Chemikal Underground’s Celtic Connections – Glasgow ABC

Chemikal Underground

If you’re looking to name a contemporary independent Scottish label, there’s a chance Chemikal Underground will be the first. Originally set up by The Delgados to release their debut single, they quickly established themselves as the most important label in Scotland since Postcard releasing records by the likes of Arab Strap, Mogwai, Aereogramme, Bis, Mother & The Addicts and even Interpol (albeit only one record by them). Tonight’s gig, as part of Glasgow’s annual Celtic Connections festival is a celebration of Chemikal’s fifteenth birthday, with a selection of the labels current offerings on stage to help, and Vic Galloway hosting in between.

Travelling from ‘the other place’ to Glasgow, this writer only gets the middle of the evening’s entertainment, four bands who certainly maintain the label’s image of having an eclectic but cohesive roster. Zoey van Goey, are an indiepop five piece whose overall ‘sound’ is difficult to pin down, but they’re entertaining if nothing else. There’s something of a less-twee Belle & Sebastian about them, but perhaps if B&S had been weaned on post-rock, as well as Felt.

Next is the debut performance from The Unwinding Hours, formed from the ashes of Aereogramme (disbanded in 2007). They instantly create an atmosphere, beginning with sparse guitars before getting louder and more epic, slightly reminiscent of The Twilight Sad, if a little less dour. The highlight of their set has to be during their last song, ‘The Final Hour’, when the it changes from sparse instrumentation to an ear-splitting, trouser-flapping din, forcing numerous members of the audience out of their skin. Unfortunately some of the material verges a little bit on the MOR side of things, but with moments like that up their sleeve, it’s certainly worth giving them a chance.

Lord Cut-Glass are label founder and former Delgado Alun Woodward’s new project, making literate pop music, which certainly has echoes of his former band, if augmented with Scottish and gypsy folk influences, and even ska rhythms at one point.

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Words with Blue Roses

Laura Groves

As a big fan of Blue Roses’s wonderful debut album and having been lucky enough to catch her a couple of times live before at The Great Escape and Glastonbury, Muso’s Guide was pleased to have the opportunity to chat to Blue Roses’ Laura Groves before her gig at The Captain’s Rest in Glasgow, earlier this month. Having to jettison an interview indoors thanks to the elderly gentleman, wearing his medals and a large poppy (it was Remembrance Sunday) who insisted on querying the war records of drinker’s grandfathers (no, really!) and not satisfied with was asking who had their medals. Laura chatted to us about her year, approach to song-writing and upcoming plans as well as Wild Beasts, gender roles in music and Twitter out in the wind and cold. Considering Laura had to cancel one gig before this night due to a sore throat, Muso’s Guide was very relieved that the tour was completed without anymore illness.

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The Big Pink, Glasgow King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

The Big Pink

October 14th 2009

The Big Pink are a band to be approached with caution. They tick a lot of the right boxes – cool influences, cool record label, a well thought-out image (their artwork prominently featuring the beautiful photography of Marc Atkins, handily consisting primarily of female nudes). They’ve had their fair amount of hype this year, as well as releasing that song.

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Arne Weinberg – Alpha & Omega

Arne Weinberg - Alpha & Omega

As bassline house and UK funky emerges emphatically from London, the home of cutting edge minimal and techno is, and arguably always has been, Berlin. But while nearly all techno king pins, including the likes of Michael Mayer, Superpitcher, Ewan Pearson, and Ricardo Villalobos continue to operate out of Deutschland, one 4/4 minded German has recently made the switch to the slightly grittier climes of central Glasgow.

Arne Weinberg has been crafting delicate techno and ambient records since 2001. His record label has been an entity since 2004, and is just releasing his first full length since the relocation to Scotland. Weinberg’s exodus from the epicentre of techno will not come as too much of a surprise to fans. His brand of rattly electronica is far more akin to the producers over at Soma records – Glasgow’s premier techno label.

Weinberg’s is a thin, wiry sound with sparse atmospherics, quite alien to the warm, layered template as preferred by his contintental peers. As a consequence, and as with several albums on Soma as well, Alpha & Omega is not immediately accessible. Yet after a while you begin to familiarise yourself with the arch of its narrative, which subtly builds near the heart of the album, and then dies down to simmer at the end. Both in sound and structure, therefore, Weinberg shares more than just a passing similarity with a Scottish and Soma contemporary – Vector Lovers. But even that artist’s records aren’t as coldly metallic as Alpha & Omega. It brims with skittled hi-hats and whistly synth pads, all unfolding neatly and with little fuss. … Continue Reading

We Were Promised Jetpacks, London Barfly

We Were Promised Jetpacks

August 21st 2009

Having heard significant amounts of hype around this band of late, this particular Muso felt it was about time to head out and check this band out live to see just what they have to offer.

And glad we were to have made that decision…

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Gay Against You – Righteous Signals

Gay Against You

When I opted to review this Gay Against You album I chose it because they had a funny name; well, there’s nothing funny about this Glasgow-based group. Not because they’re a deadly serious group who demand respect, but because listening to them is like being aurally violated by Keith Chegwin, painful and simultaneously the most annoying thing on the planet.

