Named after the debut single by Teenage Fanclub.
This blog is all about being a music lover in Glasgow; reviews, interviews, memories, old faves, new discoveries (past and present), playlists and more. Thanks for visiting - I hope you discover something amazing you have never heard before, or that you rediscover an old favourite.
Regular features/playlists; Never Ending Mixtape / Cover Version of the Month/ Trust Me.
Insta - @everythingflowsglasgow
My friend Robbie has been raving about Dogrel by Fontaines D.C for months. So I invited him to write a blog. Fontaines D.C play Glasgow SWG3 on Thursday 21st November.
Album Review – Dogrel by Fontaines D.C. by Robbie Robinson
From the opening pounding beats of Big the album Dogrel
lifts you in a tumultuous surge of dirty water, throwing you in all directions,
raw guitar strings pulling you further along, guttural vocals before leaving
you, somewhat unexpectedly, gently washed up with the smooth melodic sounds of Dublin
City Sky. Simply put this is the best album I have heard in 2019… and for
some time before that.
The album rushes along at a furious pace, it is not until we
reach Roy’s Tunethat it breaks rank with what has come before, a fast
paced full bodied wall of sound. From the opening bars of Bigyou can
almost taste and smell Dublin, chaotic, loud, dirty, wet, mercurial. However,
it doesn’t let up as we crash into Sha Sha Sha and then lurch into the
story telling of Too Real, unapologetically demanding an answer ‘Is it
too real for ya?’
Described as ‘post-punk’ or punk this Dublin band appear to
have produced a classic first album. The gruff narration, rapid fire drum
beats, coarse guitar melt together to create the perfect combination. But what
perhaps makes it work is the story telling lyrical delivery. The album demands
you listen, sit up and be in awe.
Television Screensoffers another slight shift in
direction, although the beat is still demanding and the lyrics rich the
delivery is somewhat smoother, gentler, asking us to stop and think, pause for
thought. It lulls us into a soft sense of security before Hurricane Laughter
smashes into you, the narration is back taking us round and round, down and
down, the harsh oration to the back drop of relentless chords and riffs.
Where as what has comes before is angry and raw, Roy’s
Tunetells a similar story but from a different point of view, the daily
grind of the city slowly slowly slowly getting the better of you while you
fight to hold on for hope and dream of something better, not becoming another
cog to be used by the machine, running fast just to stand still, passed by as
it dawns on you as what you wanted to be is not going to pass.
Everything Flows Glasgow has reached 500,000 page views.
I have no idea if this is good or terrible, but it is a landmark for me!
It works out at an average of 680 per blog. I'll take that. Blog views these days tend to be from anything as low as 50 to 500. Occasionally they will go higher - see below for reasons why.
I began the blog simply because I enjoy writing about music. I wanted to be a journalist as a kid and loved the weekly buzz of walking the long way to school to buy the NME and Melody Maker on a Wednesday morning. I used to devour Uncut, Mojo, Select, Record Collector and many more. I must have spent a fortune on magazines in my teens and through to my mid-20's.
If just one person finds my blog and discovers something that they haven't heard before, or something that makes them go back to check an old song or album they haven't listened to in ages, then that is ultimately what makes me happy.
Feedback is always welcome. Someone once bought me a pint in Stereo because of my blog - thank you if that was you!
Everything Flows Glasgow - most viewed blogs
Higher page views tend to happen for the following reasons;
a) luck - it happens to get RT's or shared by the right person or the bands involved. Example - one of my highest viewed blogs is on Hot Chip, band members individually RT'd as did the bands account and their side projects.
b) timing - writing a live review immediately after a gig can really help with views (see The The in my highest viewed blogs), however I don't always do that and sometimes leave it far too late to even bother. I really should have blogged on Martha Reeves playing Glasgow in June!
c) the subject - One of my blogs that still gets regular views is on Nirvana covering The Vaselines, it is the kind of thing people google regularly. Likewise with the Stone Roses Amsterdam show I attended when Reni walked off the stage.
