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.
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Ultimate Painting were brought to my attention earlier on this year when Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream posted about their Green Lanes album and how he thought they were cool. I always love Bobby's posts on Facebook, his knowledge and passion really comes across, as does his fantastic taste.
Then a lovely girl Holly Calder who DJ's in Glasgow, puts on shows and generally has fantastic style and taste posted that she was putting Ultimate Painting on at the Old Hairdressers in town - a superb little venue.
I checked them out, bought the album and also bought tickets. Due to exceptional demand, the show was upgraded to Mono and what a show it was. I have had a rather manic week or so since then - hence the very late blog!
I caught most of Vital Idles set, a raw 4-piece enjoying making a noise, their guitarist spent most of his time facing his amp and buzzing off what his band were creating on stage. The young female singer occasionally bounded about the stage to help generate a response from the crowd.
The Bellybuttons were excellent, I thoroughly enjoyed their set, the guitars sounded glorious, they looked like they were having fun and their sound was reminiscent of the Fanclub at times, Pavement at others. I definitely hope to catch this band again in the future.
Ultimate Painting expand to a 4-piece when they play live and the resulting sound and performance was a joy to watch and listen to. The two guitars gelled superbly at times and played off against each other at others.
Jack Cooper and James Hoare shared vocals and their Velvet-y sound gained a warm response from the crowd - the coolest looking crowd at a gig I have seen in ages!
Songs like Break the Chain highlight the sense of melody and tenderness the band are capable of, while Out In The Cold is one of the most gorgeous songs I have heard in 2015.
Kodiak was dreamy guitar brilliance over a simple beat. Check it out below. I hope to see them back in Glasgow soon and I'll get a blog up a lot quicker next time!
Over the last year or so there has been a lot of talk about Crash Club . A spot at T in the park in the summer , closely followed by winning the best electronic act at the SAMA`s in early October put them in the spotlight and they continue to pick up fans every time they gig . I first came across them at an Everything Shakes event in the Admiral bar at the start of October although I`d heard Murray and a few others talking about them previously. Last Friday they played This Feeling at Tuts along with Our Future Glory , The Trend and The Insomniac Project and at a £5 for 4 bands it is superb value for money.
Our Future Glory ( Dundee based trio ) were first on and set the tone for the night with a high energy performance. The Trend were decent but looked out of place as a guitar band amongst many synthesisers, not their fault and they still gave it their all . I`d like to see them again in their own show to judge them better. The Insomnia Project are relatively new on the scene in terms of playing live as far as I know, last time I spoke to Murray about them he reckoned they hadn`t played more than a handful of gigs but thats twice I`ve seen them in a month and both times they have blown me away. If you were a fan of Johny and the Giro`s ( I was ) then you`ll know a few faces in the band and the addition of Deborah on vocals was a masterstroke. Having watched them in the Admiral last month I had said that I`d like to see them in a bigger venue as her voice would be suited to it. I`m glad to say I was right on this and they had the crowd going wild for the whole of their set. The strobe light added to the atmosphere, sadly they overran and couldn`t get their last song in but it didn`t dampen the spirit in the crowd.
Crowd video from Tut's - Sphinx by The Insomniac Project
To the main event and the trio from Kilwinning didn`t disappoint. The job of lighting the stage was pretty easy as they once again turned the strobe on and let it go from there . Pulsing beats taken to highs and allowed to come back down, just as you thought the tunes were over a roll of the drums and they were off again taking the crowd with them. They hardly stopped bouncing the whole time. Joined by Ian McKinnon of Medicine Men for the epic and euphoric Recondition and by Charotte Brimner (Be Charlotte) for another tune I didn't catch the name of. They ended with Last Dance and smashed it out the park. If you haven't seen them yet then grab the chance with both hands. They are well worth it.
Crowd video from Tut's - Last Dance by Crash Club
Crash Club have smashed everything put in their path through 2015, so I caught up with Neal Mcharg, the energetic bassist and all round good guy - the Glasgow Mani - to see what he was saying to it.
1) It's been quite a year - what have been the highlights for you?
Yeah it's been a proper good year to be fair, loads of different highlights. Festival season with T, Belladrum and Electric Fields is up there and supporting The View was good exposure to a crowd that would never have heard of us. Playing and winning an award at the SAMA's was also great exposure.
Personal highlight for me though is the fact that people have responded positively to what we have been trying to do at the live shows with lights, visuals and guest vocalists.
