Poster Paints by Poster Paints

Poster Paints released their self titled debut album earlier this month, following it up with a joyful launch party at The Glad Cafe in the Southside of Glasgow. 

Support was from Flinch, a 4 piece outfit who have self released their album Enough Is Enough on vinyl. They display a punk indie pop energy on stage and off. Fanzines, pin badges (support your local girl band) and stickers, harmonies, fuzzy & reverb laden guitars, hooks and harmonies.  Expect a separate blog on Flinch in the near future.

Poster Paints played all 12 songs released to date. Their 10-song album, plus Blood Orange and their loving cover of The Lemonheads Into Your Arms. It was the best I've seen them play. Simon Liddell creates wonderful sounds from his guitar, little riffs and chord progressions that just sound sublime, whether gentle and fragile, or dreamy, shimmering and bursting with sunshine energy.

My sister Carla sang beautifully. I honestly think it was the best I have seen and heard her sing. Her voice could be sweet and tender, or it could rise and soar, sometimes to dramatic effect.

Backed by Calum Muir on drums, Suse Bear on bass and Kim Grant on ryhthm guitar, with Lomond Campbell duetting on Ribbons, Poster Paints created beautiful music that left everyone in the audience beaming. 

On to the album.

As summer becomes a distant memory and autumn unfurls in its uncertain, bittersweet glory Poster Paints are here to provide the perfect soundtrack - all hail the unique undimmed beauty of Scottish pop.

Line of Best Fit

I still remember the first time I heard Poster Paints. I was out at our Mums house in Carluke and Carla messaged me asking if I'd like to hear some demos. The answer, of course, was yes.

It was October 2020 (I just checked my old emails). With the kids happily playing with their Gran, I decamped to our Mums wee summer house in her garden, sat in a chair with my headphones on and pressed play on a song called Circus Moving On. Within a few minutes I pressed play again. Then I moved on to the other song titled Not Sorry. Also playing it again immediately afterwards.

Both songs moved me. The slowness of Circus Moving On, the gentle keys, the ache in Carla's voice, then the strings and Simon's guitar coming in ... the flow of Not Sorry .... they didn't sound like demos.... I messaged Carla to say they were the best songs she had done. They felt more wordly, more mature, but still with the vivid imagery through the lyrics and tumbling and catchy melodies that are Carla's key strengths.

Simon's arrangements were sublime. There seemed to be so much space in the music, yet there was also still so much to appreciate with each listen.

Later in lockdown Carla had tweeted out a message asking for band names as she and Simon now had enough songs for an album. She phoned me up and I was in our back room (formerly my music room, meant to be a playroom, but essentially a dumping room for toys/washing etc) having just finished a #timslisteningparty with a few beers. I looked at the mess around me and suggested names like Blue Crayons, a few others that Carla meh'd at and then Poster Paints, which she seemed to like. 

And that was that. I named a band!

Two years down the line and the album is out on Olive Grove Records & Ernest Jenning Record Co.

Proceeded by a string of singles that built momentum, the eponynmous album is gathering a lot of love from those who discover it.

And it's easy to hear why.

The album floats gently and dreamily into life with Still Got You. At 1-minute 19 seconds the song drifts beautifully, everything cutting out as Carla sings

I've still got that taste

In the back of my throat

The swallowed secret

That makes me choke

Liddell's subtle, shining and shimmering guitar sounds hazily gorgeous over lazily funky beats in the closing minute. It's an absolutely stunning opening.

The pace changes and quickens with debut single Number 1. It's chiming guitar pop with Spector-esque beats. Kids are so naive, I wear my heart on my sleeve, cause baby you're my number 1, baby you're my number 1 is a brilliant chorus. There is a sublime instrumental that takes us to a final refrain.

Not Sorry slows things down again, the verses have so much space for the reflective lyrics, building to the chorus where Liddell's guitar bursts to life to back Carla singing.