Meeting Mani in Amsterdam back in 2012
d) all of the above - the prime example being my blog on Gerry Cinnamon last summer. Gerry doesn't do media, so the mainstream media don't tend to write about him. As a result my blog is probably one of the few places his fans can read anything about him. On a daily and weekly basis this blog still generates page views.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog. I intend to keep it going for a while yet and I'd love to try and get into the habit of doing a monthly podcast.
Current regular/semi- regular features include;
Cover version of the month - approaching the 50th blog on cover versions
Never Ending Mixtape - regular round up of songs added to my Never Ending Mixtape on Spotify, now at 1,142 songs
Trust me - just a song and the lyrics (I might start to add in a little commentary)
10 from - newly introduced feature that started this month with The Vaselines
I'll write about anything I like - live show, old band, new band - whatever I enjoy and very largely depending on time. So please don't be offended if you send a press release through for an album review. You'll see from my blogs that I really don't do that many.
Please don't hesitate to get in touch with any feedback.
If you are a regular or semi-regular reader of my blog then you'll already know of my sisters creative talents through the songs she has written and recorded with her bands Futuristic Retro Champions and TeenCanteen and her first solo album Homemade Lemonade that she released under the guise of Ette.
Carla is now stepping out as an official solo artist after a particularly productive couple of years that included the aforementioned Homemade Lemonade album, the Say It All With A Kiss LP and the Sirens EP with TeenCanteen, as well as videos, festivals and sessions
There have been collaborations with Belle and Sebastian - a co-write and lead vocal on Best Friend and with Kirsty Law on The Iron Railing, a writing retreat at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada and then a return trip to record the album with Howard Bilerman, who produced Arcade Fire's seminal Funeral LP, on production duties. Oh and she is making a documentary on Scottish girl groups, curated a night at the Edinburgh Arts Festival and I'm pretty sure I've missed something. Oh yeah, she has 6-songs recorded that might be on her next album plus a couple left over from Canada.
In short it has been fantastic to see my wee sister so creative and productive and receiving excellent support from all over the world. Her 2 visits to Canada in 2017 were, in her own words, 'life changing'. On a writing retreat at the Banff Arts Centre, she bloomed and was promptly invited back to record an album.
And so on to the album Impossible Stuff . I originally started writing a blog on it last October when I first heard it, then deleted it, rewrote some, scrapped it, started it, left it ...... and finally decided just to go with what I have! So here is a short review, some of the videos released over the last year and links to other reviews and interviews. There has been a fantastic response to the album. I'm super proud of my wee sis. And there is a lot more to come from her!
Check the video for Dreamers On The Run (above), the opening track, with Carla representing Scotland at the Eurovision) opens the album. It's under 2-minutes long but there is a lot packed in. The song floats and flows, Fats Kaplin on violin is stunning and there is a strong Celtic melody and tone.
The title track is exceptionally melodic and playful with Carla utilising the talents of friends she made in Canada at the Banff Arts Centre. There are strings, crashing drums, a beautiful piano solo and then a build up to a glorious racket that starts at 2 minutes 12 seconds and brings in a choir and what sounds like every instrument Carla's friends could get their hands on. It sounds amazing! Check the video recorded with talented friends within 3-days of returning from Canada.
Impossible things just to hear your heart sing
Oh I'd do anything for you
Impossible stuff just to feel your love
Oh I'd do anything for you
Lights In The Dark was the first single to be released from the album back at the start of the year. Carla tells a story and her lyrics paint a picture, the 80's drum beat sounds cool and it's one of my favourite vocals from the album.
You can just take my heart
You can just pull me apart
I'm searching for the lights in the dark
Meet Me In Paris has a nice psychedelic tinge to it courtesy of some sitar action, the melody, feel and urgency in the song makes an immediate impact. Melodies pour out of my wee sister, almost literally on Never Had the Words, the vocal melody just tumbles out and doesn't stop, its a real favourite.
Next is second single Wanting What I Can't Have. I remember Carla sending me the demo that she recorded at our Mum's house and her being really proud of it, describing it as a little Primal Scream-esque. It's an epic, particularly good live.