2) Ian MacKinnon has added a new dimension to your live performances, how did he become involved?
We all love Medicine Men and big Ian's a really good mate so we asked him to to do Recondition and from then on Ian has basically been at every show working the crowd up. Look at theTenement Trail video, I don't think I've ever seen a crowd go as wild at being called mother***kers in my life before!
At one point the bar staff were on the bar raving and big Gino from Vigo Thieves and others were up on shoulders. It was pretty much carnage, trying to get on and off the stage was interesting, never mind the gig itself.
'it was pretty much carnage' - Recondition at Flat 0/1 for the Tenement Trail
3) How much confidence do you and the rest of the band gain from that kind of reaction?
Loads - the stage show definitely gets better when you see a crowd like that, it's hard not to get into it a lot more. Aran even moved a wee bit more than usual!
4) I believe you have some more guest vocalists lined up for future releases?
Yeah, Be Charlotte has been smashing it live as well. We can;t wait to get her into the studio.
5) How far off is an album?
We're recording the EP in Rocket Science studios just now. It is sounding massive, Ross and Michael (producers) have worked wonders on it. The drum and bass sounds are pretty much inspired by the New York scene - LCD, The Rapture, Gossip!, Holy Ghost, but with synth tones of Justice, Chemical Brothers and New Order.
6) Sammy has an incredible ear for a tune. Does he bring the songs fully formed to the band, or do you each add something?
No, basically what happens is Sammy will come up with an idea, recording different sounds based round the same theme. Aran and me will go down, hear all the new noises and start writing parts with Sammy on the synths and then the fun and games of structuring the track begins for us in the hut. So all that has to happen before we even think about what we're going to out down guitar, bass or drum wise. Once we've got all that done then we pick the right singer to collaborate with.
7) Anything left before the end of the year? And what do you hope to achieve in 2016?
We might be doing something else before the end of the year, but can;t say too much for now.
It's probably a bigger year next year for us because I think more will be expected. We'll step it up a level with the live shows, get the EP out. If the demand is there we'll go in and do an album by the end of the year. But as we have seen with 2015, we can plan things, but things you don't expect to happen, happen and your year is completely different.
La Fontaines are a young Scottish band hailing from the Lanarkshire towns of Motherwell and Wishaw on the outskirts of Glasgow.
The band have been building a fantastic following through self-releases, hard work, word-of-mouth and a growing reputation for their energetic and euphoric live shows.
Class, their debut album, was released earlier on this year, making the top 100 on the UK album chart - a phenomenal achievement for a band self releasing through their own 889 record label.
This momentum led to the band, led by the charismatic frontman Kerr Okan, headlining the world famous Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow last night, 7th November.
In Kerr's own words - No label, no big corporate machine behind us, no industry politics, just right good tunes written from the heart.
As it was one of my best friend's 40th birthday, I couldn't make it along to witness this historic moment of a young DIY band packing out the world famous Barrowland. I did consider getting someone to write a guest blog and then I came up with a better idea.
La Fontaines are incredible at engaging with fans via social media and they get a lot of love back in return. So I thought I would let their fans review the show with their tweets and comments.
It sounds like a good one! Well done to the band and to their lovely manager Aarti Joshi. What next for the Fonts? The last band that I am aware of to be doing this kind of thing was Arctic Monkeys.
'The roses are blooming' said Noel Gallagher on Soccer AM a couple of weeks ago.
Indeed they are. The band have sold out 3-nights at Manchester City's Etihad stadium and a 4th will surely sell-out between now and June.
There was panic online from 9.30am onwards this morning as ticket websites crashed or left you waiting anxiously in a queue for up to 20-minutes to see if you got through to the sale section.
A 3rd night was added after around 45-minutes and then, quite incredibly - a 4th!
The shows and the tickets created heated questions and debate;
1. Why were tickets on exchange websites like Seatwave for £1,000+ within minutes of the tickets going on sale, promoting one Roses fan to ask How Do They Sleep?
2. When will regulations into these kind of businesses and sites be put in place?
Quite frankly they take the absolute piss. Something should be done. Thankfully most real music fans will exchange at cost price, but the touts live on - and now they have websites!
3. How do they get their hands on so many tickets?
They seem to have them from the moment they go on sale - again, something needs to be done.
