Underworld, Glasgow Barrowlands, 26th November 210

So it is Sunday afternoon, two days after a blinding gig by Underworld at the world famous Glasgow Barrowlands. As I was a little delicate yesterday, my memory of the actual setlist or order of songs is a little hazy, but here goes.

I met one of my very best mates, Reddy, in McChuills in High Street, a real music pub and the bar staff were playing Bowie and Motown to kick start the weekend. We’ve had many a good night in McChuills pre/post Barrowlands or a night out. As it was we only stayed for a couple of pints so we could head round to the Barrowlands to see the support act Silver Columns.

It was pretty quiet when we got in just after 8pm and Silver Columns had just started. They were stuck behind a decorated table/desk so I’m not sure if they were actually playing any instruments, but they were singing and camping it up big style.

‘Cavalier’ burst into life, all twitchy and glitch synths with a call and response vocal. Unfortunately Silver Columns didn’t seem to have access to the full Barrowlands sound system, a real shame for them and for the crowd which was filling up fast.

‘Columns’ was beautiful, gentle vocals, all melodic and wistful. People were starting to dance, particularly the two skinheads in front of me who were far from discreet when licking their wraps of speed!

‘Brow Beaten’ brought things to a close, Donna Summer-esque disco via Fife, with echoes of the Beta Band. It was a short and sweet set; one that I am sure generated some new fans that will be checking out their album.

I’d made the mistake of keeping my parka on for Silver Columns and headed down to the cloakroom to stick it in ahead of Underworld. I should have stuck it in at the start of the night. The queue was massive and it took me a full 25-minutes to get it in.

I got back up the stairs just in time for the start of Underworld. The Barras was far from sold out, a far cry from the last time I saw Underworld in the same venue in 2002 when they took the roof off the place with Born Slippy getting a rapturous reception. At least there was space to dance, and dance we did!

Underworld’s latest album has been getting fantastic reviews and it was clear from the start that they would be mixing plenty of new songs with some of their classics. Karl Hyde was a lithe livewire from the offset with the euphoric ‘Heaven, heaven, can you feel it, can you feel it?’ hook from ‘Always Loved A Film’ generating a surge down to the front.

The duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have now been recording music together for 30-years, although it was only (arguably) after the addition of Darren Emerson to the band and the release of dubnobasswithmyheadman in 1994 that they began to get success. An outstanding album, it was included in many end of year polls, despite the onset of Britpop.

Darren Emerson has now left the band, however their creativity shows no signs of diminishing and with trance guru Paul Van Dyke helping with the production on the latest album, they appear to be gathering new fans rather than losing them. It was certainly a mixed crowd, teens to people in their forties and probably even their fifties.

‘Scribble’ is another new track and the melodic synths caused many down the front to sing along with the riff.

Older fans needn’t worry, Underworld were determined to take the crowd on a trip through their back catalogue. If Brian Wilson and Phil Spector are masters of taking someone on a trip with a 3-minute pop song, then Underworld are masters at the 9-minute epic, with many songs segueing from one to the other.

‘Two Months Off’ brought a harder edge as the and delved back in time, Hyde was bounding about the stage, dancing behind a screen, generally vibing off the crowd and getting them up for it in return. Synths came bursting into life alongside the squelchy beats and kept pushing on as the dancing down the front got fiercer.

The lights works incredibly well with the music throughout the show, there was some old skool acid house smoke machines going on, at times the lights went off completely so all you could see was the lights of Underworlds bank of equipment and the silhouette of Hyde moving in time to the beats. His stream of consciousness lyrics making him dance musics version of Bob Dylan – or maybe not!

Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was the moment that I was waiting for as the beautiful bubbles of synths came through the speakers signalling the start of one of electronic musics all-time classic; ‘Rez’.

The crowd knew it, the band knew it, it was party time and time to dance. The speed of the synths built up, the high-hats were kicking in, the beats came out of nowhere and we were off on a musical journey. Hands were in the air, people were jumping, everyone was dancing and grinning like loonies, drug induced or natural.

Just when you thought it was coming to an end, Underworld pulled their old trick of segueing into another one of their classics; ‘Cowgirl’. The crowd were singing along with the refrains ‘an eraser of love’ and ‘I’m invisible’ before the synths took over, lifting the song and the crowd even higher.

The reception afterwards was rapturous. As if to highlight how much they believe in their new material, Hyde strapped on a guitar and they launched into the New Order-esque ‘Diamond Jigsaw’.

‘Moaner’ saw things go really old skool with masses of dry smoke punped into the crowd and lights flashing on and off all over the place. The crowd were going mad for it.