My favourite memory of you will be of you in the morning

Never Saw It Coming was the second single that Poster Paints released back in August 2021. The flowing melody and guitar riff are beautifully entwined through the verse, leading to the chorus and the realisation of love lost.

I can't believe you're gone

I never saw it coming

Reflection and realisation come across in the lyrics throughout the album. I think they are the best that my sister has written. Equalled by the flowing melodies that deliver them. Her voice has matured beautifully and just seems to fit perfectly with Liddell's arrangements.

A splash of psychedelia/dream pop in the middle section is just lovely.

Circus Moving On is one of the best songs I've heard this year. Floating and gliding beautifully through the verses, it's mellow, tender and dreamy. Then ... at 48 seconds ... the slow burning star becomes a shooting star lighting up the night sky at pace. A double chorus is delivered with strings, beginning with the lines;

You say I need to walk before I float

But I'm already flying every day

Falling Hard is a pure pop sugary jangly rush, with Easton singing defiantly giving up is not on the cards, when I fall, I'm falling hard. Liddell's guitar jangles, chimes and fuzzes through an instrumental that takes us back to the chorus, one that you may well  find yourself singing after one or two listens.

Lomond Campbell is someone my sister has known for a while and I know that she was absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to work with him on a song. Ribbons aches beautifully, vocals and music are just sublime. Liddell's guitar in harmony with his friend Jonny Scott on drums.

There is plenty of space in the arrangement, playing and production. Everything seems to beautifully unrushed and dreamy.

Campbell & Scott are just a couple of the guests that the duo roped in. Both have declared that it was easier than normal to ask friends (from across the world - see below) to contribute to songs during lockdown restrictions. Ambitions helped by Creative Scotland which ensured that all musicians were paid. 

Poster Paints started when Simon sent Carla a piece of music and asked her to contribute some ideas. Easton wrote lyrics and a melody and returned a completed song. That song was Rupture, so it's only apt that it is included on the album. Liddell's guitar has a dirty jangle to it, taking an abrupt turn at 1 minute 25 seconds to chime. Easton's voice rises in the second half of the song as again she reminisces about a lost love, reminded of this every time she smokes cigarettes, I guess that's why I smoke them as much as I do.

Hard to Sweeten is a real favourite. It's like a lullaby, a truly special song. Guitar and keys/synth, draped with the most gorgeous vocal my sister might have sung to date. The closing instrumental section is just sublime. 

I was warned of love like yours, that's hard to sweeten

I adore a fire that burns, that scars me deeper

Another favourite is album closer My Song. This song builds slowly, surely and sublimely with Carla singing to a lost love I have you the chance to, have and to hold me. At 2 minutes 27-seconds the song begins to soar and glide on a gorgeous guitar riff, New Order-esque bass and synth. You get 2-minutes of this, but I would love an extended 12-inch remix stretched to at least 8. 

Poster Paints album is out now. Order online (can be delivered from the UK or the USA) or check your local record shop. Check a track by track run through by Carla HERE

What next for the band? 

Well they have been offered the chance to go to SXSW in spring 2023. Exciting ... but ridiculously expensive. Personally, I just hope they keep writing and recording. Simon and Carla have conjoured a collection of magical songs and have an amazing pool of friends they can call upon to create the sounds in their heads. With this album, they've brought out the best in each other.

Sister Rena live by Lomond Campbell

Trust Me #44

Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

A couple of people I follow on social media posted a video of Lomond Campbell performing his song/composition Sister Rena after hearing the song on Mary Anne Hobbes 6 Music show.

It's really, really beautiful. Melodic, dreamy, moving, cinematic ... there are hints of sadness, melancholy ... there is plenty of space .... it is just gorgeous ... sublime. Take 4-minutes from your day and get lost in this gem. 

The DIY home video (below) is also a joy. Campbell is lost in the moment, his dog alongside him (watch for the loving cuddle at the end as they 'get it') and sheep baa-ing in the background. 