The album spins from Carole King inspired numbers, to 80's drum machines and synths, to Spector-esque walls of sound, to stomping pop and Milk and Honey (video below) merges the last two.
Things slow down for Girl from Before, a late 50's/early 60's inspired ballad with soaring strings and at one point it seems like the vocal melodies are just going to keep building, before slowing back down. There is some stunning guitar playing towards the end.
Then Vagabond, the oldest song on the album and originally a b-side to the TeenCanteen 7-inch You're Still Mine, is rerecorded and it is just gorgeous. Here is a live version Carla recored with TeenCanteen.
The album ends with the Harrison produced by Spector Lullaby. All Things Must Pass is a favourite album of Carla's and I know she listened to it a lot en route to Canada. This is a spine tingler, the guitar solo is stunning.
Impossible Stuff delivers more on every listen, the quality shines through. Melodies are everywhere, the playing and production is exquisite, there is real heart on sleeve soul, playfulness and the sound of someone in the zone with a studio, producer, engineer and musicians who believe in her and can create the sounds from here head.
Impossible Stuff has been getting a lot of attention and people are saying some lovely things! In addition to airplay and sessions, here are some links to review and interviews, including a cracking track-by-track interview Carla did with The Skinny. You can buy the vinyl from Olive Grove Records and it should be in Monorail, Assai and Love Music.
I like to sit around and dream you up a perfect miracle
Part the clouds and have the sun proudly shining on you
Take the stars and line them up to spell, darling I love you
And little by little, watch it all come true
The broken, world and life weary, dreamy, psychedelic lullaby voice of Jason Pierce, AKA J Spaceman, ushers And Nothing Hurt, the new Spiritualized album in. And we're off to get lost. In classic Spaceman form, opener A Perfect Miracle builds with multiple vocal layers, strings and horns. It's a beautiful and soulful love song, classically dreamy and with Spaceman lost in love.
every time I close my eyes, I'm just dreaming of you
I'm Your Man was the single to launch the album and it built up expectations. Thankfully they have been exceeded. Pierce plays up to his image and lays his heart on the line, his guitar soars over horns.
I could be faithful honest and true, holding my heart for you
Dependable all down the line, devoted all the time
But if you want wasted, loaded, permanently folded, doing the best he can
I'm your man, I'm your man
Pierce's fragile voice can seem shattered at times, full of joy and wonder at others. Here It Comes (The Road) is the latter, it's full of love and the simplicity of driving with the radio on, eventually leading to his house and the brilliant lyric;
And you can see my house from here
And the way my heart is beating
You'll hear the sound
It'll wake the sleeping
Pierce conjures such emotion through his lyrics, voice and music. Let's Dance is a gorgeous ballad that tips a nod to Big Star in the lyrics. It builds beautifully, the music sounds like it could be from the Beach Boys Pet Sounds sessions. Pierce allows plenty of space and time for the music to play and flow at the end.
On The Sunshine is more of a psychedelic rocker but it's the fragile, tender ballads that are capable of building, soaring and swooping, that dominate and stand out on And Nothing Hurt. One of them is Damaged and after a few songs where Pierce is in love, this is one where he's had his heart broken. No-one can write a song about losing in love quite like Pierce, Broken Heart from the seminal Ladies And Gentleman We Are Floating In Space album is the closest I have heard to the sound of a broken heart on record.
Having talked up the ballads, The Morning After is brilliant psych garage rock that sounds like The Velvet Underground jamming with Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew. The psych jam adds in Miles Davis and the MC5.
We dive back into the serene calm of The Prize and Pierce is contemplating leaving (dying? - see below re his illnesses) and debating if love is the prize from life. It's lush, it's dreamy, it's hypnotic
Some reports indicate that And Nothing Hurt may be the final Spiritualized album. If it is, then Sail On Through is a fitting finale. Pierce has been through a tough time in the 6-years since the last Spiritualized album, suffering from double pneumonia and also from liver disease.