With mass dancing going on to one of the heavier songs in the Underworld cannon, we were suddenly brought to a standstill with our arms in the air and more smiles as wide as the Clyde on our faces with the opening synths of ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’. Hyde’s lyrics kicked in ‘...she smiled at you boy’, the synths kept coming, Hyde started again, things were about to kick off big style.

The big beats came in and hands were down and everyone was dancing like their lives depended on it. ‘Lager, lager, lager, lager, shouing, mega mega white thing, mega mega white thing.’

There can’t be many ways to top that and Underworld didn’t try!

Vigo Thieves at the Apple Store, Glasgow, 25th November 2010

Shock horror – two blogs in a week. And it will be three after Underworld tonight.

This one is pretty short and sweet.

Last night I went to the Apple Store in Buchanan Street to catch the Vigo Thieves playing a free gig. The band who have recorded some imaginative promo videos throughout 2010 got the gig as they said they recorded their video for ‘Steal Your Heart’ on an i-phone 4 and edited it on a Mac. You can watch the video HERE

I’ve been following the Vigo Thieves since the start of the year when my friend Helen suggested a trip to Wishaw to see them at the Soul Suite in the Commercial Hotel. I hadn’t been there since around 1997 when I went to my mates 21^st and was surprised to see it cleaned up and excited to feel a real buzz about the place in anticipation of the Vigo Thieves first ever ‘Shook To The Bones’ club night on their home turf. The band were (admittedly) a little worse for wear by the time they took to the stage, but the aforementioned ‘Steal Your Heart’ stood out with it’s biting guitar riff and refrains. And as someone who was a teenage Bon Jovi fan, I still like to hear the odd ‘baby’ in a song.

Since then they have released a couple of singles; ‘Steal Your Heart’ and ‘Blood Red’, played loads of gigs, been hard at work writing and recording, they’ve been played on Soccer AM and they’ve also played at Ibrox and received the endorsement of a certain Mr McCoist. So it is fair to say that they have had a pretty productive 2010.

On to the Apple Store. Due to their drummer being out of action for the time being after an operation on his arm, the band were armed with a huge Mac screen for a backing track. They opened with new song ‘Echoes’ before a few technical issues with the Mac caused a short delay and I heard someone mumble ‘should have got a Dell’. Undeterred the band launched into another new song, the rather epic ‘Sound of Summer’ which warmed up the ever growing crowd on a cold winters night. The piercing, circular guitar riff led into rumbling bass and the opening lyrics ‘it was the sound of the summer, playing on the radio, you could feel the heat, the drums were beating...’

The song goes up a gear into the chorus; ‘Come on baby, don’t break my heart, i’m all dressed up, and out of luck, the drums are beating, my sweat is cold, remember that summer, it was raining gold’.

It was a short set last night, but that only served the band well, highlighting that they set out to write songs about love and hope, with sing-a-long choruses and infectious guitar lines.

Previous single ‘Steal Your Heart’ took things up a notch, more swirling guitar riffs with a nod to the likes of Simple Minds and U2 and uplifting lyrics ‘stay young in your heart, stay young in your mind’.

The band may have played another song or two, but after a few post gig beers my memory fails me, I do know they ended with ‘Blood Red’ and its hooks were being sung by me and my mates as we headed off into the night.

I look forward to seeing the band in 2011 when their drummer returns.

Aerials Up, the Borderline, London

I’ve been meaning to catch Aerials Up for a while but every time they have been playing in Glasgow I seem to have had something on. The band (formerly known as The Ad’s) seem to have been working hard following their name change, taking on new members (only the singer and bass player were in The Ad’s and they play a completely new set of songs), developing a new sound, racking up some impressive support slots – the Royal Albert Hall with Paulo Nutini! – and generally creating a bit of a buzz. And lets face it Aerials Up is a much better name!

Last weekend they won the ‘Emerging Talent Award’ at the Tartan Clef Dinner (the Scottish Brits?). It was unfortunate that they didn’t get a chance to play, particularly when Joe Elliott from Def Leppard got to play, albeit fronting the Sensational Alex Harvie band.

Anyway, I am digressing. On Tuesday this week I was down in London with work and I was eager to get out and about at night, rather than go to the pub to watch Chelsea or Arsenal in action. Browsing through the Time Out website I noticed that Beach House were playing, but it was sold out, but so were Aerials Up. So I headed along.

The band were headlining a night at the Borderline, slap band in central London. I got there just after the first support act had finished, in time to see Jonathan Jeremiah. I’d never heard of the guy but it turns out he had played on Jools Holland the week before and he is signed to Island Records.

