimes we write together, building up songs from a base idea that one of us
has come up with, but other times we are a very modern band that does most
writing separately and sends each other our recordings electronically. Praise
to our great internet lord. We record most of the synths at home and record the
vocals and instruments at Homegrown Productions studio on a farm in Larbert. We
have good fun recording there and it has the benefits of a resident cat and
dog. However, one time the cattle escaped and we had to wait until the cows
came home before we could finish! When I write a song alone at home I usually
start off messing around on my guitar or with beats and sounds on my computer
and humming along to find a melody I like. Then I record it terribly on my phone
and send it to the others.
Gordon:
I usually start with one synth tone, or one chord, I like and build from there.
It's not unusual for our songs to have forty or fifty layers on them, but
usually we strip a lot of them out when everyone adds their various parts. I
love densely layered production like El-P and 65daysofstatic and I think that
shapes our music a lot. One of my pet hates is when a song doesn't have an
identifiable "good bit", so the music I write almost always builds to
a climax or some kind of crescendo.
Dickson:
Usually Gordon writes the skeleton and then we all jump in, bringing our own
thing to the party.
Maura: Gordon is
always coming to us with new songs and ideas - you can't stop him writing
songs. I think it's amazing to work with people who have so much to give
musically and are so creative, very exciting and inspiring for the future.
The
releases to date highlight quality and quantity. Are you always creating new
sounds and songs? Is that important for you?
Lily:
I am always coming up with new ideas for songs. It happens when I'm playing
around with my guitar or noises on the computer, or it might just happen while
I'm walking somewhere or in the shower. I even dream songs sometimes! Many
ideas get lost as I don't record them before I forget them, but if I can I try
to remember them in some way so we can use them for future songs. It is
important for me to always have this creative output as it gives me a feeling
of purpose and value.
Gordon:
Constantly creating things means the world to me. Since L-space started I've
realised that I'm exceptionally difficult to work with sometimes. I've got this
compulsion where I can't stop creating music and I constantly want to release
it and put it out into the world, but that doesn't always sit comfortably with
a band moving at a sensible pace. I pushed us all quite hard for a few months
to release a lot of music and do a lot of shows and it payed off when Last
Night from Glasgow signed us. Now we can take our time with the album, be
pickier with our gigs, and generally enjoy the creation process a lot more!
Dickson:
Yes. It's a good disease.
What
have been your highlights from 2017?
Lily:
It's hard to choose! One highlight was playing at MugStock festival in the
pouring rain while Dickson's dog Dasher ran on stage and while most people were
sheltering, two people were dancing in the rain in front of the stage and
having a great time. It was nice to see them enjoying it, and for us it was an
unusual and memorable experience. Also dog.
Gordon:
For me I think it was when Last Night from Glasgow told us they wanted to
release our album. It was the culmination of months of hard work and a
lifetime's ambition. Knowing that we have a goal and a purpose, that a group of
people believe in what we were doing enough to put their name behind it, means
the world to me. In terms of the music itself I think it was when we played at
a small show for a sci-fi magazine called Shoreline of Infinity. It felt like
we turned a corner in terms of our performance and how we were received.
Dickson:
Playing a street corner as part of the Merchant City festival and going down
well. Also, listening to the final mix of Aloe on Elie beach. I had recorded my
bass and then gone on holiday while the others did their thing. It was really
cool watching the waves and listening to our latest creation at the same time
(cos usually first listen is in the studio)
Maura: I loved
playing the Merchant City Festival in the summer, playing outside right on the
street and being really noisy. Releasing our single Aloe and getting signed by
Last Night From Glasgow are up there too!
So
you’ve essentially released an albums worth of songs. But you’re now working on
your first album. Will that effect how you approach things and the way you
write/create? E.g. will it be written to flow together, or will it be business
as normal and anything goes?
Lily:
We have all our songs written separately, but I think because they have been
written in quite a short space of time, they have all been created from the
same kind of 'zone' of ideas and phase of our music writing. The themes of the
songs are mostly looking forward to a utopian future and so far I think they
all have the L-space sound to them. Because of this, the songs sound like they
go together, and all that is left is to put them in an order that most keeps
the listener engaged, and with songs next to each other that enhance each
other.
Gordon:
I think because we have a fairly good idea of how we want to sound the songs
will sound pretty coherent. The songs have all been written fairly recently,
but some of the ideas on the albums are things I've had rattling around since I
was 16 and it has taken L-space to make them work and sound how they should.
The overarching theme of a better future is something I think will always
underpin our music.
Dickson:
There are always plenty songs. We're re-working a couple but the rest are new
and fresh, and cool, and noisy, and lovely.
What
music are you enjoying at present?
Lily:
65daysofstatic, Julien Baker, The Twilight Sad, Bjork's newest album and the
Cocteau Twins record given to me by our record label Last Night from Glasgow.