Pierce is at his dreamy psychedelic lullaby best as he creates a rich sonic wonderland to get lost in.
If I could hold it down
I would sail on through for you
If I weren't loaded down
I would sail on through for you
And Nothing Hurt is a rich, deep, soulful and lush album with lots to discover and plenty of scope to get lost in. Expect it to feature high in my end of year list of favourite albums from 2018.
Spiritualized are playing live shows, with only one UK gig (London) confirmed at present. They have shows in America and on the continent. Fingers crossed J Spaceman comes to Glasgow - potentially for the last time.
In this blog I've tried to combine 3 fantastic things I have experienced over the last week courtesy of Jonathan Liley and his band, The Gracious Losers.
- Firstly I had the pleasure of getting my hands on his bands debut LP. It comes in a stunning gatefold sleeve with artwork courtesy of Sean Phillips, the Elsner Award winning comic book artist. More about the music later.
- Secondly, I caught Jonathan playing an intimate acoustic show backed by his friend and band mate Heather on violin as part of a pop up record shop in The Doublet. I was struck by watching Jonathan in such an intimate setting at just how good he is on guitar. Sometimes with only 3 or 4 simple chords (that even I can play) - but he makes them sound a hell of a lot better than I can! He doesn't just play his guitar - he feels it.
The afternoon of music and beers in (and outside) The Doublet was fantastic and I was once again struck by the sense of community created by the Last Night From Glasgow label who organised the day. I don't know why it still surprises me as it has been evident since the label launch night, but it strengthens and develops with every release and event.
- And then on Friday night Jonathan's incredible band launched the album with a headline show at Glasgow's newest live music venue - The Great Eastern. I think The Gracious Losers had 13 people on stage at times and what a sound they created. The Great Eastern on Carrington Street, just off Great Western Road, is a care centre for the elderly during the day. The team from Synergy Concerts have signed a lease for a string of shows at the venue and it was easy to see why. The main room has high beamed ceilings and natural light floods in from windows on either side. A pop up bar was ceased upon by the thirsty crowd and it felt like a real event.
Picture courtesy of Richard Brown
Back to the album.....and more on the show.
The Last Of The Gracious Losers LP has a warm natural glow from start to finish. The 9-piece (sometimes more) group formed by Jonathan Liley are all top notch musicians (including Johnny Smilie and Monica Queen from Thrum) and capable of jamming, improvising and creating wonderful moments.
Although captured well on vinyl, to see this wonderful group play live on Friday night was a joy. They took flight and the finale of Hey, I'm Riding Low and I Can Never Read the Signs was mind blowingly good. The former is a little over 7-minutes long and the band lock in like Crazy Horse with Johnny Smilie coaxing incredible sounds from his guitar. The latter has a false ending before Liley leads his band to even higher levels, helped by 3 backing singers and a brass section.
Liley is a warm host, bubbling with enthusiasm and a smile is never far from his face. It was easy to see and feel just how much the night meant to him.
The band opened by huddling close around Liley centre stage to sing acapella and harmonise on a new song Till I Go Home which immediately captivated the audience.
Picture courtesy of Richard Brown
The second song in was sensational and I later found that it was a cover of the Daniel Johnston song To Go Home, arranged in the style of the M Ward cover of the song. I was blown away by it. Power, passion and soul. You can check the M Ward version HERE, I hope that The Gracious Losers go on to record their own.
Back to the record Where The River Meets The Sea is counted in gently and for a brief moment it sounds like the guitar, piano and beats are finding each other .... and then they do ... and then we're off into the world of The Gracious Losers. Heartfelt vocals, instruments colliding then breaking, then coming back together and bringing in a friend for good measure. Horns, backing vocals and strings are all there but the song still has so much space to breath.
The harmonies on Moonlight Parade are spine tinglingly good and the band are given time to play, the slide guitar touches the soul. Liley's romantic soul is all over the album I wanna dance with you babe, in the moonlight parade.
