Dillon Squire at The Rum Shack

I finally made it to a gig at The Rum Shack last night. It's a brilliant little venue on Pollockshaws Road in the Southside of Glasgow, just before Queens Park. Dillon Squire and his band were playing a show to celebrate the release Yellow Car No Hitbacks, their forthcoming debut EP on LAB Records.

Two singles, Bulldozer and the recent When The Novelty Wears Off have been released from the EP, adding to previously released singles, Allison Arms and Little Birdy. 

On the evidence of his releases to date and last nights show, Squire has is developing a collection of fizzy guitar pop songs with a punk / new wave edge at times. I always think you learn more about an artist when you catch them playing live and last night I came away thinking that Squire's flowing lyrics and melodies could easily be sung by Taylor Swift. His songs are full of hooks and at times many veer off into flowing sections when Squire is clearly on a role. As evidenced on recent single Bulldozer that just flows and flies.

Cause I've been running and you've been hiding

Did you feel this way when our worlds collided?

All these trials and tribulations

I could be the main star, in your coming of age film

Desperate times and desperate measure

Fucked up things that we do for pleasure

I've tried loving and it's not easy

I've been self medicating but it don't come cheaply

I've lost my mind completely

Squire's band is super tight. His co-guitarist Bo looks super cool and fires off amazing guitar solos, the rhythm section create the groove for the hooks, while the addition of Amelia Haldane on saxaphone and tambourine added something a little different to the live sound. 

People sang along to the four singles that Squire has released to date, but they also sang along to unreleased songs, including Dark Circles that has a brilliant chorus that people will pick up on first listen, it's that catchy.

On the drive home I thought of the many new and emerging acts that I've seen in Glasgow over the years. There are so many talented musicians that have been hyped but they failed to pass the acid test. I'd wake the next morning and wouldn't remember any of their songs - and not due to alcohol intake! Simply because they didn't contain any memorable hooks or riffs.

There is no danger of that happening with Squire. Fans were singing a-long during the show and afterwards two girls were sitting at the bar upstairs singing some of the guitar solos to each other. A good sign!

Dillon Squire is on all the usual social media, streaming and download sites.

Check him out and don't be surprised if you find yourself humming a riff or hook in the near future!

“My new EP is simply a self healing journey and a cathartic process that ended up turning into six of the best songs I’ve ever written. I started singing from the bottom of my heart and made sure that every word wrote down and that passed my lips was meaningful.