Homemade Lemonade by Ette

Homemade Lemonade is the debut album by Ette, the solo project of Carla J Easton (my sister) from TeenCanteen. It has just been released on lovely bubblegum pink vinyl via Olive Grove Records. My daughter Zoe (Carla's niece) features on the cover.

It seems to be hitting a mark; the band had a 6Music session with Marc Riley on Monday night, host a launch party at the Old Hairdressers on Thursday and then have another session with Vic Galloway on BBC Radio Scotland the following week.

You can listen back to the Marc Riley session (for the next few weeks) HERE

Naturally, I'm a big fan, but also Carla's fiercest critic. Thankfully she never really gives me any cause to do that....at least not with her music!

I'm not the only fan of the album. The Skinny have described Homemade Lemonade as 'FAN. FUCKING. TASTIC; rage pop, exhilarating psychedelia and a treasure trove of sonic surprises', while Scots Whay Hae have described it as 'pop music at its very best' and Last Years Girl have talked of 'sunny melodies being put through a psychedelic meat grinder.'

Written and recorded in the summer and autumn of 2015, it is a rich, raw, diverse, clever and beautiful album. Carla recorded the songs with Joe Kane from Dr Cosmos Tape Lab at his garage studio - it was a chance for them to explore, experiment and have fun with the songs that Carla brought to the table. The album was recorded in only 5-days.

Joe produced the album, plays on every song (multi-instruments) and also co-wrote the disco groove summer tune Heaven Knows. The two hit it off - big time!

Lead single Attack of the Glam Soul Cheerleaders (Parts 1 and 2) opens the album and in 2 minutes 45 seconds we are introduced to the Ette sound (which varies from song to song but is definitely POP). Handclaps, motown-esque beats, backing vocals, urgency, hooks, choruses and a brilliant false ending/slight return.

A boy said to me L O V E

That is a word that sounds new to me

Hey little sister, spell it to the mister

L O V E means empathy

There were no rules and experimentation was encouraged by both parties. At this point it was all about recording - no thoughts of an album or band. Carla remembers arriving at Joe's studios in glorious sunshine to hear him experimenting with dub reggae beats and grooves and asking if Carla might have anything to go with them. Bonfires is experimental dub reggae pop psychedelia and it is brilliant. An inspired raga rap by Leroy 'Shines' Moncrieffe gives the song an extra edge.

The studio set up - synths, keys and effects!

Bird In The Sky has a glorious free flowng melody, all kinds of instruments combine to create a beautiful psychedelic euphoria.

Carla's ability to create a melody from nowhere combines with her clever use of humour and reflection on I Hate You Song. It's a ferocious stomper, the music matching the fire and anger in the lyrics and vocals.

Did you know I have got all night

If you feel up to a fight

Stars

Although they seem so far

It's where I want to go

I hate you but I hate that I once loved you even more

I've got a score to settle

Fireworks is the oldest song on the album, originally written away back in 2011 and BMX Bandits recorded and released the song on their In Space album. Duglas from BMX Bandits is a tremendous friend to Carla and an amazing supporter of her songwriting.

Carla revisits the song on Homemade Lemonade and produces a beautiful version complete with a trombone solo that melts the heart.

If Carla was going through a tough time and reflecting on I Hate You Song, then the heady rush of falling in love is perfectly captured on Heaven Knows. I fell in love with it from the moment I heard the first raw version that Carla sent me. I hope the piano, Harrison-esque guitar/synth, the strings, melody, lyrics, disco beat, hooks, chorus, outdo (very Jackson 5) and the stunning vocals will win you over too. This was a real highlight when they played live at Oran Mor in June. The song has space to breath, it flows, soars and is full of fun, love and urgency.

The way you make me feel

Is so unreal, it’s so unreal

The way you make me feel

When I’m with you, when I’m with you

Joe Kane and Carla are a pop match made in heaven. Joe's musical and production skills are incredible, check his work with Dr Cosmos Tape Lab; Beyond The Silver Seas was my album of 2015.

Joe and Carla 

The vast majority of this album was written in a very short space of time; there is anger, reflection, love and memories.

I guess that when you're hurt then your Mum is someone you naturally turn to. My Mother Said has Carla singing her heart about phoning her (our) Mum and her telling her to come home and stay with her. She did and subsequently wrote this album and moved on.