Picture by Gary Sloan
Last weekend I got to see Jonathan play an intimate acoustic set, backed only by Heather Philips on violin. Give Your Pain A Name was (for me) a highlight of their set. It's so fragile, so tender, sometimes it feels like it is hardly there. It is a special talent to be able to write and play like this, to get so much feeling down on record. On the album it's Jonathan, his acoustic and mouth organ. Get your headphones on and close your eyes for this beauty.
Give your pain a name and you'll feel much better
It won't hurt so bad when it lets you down, down, down
Next time around
Hey I'm Riding Low is 7-minutes of joy on record. This is widescreen, this is classical, this is absolutely beautiful. We have 90-seconds where guitar and strings play and soar before the beat comes in and Jonathan sings with Amanda. Then the lead electric guitar just takes off like Neil Young and Crazy Horse, the rhythm is simple and kind of funky, and the guitar swoops and soars - wow! Honestly, if you do one thing from reading this blog then check this song and I bet you buy the record.
Johnny Smilie
Picture courtesy of Richard Brown
I Can Never Read The Signs is another epic, the song tails off at 5 minutes 30 before easing itself back in and coming in at a different level - the energy leaps from the record. What a performance!
This was the finale of the bands launch show and oh wow! It was special - Jonathan along with Gary Johnston, Rory McGregor, Johnny Smillier, Erik Igelstrom, Heather Philips, Amanda McKeown, Monica Queen and Celia Garcia (and others!) just soared where few can dream of flying.
The band were one as Amanda, Monica and Celia let rip with their vocals over horns my spine tingled and goosebumps miraculously appeared on my arms. Liley turned to play and groove with his super tight rhythm section and at the end brought everyone to the stage to take in the applause and he fell to his knees, probably wondering it it was all a dream.
I bet he had dreamt of this moment - well it came real.
You can order the gatefold vinyl (with download code) of The Last Of The Gracious Losers HERE
From the urgency of the opening chords of They Won't Ever Leave Us Alone through to the bubbling synths that usher in the closing title track What We Might Know, Broken Records deliver big time with the release of their 4th album. 11-songs of heartbreak, parenthood, hope, looking to the future and reflecting on the past, all wrapped in glorious soulful Springsteen heart on the sleeve style.
Broken Records have been on the go for 10-years and this is their 4th album, their first since 2014. Quite a lot has changed during that time and the band have adapted from MySpace to present day, with two releases on the legendary 4AD Records and tours across Europe and USA in between. And that is just the changes in what it means to be in a band - never mind their personal lives which (sounds like) has inspired many of the songs.
Of course what it really means to be in a band, one thing that should never change, is the opportunity to hang with friends, express yourself and to have fun. And that really comes across throughout this spellbinding album. It is refreshingly open, honest, soulful and pure. It sounds like an album Broken Records had to make, if only for themselves.
Back to the opener; They Won't Ever Leave Us Alone is whirlwind of a song, blowing a fresh breeze into your heart to make you sit up with a jolt. The band fly through the song in a euphoric heartfelt way that almost leaves you gasping for breath.
Summer warmth, fading light
As I drive you home at night
Focus on the smallest things
And write them into my heart
If the opening track sets the bar, Let The Right One In accepts the challenge and pushes it higher. The band are on blistering form throughout the album, brilliantly tight but loose and with singer Jamie Sutherland singing his heart out. Producer Stephen Watkins has captured a band in peak condition.
Melodies usher in Open Ground with Sutherland's rich voice offered more space as the pace of the album drops ever so slightly, yet the urgency remains.
Sutherland spits out his vocals during The Inbetween, a man in a hurry to talk about his dreams and memories, the song builds gloriously, the band gel superbly and with ease.
Don't let these dreams carry me away
Anytime is an acoustic beauty, a fragile melodic riff takes us to some place different, Sutherland's voice displays a different kind of richness - one of warmth and concern. The chorus flows and then things drop to a bare minimum before rising again - beautiful.
I mentioned Springsteen earlier on and Broken Records have that whole widescreen soul thing going on throughout the album. The songs flow superbly and Perfect Hollow Love is outstanding.