He was joined on stage by 6 friends, with three violinists, a trombone player, beatbox/percussion and a cello. He launched into a song called ‘Happiness’ and his talent was clear to see, at ease on stage, joking with his band (in particular the blonde violinist and I couldn’t blame him for that) and genuinely making it look easy.

One song in particular recalled Nick Drake, while the majority had a kind of soulful, loose Cat Stevens vibe going on. Quite MOR at times, more soulful at others, but definitely talented.

Upon hearing him announce ‘this is the song I played on Jools Holland last week’ I did wonder why on earth he wasn’t headlining, but the buzz around Aerials Up appears to have carried to London and there must have been a crowd of around 60 to see them.

Aerials Up are also a 7-piece and I was impressed about how quickly they got ready to play! Their violin player was perched precariously on the edge of the stage as they launched into the upbeat opener ‘Stay Awake’. It was an excellent choice of song to get going, ears immediately pricked up as the driving beat, chorus and urgency of the chorus and hook got peoples attention.

It was a very fluid set from the band (the first time I think I have ever used that description). The songs all fitted well together and the on stage chemistry between Kemy (lead vocals and guitar) and Debbie (vocals, glockenspiel and occasional guitar) was excellent.

The guitarist looked like he was having a great time, as well as looking about 18 or 19, the drummer was lost in the beat, the bass kept it all together, the cello and violin were a little quite in the mix at times (more suited to some songs than others) and they all got involved with the soaring choruses and hooks.

The band introduced a new song that I didn’t quite catch the title of, it possibly had the word ‘sand’ in it. Anyway, it was excellent and it was swiftly followed by an ‘acapella’ song (with only the tiniest touch of guitar) that showcased the vocal melodies.

A lot of the reviews I have read about Aerials Up have included references to Arcade Fire (possibly justifired on a couple of songs) and somewhat lazily to the Polyphonic Spree (probably largely due to their soaring choruses). I’ve not read anything about Vampire Weekend yet, but the immediacy and (seemingly) simplicity of Aerials Up songs and melodies, not to mention the singers voice, caused me to think of them on more than one occasion. The playful and original guitar riffs also made me think that they must have Vampire Weekend’s albums in their collection.

‘Superglue’ was introduced as the next single and they ended the night with a song that ‘will be the next single after Superglue’.

Aerials Up certainly have a lot going for them, their ability to create playful melodies, inject a change of pace/beat into a song at the right time and the entwining vocals of Kemy and Debbie certainly make them stand out.

To summarise I would definitely go and see Aerials Up again, their set seemed like an album to me, as I mentioned it was very fluid, they have some catchy singles, some more expressive tracks and are not afraid to experiment with their sound or instruments – while at the same time remaining very focused on the sound they want to achieve.

All in all it was a great wee night and my first trip to the Borderline, an excellent wee venue.

Good news comes in three's

Logging on to the Popcop website I discovered that Admiral Fallow have signed a worldwide publishing deal with Netwerk One Music who will re-release the bands excellent 'Boots Met My Face' album in 2011 and give it the plugging, press and exposure it richly deserves.

Regular readers of my blog (should I have such a thing) will know that a few posts ago I had mentioned my surprise that no-one had picked up on their top class album to distribute it on a wider scale. I've now got my wish and I'm sure the band have got theirs!

Well done to the band, well deserved and it will be interesting to see what 2011 now has in store for them.

(Drawing by the excellent Jenny Soep)

This news was hot on the heels that the Popcop exclusively broke the news that Frightened Rabbit have signed a major label deal with Atlantic Records, following the release of three albums on Fat Cat. This hard working band have really kicked on in terms of their songwriting and ability since they started, building a fanbase through solid gigging and regular releases.

They have achieved a lot on a small label, not necessarily in terms of sales, but in terms of exposure and building that fanbase that has resulted in a major picking them up.

Frightened Rabbit play two nights at the Barrowlands in December with support from Admiral Fallow. I get the feeling that there will be a real sense of celebration in the air that night!

Moving away from bands, there was the news that Radio 1 is having a bit of a revamp and this has resulted in the appointment of Ally McCrae for their Introducing in Scotland show, which will move to a Sunday night.

McCrae takes over from Vic Galloway and while it is sad to see Vic go (he will still be with BBC Radio Scotland), I'm sure I am not the only music fan in Scotland to be excited by this appointment. As with Admiral Fallow, I mention Ally on a previous blog due to his Detour exploits. So to have someone who is out in the frontline getting his hands dirty by putting on nights and events, regularly attending gigs ad supporting independent and unsigned music in Scotland can only be beneficial in the long run.