4. Have the Roses defeated the touts?
Adding a 3rd and then a 4th night will surely mean that many touts will be left selling their tickets at face value or potentially even less on the day - this happened on the Sunday at Heaton Park.
Since the Seatwave picture in section 1 of this blog was taken, prices for standing tickets have dropped on their website to between £250 and £350 and they have over a hundred available - so they are likely to come down again.
Everyone who wanted a ticket should really have got one. I'm certainly sure there will be plenty of tickets kicking around between fans at face value between now and June.
5. Who will support?
Tim Burgess has been enthusiastic with his tweets from the moment lemons started appearing around Manchester, I would bet on The Charlatans playing a few dates and also The Courteeners. Beyond that it would be guesswork - although John Squire was up in Glasgow at the start of October to watch Blossoms at King Tut's - so also a good bet.
6. Will there be more shows? Will there be warm-ups?
I don't know, but The Roses haven't played live since 2013 so I would suspect that they will fall back to their tried and tested technique of playing some small European shows in late May to get warmed up for Manchester.
And surely The Roses will add at least one Irish date.
Whether or not they have the desire to tour remains to be seen, but I am pretty confident that there will be more dates.
7. Will there be new music?
The million dollar question. I hope so, but only if it is fitting of the name, not just for the sake of it. The Roses playing live again gives people something to look forward to, a bit of hope and joy. Amazing new music would be the cherry on the icing on the cake.
Wuh Oh is an act I discovered after reading about their song Stay Tuned on the Podcart website away back in April. Podcart described it as a summer soundtrack and had this to say;
With its own distinct flavour,
this sun-kissed pop odyssey will make sure a smile doesn’t leave your face.
I totally agree, Stay Tuned by Wuh Oh is like the sound of sunshine on ecstasy, sample heavy uplifting pure pop, sounding like it is a lost cut from Since I Left You, the classic album by The Avalanches.
Wuh Oh has released the Wuh Oh EP to date (featuring All Yo, Saxy Beast, Trippin, the aforementioned Stay Tuned and Self Titled) and comparisons to The Avalanches can continue as he samples Marvin Gaye, jazz and pretty much everything he can get his hands on to create something unique.
I was going to email a few questions to Peter Ferguson, the producer behind Wuh Oh, but The list have beaten me to it and have an excellent interview with Peter HERE
Sample (and brilliant) quote;
My song 'Stay Tuned' is basically five seconds or so of a jazz fusion song spread out over three minutes, pitch shifted and chopped up and rearranged. I don’t usually actively look out for samples, but when you hear five seconds of music that clearly deserves to be a whole track, it’s hard to resist trying to make that happen.
It sounds like Wuh Oh is going to be releasing quite a bit of music in 2016, so Stay Tuned indeed!
The effervescent Halina Rifai from Podcart, BLOC Music andThe Scotsman, set a nice question on Facebook last week; 'Names of Scottish EP's, albums and artists that have released this year that you feel have not got as much praise as they deserve?'
If you're looking to keep up to date with independent and DIY music in Scotland then Halina is a good person to follow on Twitter and keep an eye on the Podcart website.
A number of people replied to her post citing the artist Best Girl Athlete. I am a sucker (and a bit of a snob) for a good band/artist name and this one stood out immediately for me.
So I dove in and oh my word!
Best Girl Athlete is Katie Buchan from Aberdeen. Katie is only 16-years old and she has already released her debut album and it is one that I have fallen for on first listen. Carve Every Word was released on the indie label Fitlike Records and has also been released in the US on Minty Fresh Records.
I have just bought a copy on vinyl - this is an album to be treasured.
Every song is beautiful - the lyrics, vocals, musicianship, structure and the production. Turn off your TV, mobile and everything. Turn the lights down, pour yourself a cuppa, a beer or a glass of wine and sit back and enjoy.
Winter Sun will draw you in, the vocals and stunning music sets the tone for the album, Turn On The Radio will pull you further.
Hills reminded me of Beth Orton - a gorgeous acoustic groove with stunningly beautiful and forlorn cello over the top of it - all kinds of dreamy gorgeous. All That is a song that you can just get lost in.
Best Girl Athlete - AKA Katie Buchan
Speaking of choruses, the one on On My Own lifts the song superbly; handclaps and brilliant guitar riffs back Katie's beautiful vocals.