I know it should be simple
Cause you're the only thing that's ever been clear
Love
Don't turn your back on me
I'm not dying I can fix this yet
Love
Don't turn your back on me
I'm still here I can pay my debt
You can sense how massive When All Of This Is Done is likely to become from the slow brooding intro. Trust your senses. The song builds beautifully, yet where other songs go full throttle the band keep this under control in style and Sutherland's voice is brilliant. So Free is a slow burning gem before the pace picks up again for Clarity. Broken Records have certainly offered crystal clear clarity on their ability, vision and ambition with this release. At the time of writing I notice that it has already deservedly been nominated for the SAY Award. I really hope it makes the initial longlist and then who knows?
The penultimate Someday You'll Remember Me has another stunning intro where guitar, bass, drums and synth strings combine before Sutherland comes in. There is a little bit of Joy Division-esque bass, a real groove that allows everyone else to work their magic over the top.
And so we end with the title track, the magnificent What We Might Know. Sutherland's rich voice soars over bubbling synths before other instruments lift the song further and a beautifully life affirming way.
Broken Records have been playing a number of live dates to promote the album and have 3 coming up in the next few weeks. You can stream and order their album from BANDCAMP
10/05 - The Borderline, London
12/05 - Night People, Manchester
18/05 - Stereo, Glasgow
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.
The pulsating and hypnotic synth of A La Llum opens Into The Light, the debut album by Medicine Men in captivating fashion. Backwards guitar, percussion....in just over 70-seconds we are introduced to the melting pot of sounds that Medicine Men can create.
It is a beautiful opener, maybe too short, but you won't be cursing that for too long as it leads straight into the stomper that is Show What You're Made Of. One of the oldest songs on the LP, it leaps off the vinyl with an urgency, flow and style that will hook you on first listen.
Ian Mackinnon's vocals ring true and his band mate Michael McGeoch's keys and synths sound sublime. The two permanent members of Medicine Men clearly have a chemistry - pardon the pun.
Funky bass leads us into Golden Packets and a story of a night out, it becomes increasingly psychedelic and is a live highlight.
On to the showstopper. At least for me. Eggshells is a belter, a beauty, 6 and a half minutes of heartfelt and soulful vocals and lyrics, beautiful playing, building slowly but surely, unrushed, flowing and leading to a little break before building again and allowing Ian and his band to just go for it. The last 2 minutes just turn it up another notch.....and then another before it slows and allows you to catch your breath back. A real favourite of mine.
Medicine Men mix it up on the album and Bruised Peach has an almost industrial experimental edge to it when it comes in. That edge is something that Medicine Men definitely possess live and they've done well to transfer that to vinyl. Where does that edge come from? Well Ian McKinnon definitely has something about him and his plea to fall in love again, fall in love again is unlikely to fall on deaf ears.
Realise Forget is another little beauty, it has a great feel to it, another story about a night out that went a little wrong and running down Sauchiehall Street. This song builds to another psychedelic flow.
When Medicine Men play live they hit all the right notes and Ceiling To Floor was a cracker when they played Stereo back in March. I love what they do with this song, the beat kicks in, there is some real fuzzy bass going on, that urgency to Mackinnon's voice that propels the band along and a beautiful flow that keeps going.
Why are you crying?
Cause it's you that keeps me flying
I wanna see you smiling
In the rain
Talking of the sound and direction of the album, lead singer Ian Mackinnon said; 'We're really big on good grooves with as little drum fills as possible so as not to interrupt. I guess that comes from a love of disco and dance music in general. We got more experimental as the album went on. Tame Impala were definitely an influence, as were LCD Soundsystem. LCD in particular were the first band that made me realise you could make dance music as a conventional band and perform it live too.'
The Balcony is a heartbreaker, written about Ian's Dad who sadly passed away coming on 2-years ago, from the church style organ in the intro through to the outpouring of grief. The guitar solo is beautiful.