I look forward to hearing his first shows in January 2011 to see what he has in store for the show.

So there you have it, a quick blog with 3 reasons to be cheerful for Scottish music.

Skies Fell at The Arches

Last night Lynn and I went to The Arches to witness the debut show by Glasgow band Skies Fell. I left thoroughly impressed by the scope of the bands ambition to put on such a fantastic night, equally impressed with their songs and how tight they are as a band.

We arrived at The Arches around half seven. Now for anyone who hasn't been to The Arches, it is a huge venue  slap band in the centre of Glasgow. The show was advertised as being at The Arches, but was it in the cafe/bar, or in one of the arches that make up the legendary club venue? I should also mention that the show was free to anyone who emailed Skies Fell for a guest list place.

Upon entering we found some equipment set up in the upstairs section of the cafe/bar, got a drink and caught up with Futuristic Retro Champions and Pareto, both of whom were playing special acoustic sets on the night.

At 8.45 Kunal from Pareto strapped on his acoustic guitar for a solo set, taking in some tracks from the EP they released earlier this year including 'Call Me Alphabet' and 'Nothing Major, Something Sergeant'. Kunal has a knack for finding a refrain and if I was compare Pareto to any and it would be Idlewild. Kunal took the opportunity to play some old songs and a cover of 'Colourblind' by Counting Crows that went down well.

There was a quick changeover and Futuristic Retro Champions came on to play an acoustic set; not something they have done very often. With a set that was even more stripped back than their acoustic set at Bar Brel in the summer, FRC's totally reworked some of their songs and they really showed off the harmonies and melodies.

'Speak To Me' was a real highlight with the excellent middle eight 'you and me are lo-fi, hanging out in our torn up levis, stick a record on the hi-fi, and point the speakers right up to the sky'. A slowed down 'Strawberries & Vodka Shots' and 'Jenna' also went down well.

However the night was all about Skies Fell. After FRC's an announcer took the stage to say that in 20 minutes time we all had to line up against the wall and we would be led to the venue for the night.

So we grabbed a drink and did just that. We were then led through the downstairs cafe/bar and into the depths of The Arches. We got to a door that opened and dry ice came tumbling out. I think the room is normally a rehearsal room, but not tonight! Skies Fell had kitted it out with a stage, sound system and a light show that wouldn't have looked out of place at Hampden for U2.

There was a growing sense of anticipation as the dry ice started to clear and the guitarist and keyboard player took to the stage to gradually build a melody out of nothing. After a while the bassist and drummer joined them before David left his keyboard and strapped on his guitar and the band burst into life.

The opening song was epic and must have lasted a good 7-minutes plus. The two guitarists took the song to new places several times during the song, leaving the audience to wonder if it was still the same song, or if it was a continuous song cycle a-la 'Abbey Road.'

With the band all dressed in white t-shirts and jeans, the light show working in tandem with beats and riffs and songs that sounded huge, everything really came together for the band. I was pleased for them as they had clearly out in the hours in practice but also with organising and marketing such a gig.

Skies Fell were in the mood to show off and they were probably a little relieved to get on stage after all the days planning and dreaming. Their songs sound huge and they has obviously chosen the venue to show the scale of their ambition and sound. Biffy and Muse were bands that sprung to mind during their set, not only because of the light show, but because their riffs just sound like the were created for stadiums.

Their second last song was particularly brilliant and they signed off with no encore. I went into their dressing room with Sita from FRC's afterwards (who goes out with David) and said 'what on earth are you going to do  for your next show?' He just grinned and slapped my back and said 'wait and see.'

If this show is anything to go by, it is well worth keeping an eye out for any announcements.

Futuristic Retro Champions RIP?

So Futuristic Retro Champions are splitting up after just over four years of fun, friendship, dancing, singing and fantastic nights out.

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with this band as a brother, friend, manager and fan. As someone who loves music, but has never really progressed beyond 3 chords, I was excited when my sister Carla told me she was forming a band with friends from Edinburgh School of Art. The original 6-piece line-up of Sita (vocals), Carla (keys), Harry (guitar), Luke (bass), Adam (synths and shouting) and Dan Dan the trumpet man, played their first gig at the Wee Red Bar towards the end of 2006 and within a few months and few gigs later The List named them as a band to look out for.