My Mother said 'Carla when you go to bed, you will wake in the morning feeling rosie'

My Mother said 'Darling when you go to bed, you will wake in the morning feeling good'

The homemade psychedelic pop feel to the album comes across on Birthdays. A playful melody and more reflection.

I love the whole album but if I was asked to choose one highlight then I would go for Bones. Carla's voice is beautiful, the production again allows the song to breath, the melody flows superbly, the harmonies are glorious and the experimental music and performance is sublime. The lyrics are clever, stream of consciousness,

I only want to see the best in you

But you only give me all the rest of you

You're a constellation that I'll never know

Cause you're missing each and every star that glows

Spending Every Christmas Day With My Boy is another reflective song....this time it's not about a boy....but a cat!  Joe and Carla go into full on Spector mode with the beats, bells and jingles

I hear jingle bells when I think of you

And my heart is full of joy

Knowing I'm spending every Christmas Day with my boy

Homemade Lemonade is an inventive and eclectic album with loads to offer. It has led to Carla and Joe forming a band and I really hope it leads them back to the studio again.

Ette - with Marc Riley from 6Music

Afterglow by Mt Doubt

One of my fellow board members at Last Night From Glasgow Records is my friend Joe Judge. We met at parenting classes back in 2011 and quickly found that we shared a love of music and football, as well as the fact that we were about to become Dad’s for the first time.

Earlier this year, Joe emailed me to say he really liked a band called Mt Doubt and that I should check them out.

Mt Doubt currently have a 7-inch single out on Scottish Fiction Records, so I asked Joe if he would consider writing a blog review. It’s gone pretty well and Joe will be writing another future blog on the bands forthcoming album.

GUEST BLOG

It is a real pleasure to have been asked by Murray to guest write this blog. It is particularly exciting for me as I’ve been asked to review an act that has really caught my attention over the last few months. I first heard Mt. Doubt on the wonderful (but now, sadly, no more) Scottish Fiction radio show. Shortly after this I found out that Neil Wilson, who ran the Scottish Fiction radio show, podcast and blog, had set up a Scottish Fiction record label and planned to put out a Mt. Doubt single. I was really disappointed when I missed the launch event for the single at the end of April due to having too much other stuff going on at the time. It sounded like a great bill. I was delighted when the opportunity to write this blog came along. Cheers Murray!

If you haven’t heard of Mt. Doubt, and I hadn’t until fairly recently, it is the project of Edinburgh based musician, Leo Bargery. Mt. Doubt started life in early 2015 and in that short time has attracted a fair bit of radio airplay and press attention. Vic Galloway identified Mt. Doubt as one of “25 Scottish Acts to watch in 2016”.

What attracted me to Mt. Doubt initially was Leo’s voice. It is complex: deep and rich but it also has a sombre, fragility going on. The songwriting is clever and melancholic and Leo clearly has an ear for a melody. The result is gorgeous, delicate but immediate indie-pop music. I heard Leo describing his material as “fairly depressing songs with occasionally catchy choruses”, and I think he is being very self-deprecating. The songs are a delight to listen to and appreciate over the course of an evening, maybe with a couple of beers.

Afterglow pairs Mt. Doubt up with producer Mark Morrow of The Winter Tradition. Leo and Mark have worked together previously on his debut album, My Past is a Quiet Beast. Afterglow kicks off with a gorgeous synthy intro that is both catchy and melancholic. Leo’s vocal comes in and perfectly weaves the narrative of the song, building up to an evocative, emotional chorus.

We are slipping through the Afterglow 

Like petals in the undergrowth

We bloom and bloom and now I have no one

Not even you

The chorus really showcases Leo’s vocal and I can see why Vic Galloway, Jim Gellatly and Neil Wilson are so keen on it.

The B side, Hotel Key, slows the pace down a little and is a little more acoustic. The song starts with just guitar and Leo’s vocal and, again, slowly builds as it progresses. The pace quickens when some more instrumentation is added and again, Leo’s voice conveys the emotion of the song delicately and carefully:

I wish that I could suck the words back through my head 

to the recess where the dickhead lives and fills me up with lead

Mt. Doubt has that real knack of contrasting quiet and loud, fast and slow, and conveying a rich range of emotions. Both songs really demonstrate this. I think Hotel Key could have worked equally well as an A side.

I am looking forward to more things to come from Mt Doubt. I think they are pretty special. The single is available on 7inch vinyl from Scottish Fiction records and I hear that another album is in the pipeline. I will be keeping an eye out for it.

Check the video HERE