I'll be at your side it's not permission to cry
It's just a journey that I would not have liked to make
Did I say Eggshells was a showstopper? Well Out Of The Light is a showstopper and a showtopper. I was blown away when I first heard this, coming on like the Chemicals on a night out with Primal Scream circa XTRMNTR. It has that Mani-esque baseline going on, synths lead the way, Mackinnon sounds like he is in his element. The Star Guitar style breakdown is euphoric.
Out of the light
You give me something just to keep me alive
Keep on dreaming, keep on dreaming
In many ways the opening and closing tracks of this album left me wondering where Medicine Men will go next, I was so impressed with them. Will they go on a more synth/electronic path? But then you have the likes of Show What You're Made Of, Eggshells and Ceiling To The Floor.
I don't know what path they will take but it is one that I would love to go down with them.
The album is available to stream on Spotify, to download via iTunes and available to order on vinyl via Last Night From Glasgow.
Last weekend I stayed up to watch Underworld headline the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury. They played a blinder and it brought back memories of catching them at the Barrowland Ballroom when the reception for Born Slippy was one of the best I have ever experienced, and also of catching them at Benicassim in 2005 when they came on around 3am!
Karl Hyde is 60 this year, if he isn't already - I can't find his exact date of birth, but he was born in 1957!!! He still has a cheeky boyish, mischievous grin, he still bounds around the stage with a seemingly never ending supply of energy. Maybe not quite as chemically induced as it once was!
I've been meaning to buy their latest album Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future for a while and the blissed out versions of Ova Nova combining with Nylon Strung from that album cemented my decision to go for it.
I posted online about the songs and my friend Stephen Watt replied to say that the album was a beauty and he also loved these songs. Stephen was also watching Glastonbury at the time.
Stephen is a poet/spoken word performer, so I expected a well written feature....I got one!
Enjoy!
Underworld
– Barbara Barbara, We Face A Shining Future
The
reunion of raw-boned, platinum-haired singer Karl Hyde with bespectacled
producer Rick Smith at this year’s Glastonbury may have engendered a slight
incredulity that the Underworld pair had anything fresh or intoxicating to
offer modern day ravers. What a miscalculation that would prove to be as the
Essex dance trailblazers have recently reunited to create Barbara Barbara, We
Face A Shining Future, a personal favourite record over the summer of 2016.
Lead
single and album opener I Exhale is a glam-stomp, two-note rousing thumper. Upbeat and filled with Hyde’s
celebrated diced lyrics, it withholds all the warmth which trance music permits
its listener but moves into a synth-laden, hypnotic homage to krautrock. Even
lines such as "Spangled top, leather jacket” appear to nod towards something
more Germanic. The idiosyncratic groove of second track If Rah takes almost three minutes to find itself before bursting
awake like a creature of the night snapping at the moon through Hyde’s
repetitive chanting “Luna luna luna”. It is arguably the weakest track on the
album but has its own charms once more through ambiguous lyricism which implies
a sombre story being spun.
The
heavenly strings and ambient synths at the start of Low Burnconjures a glorious aftermath from the bones of the previous
track’s disjointed effort. A haunting atmosphere floods the song in its
entirety while the chain of Hyde’s lyrics “Time, the first time, blush, be
bold, be beautiful, free” border on meditative, urging listeners to close their
eyes and transport themselves towards more celestial plains. The curious Latino
sounds which follow on Santiago Cuatro continue the dreamscapes which Underworld have crafted on BBWFASF. Cradle songs
are not atypical of Hyde and Smith but this is a welcome prompt to remind
listeners that the band’s love for experimentation will occasionally take them
on journeys unexpected, but regularly enjoyed. This leads into the mid-tempo
rhythms of Motorhome and its
unquestionable nod to The Who’s Baba O’Riley. Sparse lyrics and a
straightforward beat suggest that there is not much meat to chew over, but a
delectable bass riff and piano interlude make this a fascinating, if a little
abstruse, track on the record.