With no money and no driving license between them, they recorded songs on a laptop in flats around the city and their rough demos led to support slots with Friendly Fires, Glasvegas and a young Bombay Bicycle Club. Word of mouth spread to Glasgow and they came over to play at club nights at the ABC and the old Barfly as part of the Dolly Mixture nights and they also made the trip to London a few times. Once to support Manda Rin of BiS.

I have fond memories of the band being asked to support Kate Nash just as she was breaking at a tiny bar called Henry’s in Edinburgh. FRC’s has quite a strong following and their fans took over the venue that had been set up for an ‘intimate performance’, kicking the chairs to the side of the room and dancing along to live favourite ‘Jenna’ with the band awarding a bottle of wine to the best dancer.

Upon finishing their degrees Luke and Adam left the band and their friend Ceal joined on bass. I still think of Ceal as Elastica-cool.

The Band were heavily encouraged by their art tutor Paul Carter and when he sadly passed away they helped to put on a tribute night in his memory and asked Eugene Kelly from one of Paul’s favourite bands to join them for covers of ‘Son of a Gun’ and ‘Molly’s Lips’. That the band formed shortly after Carla’s 21^st birthday was possibly partly down to Mr Kelly who played at Carla’s party, organised by Harry. The Vaselines sense of fun, DIY punk/pop and not ‘selling out’ was certainly something that appealed to all of them.

The band played the biggest show of their career to 2,000 people in March 2009 when Eugene personally invited them to support the reformed Vaselines in London. The band were amazed when kids in Nirvana t-shirts came up to buy their electro pop, but then good music is good music.

Later that year Carla and Harry moved to Glasgow after Carla was accepted to do a Masters in Fine Art and it was then that the band really kicked on. Armed with a collection of brilliant pop songs I encourage them to start releasing them, so in February 2010 they released the FRC EP with ‘You Make My Heart’, ‘Lets Make Out’, ‘DIY Lovesong’ and ‘Told Ya’. There was airplay on 6 music and Radio 1 and another trip to London. The release party at 13^th Note saw people watching from the corridor as they couldn’t pack anyone else in. They ended with an inspired cover of Bananarama’s ‘Robert De Niro’s Waiting’ that brought the house down.

With some money in their pockets for a change the band then went into La Chunky Studios in the West End of Glasgow to record their next EP with the lovely Ronan as producer. Pleased with the results they decided to stick it out immediately for free. Entitled La Chunky EP with live fave ‘Jenna’, the summer-tastic ‘Strawberries and Vodka Shots’, ‘Kitten With A Loaded Gun’ and a remix of ‘Told Ya’ the EP brought more great reviews for the band. The band played two of their favourite gigs at Bar Brel and the Hidden Lane Festival (pics from there are displayed).

On her 25^th birthday Carla went out dancing with her young teenage friend Fraser Bone – quite a character. The night out and the resulting hangover caused her to right a new song. With no title it became ‘May the Fourth’ after the date it was written, then changed to ‘May the Forth’. She also wrote the 80’s synth ballad ‘Settle Down’. With confidence at an all time high the band were asked by their friend and fan Martin Creed if his band could play with them if they had any gigs in August when he was up for the Edinburgh Festival. They cheekily asked if he could do the artwork for their new single and he said yes.

So with a Turner Prize winner on board as an artist they booked Mono to launch their single, printing 100 copies on black vinyl-esque cd, coming in a 7-inch style package. The Mono gig was a blast with support from the Hidden Masters, Eugene Kelly, Martin and his band, before the night ended with crazy dancing to the beats of samba band Kings of Macumba.

Fake PR took the band on and the single got great reviews and ended up being played by Radio 1 DJ Kissy Sell Out who remixed it twice live on air. He liked it so much that he invited the band to play live with him in Birmingham.

So with things going so well after 3 releases, great reviews and radio 1 airplay, not to mention a couple of small labels sniffing around....the band chose to split.

Unfortunately Carla and Harry split up after 5-years together. A real shame on a personal and band management/fan point of view but things happen. Carla is in the final year of her masters and Harry is now back in Edinburgh concentrating on a PHD.

Carla, Sita and Ceal are likely to form a new band with Sita’s brother on drums and Carla’s long term friend and fellow art student Ross Dixon on guitar. With an ever increasing bank of equipment and production skills, Harry is working on production and remixes and I wouldn’t be surpised if he writes his own stuff too. Carla has also been asked if 2 or 3 of her songs can be featured in a film.

Futuristic Retro Champions will be heading out in style with 2 Christmas/farewell party shows in December.

Dec 10^th – Sneaky Petes, Edinburgh

Dec 11^th – Captain’s Rest, Glasgow

Harry is mixing all their songs to release an album for these dates. A ‘futuristic retro=spective’ if you like.