I first heard of him when he was a member of the FOUND collective. He's now based up in Fort William where he is constantly creating music, building his own instruments and also producing others - including Kathryn Joseph. Campbell is always up to something, a true artist, and seems to have found the space and environment to thrive in. 

I believe that Lomond should have an album out in the not too distant future. One to keep an eye out for.

Check Campbell's treasure trove of a website for loads of other live videos, projects and ideas.

Click HERE to watch the video if you don't see it embedded below.

A list of all previous songs I've blogged about in my Trust Me feature are listed below, along with links to each blog. Sister Rena joins them.

I've also collated them all into a playlist on Spotify that you can find by searching for Everything Flows - Trust Me , or you can CLICK HERE

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

Abbey Road at 50, Celtic Connections

Glasgow discovered a fantastic way to banish the January blues many years ago - the city decided to launch a festival called Celtic Connections to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of music our small country is blessed with (and other music we enjoy too!). As many cities pubs and restaurants experience their quietest month of the year, Glasgow keeps on going as pubs, venues and restaurants are packed with people out to enjoy music and banter. It's the Glasgow way, we are a social bunch and like nothing better than to watch talented musicians with our friends and a beer.

Roddy Hart's Roaming Roots Revue has become a staple of Celtic Connections. Roddy and his excellent band The Lonesome Fire, become host and backing band for a string of artists to pay respect to great artists like Dylan or Petty, or scenes like the West Coast of America, or, in the case of last night, an album.

Abbey Road was the last album The Beatles recorded and it was released in 1969, 50-years ago. It's a nice round number, definitely an excuse for a party.

And what a party Roddy Hart conjured up. He's quite the host and knows how to choose guests that will get a crowd going. Last night, as well as being joined by a capacity crowd at the fabulous Royal Concert Hall, Roddy was joined by his outstanding band The Lonesome Fire, a forty (yes 4 0 ) piece orchestra and stunning artists; KT Tunstall, Lomond Campbell, Phil Campbell from The Temperence Movement, The Staves and new band You Tell Me (Sarah Hayes from Admiral Fallow and Peter Brewis of Field Music).

I did wonder how they were going to fill up a whole evening with one album, Roddy quickly informed us that each artist would come out to play 2 or 3 of their own songs with The Lonesome Fire and then they would move on to The Beatles.

Each artist was fantastic, Roddy is clearly a fan of Lomond Campbell and I'm sure he will have won a number of new fans after a heartfelt performance. The debut album by You and Me is literally just out, so this was a perfect opportunity for them to get the word out - the album has been picking up excellent reviews. Sarah Hayes beamed from behind a huge piano and he voice was sweet and soulful, combining beautifully with Peter Brewis.

Phil Campbell is not someone I was aware of prior to last night. I've heard of his band The Temperence Movement but have never checked them out, I will be after last night. This guy oozes cheeky charm and charisma (more on this later). His short set allowed him to display a raspy early 70's Rod Stewart style voice and he bounded around like a cross between Steve Marriott from the Small Faces and vintage Jagger. Oh and he melted hearts when his young daughter shouted Daddy when the crowd was quiet and he said he loved her.

The Staves are three young sisters who I will be checking out. Roddy introduced them by highlighting their classic songwriting and 3-part harmonies were winning fans everywhere - no wonder! They were spellbinding.

And lastly, KT Tunstall bounded on looking pretty cool in stripes flares and a vest top, playing 3 great songs and also giving us some great between song banter ranging from a drunken night at karaoke with her friends when she found that two of her songs were on the list - she played Suddenly I See - and also talking about playing in the pouring rain to two ladies giving it laldy at the opening of the new Queensferry crossing - the Queen had left and after that so had everyone else. The two left were her Mum and Nicola Sturgeon.

On to Abbey Road.

Roddy and friends made full use of the space and sound quality by getting a 40-piece orchestra to back them up! The sound quality last night was utterly brilliant - sonic goodness of the highest order.

My money was on Phil Campbell to sing Come Together, but it was KT Tunstall who came out and channelled the urgency, soul and humour of Lennon, setting a high bar for the rest of the guests.