Don't want to know what you're thinking
Don't need to hear your life story
Just want you to be happy
Cause I'm doing fine, I'm on my own
The verses are more subdued, the second one asks questions and makes statements.
Who told you?
Who was it?
What did they say to you?
I gave you everything I had
But I didn't give enough
Which Way To Turn is spine tingling and Talk is sheer beauty.
Tell me your problems
I'll tell you mine
That seems like a fair exchange
Seven Seconds leads into a glorious groove and Poppy What Have You Gone And Done? is another gem. In truth, they all are and when the album closes with This Time you'll want to go back and listen again - beautiful, deep, sublime.
A lot of my recent blog posts have focused on anniversaries of classic albums, subsequent shows and also on bands that I have been following for years. I make no apologies for that - I'm fortunate to have discovered a raft of amazing bands and artists as a teenager and in my early 20's that are still around. However I do enjoy discovering new music.
So I thought I would aim to write about nine new bands through the month of November.
I got in touch with a few people to ask for some recommendations of young bands that I should check out and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to loads of fantastic music.
As it is 1st November, I'll start with the appropriately named November Lights.
November Lights
I've listened to a dozen new Scottish bands over the last couple of weeks - this band leapt out at me. I must have listened to their debut single Bring You Home at least 20 times.
The infectious, uplifting guitar riff is played with real feeling, vocals with a sense of urgency and emotion, a tight rhythm section and the song opens by asking key questions.
Will you love, who you love?
Will you live for now? Will you live for now?
Things drop down for a gentle first chorus, the vocals are almost whispered, there is a pause and the band explode into life as the chorus is repeated with force.
Call on your brothers, fathers, your mothers
Let there be lovers, love one another
I'll hold your hand
And fight 'til I bring you home
Will you hold
The 1st verse is repeated before another chorus that is expanded to contain extra lines. I love a band that writes good choruses and November Lights hammer this one home another couple of times before finishing the song in 3 minutes and 30 seconds - another good sign, far too many bands push their songs beyond 4-minutes for no real reason.
I caught up with the James Hopkins, the bands singer and songwriter to find out a little more about the band. Check out the interview below.
1. How and when did the band get together? And how quickly did your sound come together?
We played our first show in November of last year (hence the name)...so we consider that to be the time we formed. Finding our sound is arguably still in progress but we all individually and collectively know what we are striving for. The vision between us is pretty clear.
2. Where are you from?
The band are spread from north Ayrshire to East Kilbride but we class Glasgow as our base. It'll always be home as it's where we all met and played our first shows together.
3. What are your influences?
I feel one of the best things about us as a band is that our music tastes vary so much that we get some weird and unplanned results. As a writer it's great to bring songs to the band because we all bring so many different elements to the table and can change the shape of a song from what was first planned. As a writer that's exciting to me. In terms of influences, our music tastes stretch from the pop of One Republic and Michael Jackson to more rock and electronic influences. There isn't too much that we don't take influence from. Melody is probably the most important thing to us.
4. ‘Bring You Home’ is excellent, was that one of the first songs you wrote as a band?
We are starting to write more and more together but the single was written by myself and then brought to the band...but I always say that it's a group effort because the song is no where near finished until everyone in the band gets their hands on it. Bring you home came together pretty quickly. We're happy with how it worked out.
5. How pleased have you been by the reaction to your debut video/single?
It's been great...Bring You Home is the first song that anyone has heard from us so to hear that people are loving it and singing along at shows is a great sign. It's positive and we hope that continues with the work we're putting in. The band just focusses on getting better and hopefully our fans will hear that with every release and show.
6. Any other plans before the end of 2015?
We have a few shows lined up in amongst some recording. We play, Edinburgh, Dunfermline, the Clyde 1 Strathclyde fireworks event and a special show in Kilwinning for 200 fans. That will be a fun way to round off the year.
7. What are you hoping to achieve in 2016?
Playing to as many people as possible in different places. We start the year with our first show in Dundee then have a big Glasgow show that we can't yet disclose. In general it's a massive year for us with lots of stuff planned. We are working on our first E.P due out in spring time and we'll be playing shows around that release. Then it's on to festival season.
8. Are any other young Scottish bands catching your attention?
We are huge fans of Prides, Fatherson and the LaFontaines, not to mention we played a show with the later two. That was amazing and we learned a lot. It's amazing to see so many bands coming out of Scotland, the music scene here is one of the best. We're proud to be a part of it.