Be there for the gigs, they will be emotional and they will be pop-tastic. I put a question mark at the end of the blog title as I hope their music will live on....

Futuristic Retro Champions will always bring a smile to my face, only for now, there is a tinge of sadness. If there is another band out there who play with such a sense of fun, have harmonies, choruses and melodies and a pure pop philosophy, I'd like to hear and see them.

Glasgow music scene, October 2010

The excellent website Drowned in Sound recently carried a blog/article listing their (or at least the journalists) top 10 acts to look out for in Glasgow.

I always like lists; creating them, reading them, debating them. Unsigned music champion Jim Gellatly always provides his ‘ones too look our for’ for the forthcoming year with a list of ten, while Radio 1/Scotland DJ Vic Galloway provided a list of 50 for 2010! And if you think that is going overboard there are acts that he didn’t include that should have been on it.

The DiS list includes Miaoux Miaoux and Mitchell Museum who are two acts that I particularly like, some that don’t really do it for me and a couple I need to check out on Myspace and live around Glasgow. It is hard to keep up with everything!

(Miaoux Miaoux) 

(Mitchell Museum)

The Glasgow (and indeed Scotland) independent music scene is exceptionally strong just now. I imagine that if it was the mid 90’s to early 00’s then a lot of the bands kicking around the scene would have record contracts. As it is, with a distinct lack of money in the record industry, bands are releasing their own music online;  free or otherwise and through limited edition cd’s or vinyl with increasing levels of creativity. Some, the aforementioned Mitchell Museum included, have even released singles/EP’s on old school cassette!

Alongside an ever increasing number of bands or electronic artists, is a creative element that are doing their best to champion the music to a wider audience. Small labels, bloggers, podcasts and then multi-media extravaganza that is Detour. There seems to be a growing movement  that I think could explode into something quite huge by the summer of 2011.

With the level of passion and energy surrounding the independent scene at this moment in time, you get the feeling that something big is going to happen. That could be an event, a happening, recognition on a national scale (Manchester seems to be the city receiving that recognition just now) or (and this is something I would love to work on) a festival for unsigned acts.

I thought I’d come up with my own list, not including the bands that I work with – the previously mentioned Miaoux Miaoux, Futuristic Retro Champions and Sonny Marvello, who are all excellent in their own unique ways. You can read all about them in some of my other blog entries.

(Futuristic Retro Champions)

(Sonny Marvello) 

So here is a list of just 4 bands I think you should check out, along with a list of some ‘movers and shakers’ in the Glasgow independent music scene. I may well write another blog with another 4 bands if time allows.

Admiral Fallow

Admiral Fallow (previously known as Brother Louis Collective) released their debut album ‘Boots Meet My Face’ earlier on in 2010. The album received extremely positive reviews, sold out of its initial pressing and led to lots of festival appearances and gigs here, there and everywhere. The band will play their biggest gigs to date this December when they support Frightened Rabbit at the famous Glasgow Barrowlands.

Their singer, Louis, isn’t just content with fronting his own band, he also plays in the Moth and the Mirror and Song of Return. Quite where he gets the time to do all this is anyone’s guess!

My first glimpse of Admiral Fallow was under their previous guise, supporting Pearl and the Puppets at King Tuts. I wasn’t overly impressed, although the sound wasn’t very good that night and lots of people were talking - a pet hate of mine. My second glimpse totally changed my opinion. They seemed more confident and at ease, perhaps they had grown into the songs, all of which are very personal. Flute, Clarinet, Double bass, guitar and drums all combine (sometimes with added piano and other assorted instruments) to create a cavalcade of melodies that seem to flow with ease.

Louis Abbott looks deceptively older than he is (mid-20’s I believe) and it is astonishing to hear such an accomplished and mature album from someone of his age. The album isn’t one you would just put on for the hell of it, you need to be in the right mood. For example, playing the Strongbow Tent at Rock Ness wasn’t really the right setting for these songs. I think that is a strength of the album though, the songs have a depth, they have genuine passion and even from first listen it is clear that a lot of time, effort and care has gone into the writing, crafting, recording and production. You need time and the right environment to enjoy them.

‘Subbuteo’ is a song of Admiral Fallow’s that immediately caught my attention due to the title. In it Louis talks of revisiting his home town where he got a ‘kicking’ (hence the album title) and the lyrics are particularly poignant.

‘oh it might sound dull, but dull’s sometimes all we have’ and the rather beautiful ‘we’re all just trying to float, while everything seems set to fall.’