As
the afore-mentioned Glastonbury appearance alluded, there were some true gems
from the album waiting to be found and none more-so than the final two tracks
on BBWFASF. Ova Nova is submerged
in glorious, beatific harmonies sung in a higher octave than most of the
record. Backed by the pair’s daughters Esme Smith and Tyler Hyde makes it a
connecting, dewy-eyed number which reaffirms that, like the album title, the
future is very much at the axis of the entire record. The gentle dance-beat may
not be to all Underworld fans liking but shades of 2010 record Barking lead single Scribble continues the upward spiral which the band have taken in the latter
part of their career. However, it is final track Nylon Strungwhich steals the show and showcases exactly what a
special band Underworld can be. The vulnerable line “Open me up, I want to hold
you, laughing” is at the centre of a slow but euphoric dance-beat which demands
every ounce of love from its listener, again aided by the daughters of Hyde and
Smith. This could well be the finest song produced by the band this side of the
millennium, and its bittersweet paean flits perfectly between contemporary
dance music lovers and veterans of the scene more accustomed to listening from
the comfort of their own homes.
It
is difficult to believe that both Smith and Hyde are now around the 60yrs-old
range, displaying a real knack for connecting with all ages and tastes in
music. At seven tracks long, the album does not overstay its welcome. It
revisits you, on the Monday morning trains – the after-work gym workouts – the
last smoke of the day – the sodden bus shelters in which we wait, and makes
everything just right again.
I first blogged about The Second Hand Marching Band back in 2009. Just the fact that they existed was kind of incredible and remarkable, their numbers could reach a couple of dozen at times - not easy to manage! They combined to produce a loving, ramshackle, heartfelt Celtic Soul/folk sound that warmed the heart.
The band are still going strong and have just released, Faults, a 9-track album with Icelandic band Benni Hemm Hemm. The Second Hand Marching Band are fiercely independent and the album is a 100% DIY project from recording, to releasing, to the forthcoming shows in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London on the 17th to 19th March.
I've had the pleasure of listening to Faults for a couple of weeks now. In the house, walking around Glasgow in the Spring sunshine....and the rain. I would normally have written a blog after a couple of listens, but February has been a rather manic month - hence I haven't been writing many blogs.
This has worked in favour of Faults as i've had a chance to live with it and listen to it in different moods and in various places.
There are some moments that remind me of the first time I saw The Second Hand Marching Band and when I was instantly charmed by how seriously they were taking things, but also by how much fun they were having in producing such an incredible sound.
Opener Cling On To Those You Love is fragile brilliance, building from nothing to a soulful mantra that turns (or threatens to turn) a little psychedelic - I can imagine this being stretched out at the live shows.
In A Serious Way captures everything that is special about the band - at times it sounds like there is one person playing an acoustic guitar in a hallway, at others all kinds of instruments come crashing in together to create something uplifting and glorious.
At 1 minute and 10 seconds into Shipcracks there is a spine tingling French Horn, a tinkle of glockenspiel and a picked banjo that just sounds incredibly beautiful. It falls back to an accordion and raw vocals.
I have found new lands all the world around, all around
Sails out, turn this wheel around and make a sound
And leave this gold above the ground, we'll be here again
When we're old
Then that glorious rush and well of sound returns to take the song to conclusion - it is my favourite song and moment on the album. Stunning. I have always pressed rewind/back after listening to this song in order to enjoy it again.
The warmth The Second Hand Marching Band can create is pretty special, Skeletons sounds like a rough and raw improvised jam, with a little french horn (?) working some magic over lovely melodies.
Retaliate is the penultimate track, vocals are intertwined, the acoustic guitar is played with soul and tender care. It sounds like an ancient hymn, celtic cousins coming together in revolution.
Fight back, it's time to fight back
Now we'll retaliate, retaliate
Please be a part of this, please be a part of this
Retaliate
The closing instrumental to Retaliate is soulful and uplifting, you heart may well melt.
There are 9 songs to explore - the project was first muted 7-years ago, Glasgow, Cumbernauld, Fife, Reykjavik, Edinburgh, 800-miles, 16 instruments and 8 singers later - Faults.