Gordon:
Tusks, The Samuel Jackson 5, Tom Waits, Run the Jewels, Deltron 3030, Lana Del
Rey
Dickson:
Sun Rose, Agnes Obel, Bicep, Public Service Broadcasting
Maura: I'm listening
to lots of electronic music right now, I saw Sylvan Esso live the other night,
the energy was amazing. I'm enjoying discovering a Japanese artist called
Shintaro Sakamoto who is more 70s pop-rock.
How good a song is this? The urgency is immediate, you get a sense of it from the title alone. This isn't someone dreaming, wishing, wanting or longing for a love. This is someone needing it, someone who has got to have it all.
I've always loved this song but it took on a whole new meaning for me when I heard it at the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom at the annual Barraloadasoul event a couple of years ago. It came blasting out of the speakers in mid-evening after an impassioned intro from the DJ. He raised his hands in the air singing a-long and the crowd responded accordingly.
Research has just told me that this is in fact the debut single by The Four Tops. In that case it is surely one of the best debut singles of all time!
It is a Holland-Dozier-Holland special and the group formed a special affinity with the master songwriters thanks to their love of lead singer Levi Stubbs incredible vocal range. They deliberately wrote for him to push his vocals to the extreme and between 1964-1967 they crafted gems like Reach Out I'll Be There, Bernadette and Standing In The Shadows Of Love.
In under 3-minutes H-D-H create the ultimate plea for love. This song has everything, the musicianship is impeccable and it turns out that H-D-H had the music before the words. And oh what words, simple but devastatingly effective. And oh with those lead vocals and the sensational backing vocals.... the impact is quite incredible.
Just listen to the oooh backing vocals during the last verse that then change to i need you and i want you baby. And when the four voices combine it just sounds so soulful and sublime.
The latest section of the mixtape is wildly eclectic; taking in the pure pop euphoria of Robyn, a crazy song title by Nina Simone, a song by Bob Dylan that I hadn't heard before (well he has plenty!), a couple of cool cover versions, a little nod to David Holmes, some beauties by Death In Vegas, the giants of Marley, Hendrix and Brown and plenty more besides.
I add to the Never Ending Mixtape, my Spotify playlist on a monthly basis and blog about it here. There are now almost 350 songs on the playlist; dig in and enjoy. You'll need to scroll down to play the latest additions that are listed below.
Search for Everything Flows Never Ending Mixtape or click HERE.
Dancing On My Own - Robyn
Shhhhh (For A Little While) - James Brown
Cissy Strut - The Meters
Dancing Drums - Ananda Shankar
Crosstown Traffic - Jimi Hendrix
Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter - Nina Simone
Higher Ground - Ellen McIlwaine
Tom Cat - Muddy Waters
Holiday Girl - Arab Strap (David Holmes remix)
Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart - Dusty Springfield
Sacrilege - Yeah Yeah Yeah's
Little Green Bag - George Baker Selection
The Man In Me - Bob Dylan
Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) - Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
I Heard Wonders (Andrew Weatherall mix) - David Holmes
69 Police - David Holmes
23 Lies - Death In Vegas w/ Susan Dilate
Help Yourself - Death In Vegas w/ Hope Sandoval
Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
At the end of September my social media feeds were awash with reports of Nick Cave giving an exceptional performance in Glasgow. I posted and tweeted that I'd be happy to accept a guest review and John Welsh kindly responded...only I didn't notice the email until much later!
Sorry for the delay John, but this is a great blog and you are very welcome to write for Everything Flows again in the future.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Glasgow Hydro 27 September 2017
Photo by Rachel McLean
Let’s cut to the chase. A substandard Nick Cave gig is as
rare as hen’s teeth and on this effort the prodigious Antipodean certainly
didn’t disappoint.
Kicking off with a trio of songs from the most recent studio
album, Skeleton Tree, it was an understated beginning to the gig, the
melodies of Anthrocene, Jesus Alone and Magneto almost muted and ethereal
in their delivery.
Any question marks about how the Bad Seeds intricate sound
would come across in the huge arena environment were quickly dispelled form the
start. Indeed, the wider space and scope worked well, with multi
instrumentalist and Cave’s partner in crime, Warren Ellis driving the band
forward to increasing heights of musical ingenuity.
Higgs Bosom Blues and From Her To Eternity saw the band
and Cave break out, the latter cinematic in its elegance, and at times
violently brutal in its delivery. The band approached each song with equal measures of venom
and subtlety, resulting in a mesmerising soundscape of riffs and soaring
melodies from perhaps the world’s finest (rock) lounge band.
Red Right Hand, against a sleazy, crimson backdrop which
wouldn’t have looked out of place in an episode of Twin Peaks was well received,
guitarist George Vjestica sliding rhythms shining through. The hunched,
menacing spectre of Cave’s lithe shadow, seemingly snaking up and around the
Hydro walls merely added to the thrill.
Throughout, Cave was on fine form with quite a bit of humour
evident. Leaning into the crowd at one point he commented “this is sexual
harassment” as perhaps someone grabbed a bit more than was expected.
The Weeping Song kicked off the encore, Cave wading
through the crowd to deliver his sermon atop a camera gantry, before leading
fans to the stage for a tumultuous Stagger Lee and the set closer Push The
Sky Away.