Nevada Base

Nevada Base have been a favourite Glasgow band of mine for a while. They are laid back to the extent they are practically horizontal. Singer Albert has a kinky afro, they are all very tight on and off stage and they have songs to die for. I was blown away the first time I saw them, the energy they created transferred naturally to the audience and got people dancing – something that doesn’t happen too often in Glasgow with new bands when people tend to hand around drinking, taking in the vibe and not wanting to let themselves go until they see what the ‘cool kids’ think.

Their taste and style is different too. For example when I caught them supporting Memory Tapes earlier this year they announced they were going to play an Abba cover. Rather than launching into something predictable off ‘Gold’ (as cool as that would have been), they played a song called ‘The Visitors’ off Abba’s last album (of the same title). It was a synth masterpiece and I immediately downloaded the album the next day – highly recommended by the way.

But it is their own songs that caused my ears to prick up. ‘If I’m Late’ perhaps hints at how laid back the band are; ‘if I’m late, then I’m late, then don’t wait.......’

‘Electric Touch’ has a great synth looped around beats and bass and builds to a crescendo with Albert yelping ‘believe me, you’ve never seen such an electric touch, an electric touch’ while ‘Love In My Mind’ seems so simple, yet it is really clever. With the backing of small local label Flowers in the Dustbin and their own studio, I look forward to hearing more songs from the band.

Seventeenth Century

I was walking down Sauchiehall Street in June 2008 having just returned form a year travelling when I caught sight of a band busking outside Marks and Spencers. They played a cover of Beruit’s ‘Postcards From Italy’ and when my girlfriend (wife) returned to meet me from the shop and said she had to go to Boots I remained in the street watching the band. They played an early song of theirs, the absolutely beautiful ‘Traffic’ (still my favourite song) and I immediately fell in love with them. With a trumpet player and with their singer playing violin they immediately seemed different while at the same time they looked like a real band. Stopping to talk to the band they informed me they were playing Bar Brel that night and I went along. On a beautiful sunny summer evening in the West End of Glasgow I feel even deeper.

Mark Farmer has a voice that soars and a presence that demands your attention. The band can lock into grooves and the trumpet and violin can take them off into places that others can’t reach. With plans in place to release a record through Electra French (who released the Mitchell Museum album this year) 2011 could be a very exciting year for the Seventeenth Century.

Seventeenth Century play the Classic Grand on bonfire night as part of Scottish bloggers Aye Tunes and Peenko’s joint night. Well worth a note in your diary.

Barn Owl

I heard about Barn Owl through my friend Sam who is aware of my love for Teenage Fanclub. Sam has been recording and producing Barn Owl and he suggested that I check them out. As someone who is pretty creative himself, not only as a producer, Sam has his own small label; the brilliantly titled ’45-a-side Records’ and he recently brought out a compilation album featuring a Barn Owl track and they were playing at the launch night.

Prior to the launch night I’d been playing them quite a bit on Myspace. Their laid back style and the effortless way that the two guitars combine got me quite excited about seeing them live.

They didn’t disappoint. Following a frantic game of five-a-sides I dashed across town to the 45-a-side night to meet my wife just as Barn Owl took to the stage. They are a young band and they seemed really relaxed on stage with just the right amount of nervous excitement, yet quite humble in a kind of ‘you’re here to see us?’ type way. A nice way.

They didn’t disappoint, combining elements of early Fanclub with later day Fanclub, with a dash of Pavement thrown in for good measure. James Scott on bass looked lost in his groove, bouncing around like a young Dougie Payne from Travis (although thankfully with the bass strapped a lot lower). The singer looked like he was either in his teens or just out of them and his guitar melted into the lead guitarists, complimenting each other perfectly.

I look forward to seeing them again. They are far from the finished article but if you take the time to listen to their songs online or go and see them live, then I hope that you will agree that they have immense potential.

Movers and shakers (sounds cheesey, I know)

It is quite hard to keep up to date with all that is going on in the Glasgow/Scottish music scene. Thankfully there are a number of people that are working hard to promote the scene, introduce music fans to new bands and artists that are developing independently at their own speed with no financial backing.

Glasgow Podcart

I’ll start with Glasgow Podcart. I have been fortunate to meet Halina who runs Podcart on a few occasions and whenever I do I compliment her on her energy, enthusiasm and passion. Anyone who visits their website, listens to a podcast or attends one of their events (not just limited to music) will understand why. It is infectious!