Lomond Campbell accepted the challenge and his version of Something was beautiful, the way the song flows is sublime and the 40-piece orchestra took it as high as they possibly could and it soared during the you're asking me where my love goes, I don't know, I don't know section.

You Tell Me arguably drew the short straw with McCartney's Maxwell's Silver Hammer, but the melodies and humour carried the song and it actually made more sense live than on record. This is a song that Lennon famously refused to play on.

When I think of Abbey Road Macca I think of side 2. I'm not massively fussed about the above song or Oh Darling. My opinion of both changed last night, especially the latter as Phil Campbell took the song to another level with an astonishing vocal performance, whipping himself and the band to sensational heights. The look on some of the faces of people playing in the orchestra was priceless as Campbell shared, shimmied and cajoled himself to get every ounce of soul from the song. This was a stunning vocal and frontman performance and he received an extended ovation that was very richly deserved.

I love Octopus's Garden. There I've said it. I love the melody, the dreamy charm, the fact my kids love it and I love that Ringo wrote it (allegedly -I still kind of think McCartney might have had a hand in it!). It was nice of Roddy to hand it over to his drummer, Scott McKay, to sing. Scott had never sung a song in front of an audience, so when Roddy told us that, Scott had everyone on side. And he had everyone helping him out, it was a lovely moment.

Then we had Tunstall and Phil Campbell duetting on a powerful and sexual I Want You (She's So Heavy) that was a joy to hear and witness. The guitars were superb.

Then we had that spell binding side 2 which quickly developed to almost everyone being on stage. You and Me had the joy of Here Comes The Sun with a Spectoresque number of guitars helping the orchestra.

We had The Staves with a breathtaking performance of Because, we had You Never Give Me Your Money into Sun King, the romp through Mean Mr Mustard and Polythene Pam into the uplifting She Came In Through The Bathroom Window. Lomond Campbell, KT Tunstall and Phil Campbell all coming and going with remarkable fluidity. The ooh's and aah's delivered by The Staves were truly beautiful

Then it was into McCartney's stunning finale - Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and the most beautiful of closing numbers The End.

Only it wasn't, as per the album Roddy Hart played Her Majesty after the applause had finally died down.

What a performance, what a show! Top marks to all involved.

There was a little encore, as Roddy said, why waste the opportunity of a 40-piece orchestra! You Tell Me were at their best on She's Leaving Home and Penny Lane was a riot with every singer taking lines.

What will Roddy come up with for 2020?

You're Still Mine by TeenCanteen

Ah summer pop perfection.

TeenCanteen is my sister Carla's band so hands up I have a vested interest in the band, however if she keeps producing pop gems like this then I'll keep blogging about them. This is a beauty.

You're Still Mine is the forthcoming second single from the young Scottish girl quartet, coming out as a self release on 7-inch glitter vinyl and iTunes on 16th June, produce by Lomond Campbell from Scottish arts collective FOUND.

Spector/Wilson-esque lyrics come in over a pulsing synth introducing us to the song, acoustic guitar, high-hats and bass tease and hint at what may come.

I'm not asking you to love me

I'm asking you to tell me why you don't

And I'm not saying honey hold me

I'm saying 'honey tell me why you won't'

It all kicks in gloriously just after a minute for the third verse. The synths soar and the beat kicks in, the 'tearing up your letters, tearing up my eyes' section is clever.

I'm not tearing up your letters

But I'm tearing up my eyes

i'm not making any promise

When I'm breaking through these lies

Sometimes like lately

It feels like you're trying to break me

I need you to save me

Is this what it takes to make you mine

Then comes the beautiful breakdown with finger snaps;

Your hold on me is pulling me down

But I won't give up if this is love

Your grip on me is as cold as steel

But I've never felt anything this real 

repeat once

Handclaps and the Hookiest New Order bassline in years lead a glorious extended outro.

Indie pop song of the year to date. Beautifully written and constructed a-la a Brill Building classic.