The last I heard, the weekly podcast was receiving over 1,000 downloads an episode. It may well be closer to double that now as in true entrepreneurial fashion Halina is setting up partnerships with people in other countries and Glasgow Podcart also now have a tie in with the excellent Wickerman Festival. Podcart is by no means a one woman band. Halina has an excellent group of creative and artistic people supporting Podcart as they raise awareness about the arts scene in Glasgow.

If you want to keep up to date with independent music in Scotland (and beyond) this is a great place to start.

Jim Gellatly

Jim Gellatly has been a champion of Scottish independent music for a number of years now, yet his enthusiasm for discovering new talent and helping to break it shows no signs of diminishing. His weekly podcast may feature more ‘established’ acts than the likes of Glasgow Podcart, but he is still not afraid to stick his neck out and say he likes/loves something if it takes his fancy.

 (Jim Gellatly)

Jim also has a show on Amazing Radio and has recently helped out by hosting charity events organised by the lovely girls from Pooch and Together Beat Cancer. All in all, a lovely guy with a huge wealth of musical knowledge.

Detour

I’ve only been to a couple of Detour events as they take place on monthly on a Wednesday when I either tend to be playing a late night game of 7-a-sides or watching the Champions League. I really should sacrifice a game to go more often. Set up by Ally and Weaver, Detour is a bit of a multi-media extravaganza, a cauldron of ideas, bubbling over with enthusiasm that is captivating the independent music scene. They quickly outgrew their initial monthly nights at Bloc in Glasgow to go on tour (taking in Inverness and Edinburgh), have a special event on an island in the middle of Inverness at Rock Ness, have a couple of secret events in Glasgow that included acts playing in the toilets of Mono and various other locations around the city, and held larger events at the Buff Club.

 (Weaver and Ally)

On top of that they kidnap bands and take them to secret locations to film them and have a podcast. Ally from Detour has already stood in for Vic Galloway on Radio 1, all this and Detour is only just approaching its 1^st birthday!

Now back at their spiritual home of Bloc, you never know what Detour are going to get up to next. Their monthly line-ups and secret gigs stay under close wraps which is just one of the ingredients that makes this particular cake a pretty special one, especially in today’s day and age when news is online in seconds and everyone seems to know what is about to happen.

Popcop

The Popcop seems to be growing in stature, possibly helped in that sense by the dilemma the blog faced earlier in the year when due to giving away free music the blog was taken off the internet and the owner immediately lost access to years of work! It didn’t seem to matter to the powers that be that the artists involved has consented to giving away their music for free.

Thankfully thanks to a campaign to save the Popcop – complete with t-shirts and promo video, Popcop is back, better than ever. It’s a site I visit most days as the news service is top class and often delivered with a great deal of humour. Popcop is also a member of the Music Alliance Pact – highlighting top up and coming artists from around the world and giving away free music, The Guardian has recently joined this pact.

For up to date music news, views and interviews then this a great place to start.

Peenko, Aye Tunes and Kowalskiy

Three blogs that have their own individual styles. Peenko highlights new bands on a Monday, has great features and interviews on labels, releases and bands, puts on his own nights (with Aye Tunes) and also very kindly highlights free downloads on a Friday for the weekend.

Aye Tunes gives you a one stop shop for gigs from the week ahead and is more flexible with his approach than Peenko, if he wants to write a preview or review he will, if he wants to offerhis opinion on something he will.

Kowalskiy strikes me as being the young kid on the bloc and has interviews with bands and the odd review. His enthusiasm, like everyone in this article, is clearly apparent.

There are many, many more bands/artists and movers than shakers than this blog or the DiS blog can possibly feature that are worth checking out. Little Eskimos, Ray Summers, Vigo Thieves, Adam Stafford, Roddy Hart and MOPP are just a few (not all technically from Glasgow but definitely part of 'the scene').

(Ray Summers)

However I hope that anyone reading this blog takes some time to visit a Myspace site, checks out a gig, reads a blog or downloads a podcast. One thing might lead to another. You could visit Nevada Base’s Myspace and then discover Pooch or Any Colour Black; a night at Detour might encourage you to put on your own night and realise that if you have an idea then with a little bit of work it can develop into something special; by downloading a FREE podcast you might discover your new favourite band; or you might just bump into the boy or girl of your dreams at a gig in the Captain’s Rest.

 (Laura Boyd form Pooch)

It’s worth noting as I end this piece that the vast majority of this movement are doing it because they love music and the arts, not for any financial incentive, although with a rich vein of talent and so many entrepreneurial minds out there I certainly won’t be surprised if some mentioned go on to make money in the arts and entertainment industry.