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Muso’s Guide introduces… Incrediboy and the Forget Me Nots

Incrediboy

It’s no secret that here at Muso’s Guide, we’ve got a bit of a thing for Glasgow. A city with a sense of camaraderie to go alongside its rich back-story. On our brief weekend stop a little while ago, we ran into Incrediboy and the Forget Me Nots, a delightful little ensemble led by Christopher Panks – coincidentally, one of our contributors. Aah, that camaraderie…

Formed around three years ago, Chris and and Mikey (other guitarist) “have written and played as long as we’ve known each other”. Based in the band-hubbub that is Glasgow, they’re surrounded by a wealth of unpolished talent as well as a core of “great bands that have been on the scene for ages”. According to Panks, these include French Wives, Brother Louis Collective and Zoey Van Goey – and with this exciting and consistent heart to the scene, “the difficult thing is to make it out of Glasgow”. “With these amazing bands playing all the time, it really spurs you on,” he continues. “You feel people pulling for you and wanting you to do well and it’s refreshing really, because there are a lot of scenes where bands would trample their own grandparents for a certain support slot.”

They’d describe their music as “simple folky pop tunes with post-rock tendencies… a band that could be some peoples favorite band, or at least someone’s girlfriend’s favorite band”.

Read some more here, download an mp3 at the bottom and show them some love.

How and when did you become Incrediboy and the Forget Me Nots?

“We started doing some bedroom demos and the songs sounded good but because we were like kids with new toys we fired about a million layers on, and it just didn’t sound as good when we stripped it down to play live. So we went about recruiting a backing band, for our first show we played at the Carling Academy Glasgow at a show I organised myself. Then for various reasons half the band couldn’t commit to us exclusively anymore, and we’re just getting into our stride again now, we have a fantastic new piano player and a great violin player, and it certainly feels a lot more natural I think.” … Continue Reading

Must Be Something, Make Sparks and Pacific Theatre, Glasgow Captain’s Rest

June 8, 2009

The Go Button are a Glasgow-based promotions company fast making a name for themselves for music and comedy gigs throughout the city. They run regular nights at The Captain’s Rest in the west end.

This downstairs venue has become one of the best places in town to see up and coming bands, both of the local and touring variety. It’s an intimate and indeed sweaty room of the best kind. Unfortunately the crowd are a bit slow to trickle in this evening, not helped by the late cancellation of one of the acts, but by the end of the night there’s a decent audience packed in.

The band that kicks off proceedings are Pacific Theatre, a three-piece from Paisley. They make a very pleasant noise and have some killer riffs. They also have a nice line in lyrics. ‘A Silent Argument’ features the refrain, “So tell her you need her or Just Fuck. Off. Home.” On a busier night this can turn into a crowd singalong. They do need to brush up on their between song banter however.

Pacific Theatre - image by Heidi Kuisma

With a quick change over Make Sparks take to the stage next. Coming from the north-east of the country in Carnoustie, this they tell us, is their first time playing Glasgow. It’s not started off well for them as the police have collared them outside the venue, spotting their van’s lack of a valid MOT disc.

This run in with the Strathclyde Constabulary hasn’t put the group off their stride and they knock out a few breezy tunes. In particular Adam Parker on drums puts in a fantastic shift, smashing away at his kit with wild abandon. They play an inspired cover of Eminem’s ‘Just Lose It’, which sounds much better for the rock flavour injected into it.

They just about edge it as the best band of the night. It goes slightly wrong at the end when their singer produces a guitar pick claiming it once to Chad Kroeger from Nickleback, and expounds on how much the group have influenced him. It was probably ironic, but there was too much of a hint of sincerity to completely convince.

Make Sparks - image by Heidi Kuisma

The headline act is Must Be Something. They’re a tight outfit, with some fast guitar riffing and a rhythm section in complete sync. They never really rise above ordinary tonight though.

All in all it’s a decent evening’s entertainment with a couple of bands to watch out for in future.

Laura leaves Dananananaykroyd

Dananananaykroyd

Hot off the presses is this sad news from Glasgow’s finest, directly from the band’s offical blog:

“Hey Everyone,

It is our sad duty to inform you that Laura is no longer playing bass in Dananananaykroyd.

The only way the band can continue is if every member is on the same page musically and that each member’s efforts and passions are towards making us the most rocko band possible.

We’d like to add that we love Laura and wish her all the best and we will miss hanging out with her all the time. … Continue Reading

Stag and Dagger, Glasgow: Take Two

Selkirk's Frightened Rabbit

May 23, 2009

Following on from successful legs in London and Leeds, with better line-ups than Glasgow, some might have you believe Stag and Dagger’s final UK stop was Glasgow (another review can be found here). With acts like Wintersleep, Evan Dando and King Creosote at both Leeds and London, you’d be forgiven for thinking they had a point. But as I briskly stride uphill to collect my wristband, I decide that anything Leeds or London can do, Glasgow can do just as well. Armed with my schedule, notepad and ink-filled vessel, the saga begins.

First stop, NME Stage at the Captain’s Rest, and I indulge in some 5pm drinking, as I will do many times before my student status is cruelly rescinded in July. I catch the last song of Over the Wall, whose mix of electronic drums, keyboards and guitar has attracted a bumper crowd despite it being early in the day.

Next up is Glasgow’s very own French Wives who since I reviewed them eight days ago, leave little new to report. Stuart’s had a haircut, they still sadly don’t count Sarkozy’s missus or that one out of the Clio ad among their number- though they are still undeniably brilliant. Deliberately detaching myself from what I generally look for in their performance, I notice drummer Jonny’s exemplary bass pedal work and Stuart’s superb lyrics. The lyrics really speak as a snapshot for the city which shaped him. Each song stands as an image as iconic as the Clyde tower, The University of Glasgow or the Kelvingrove art museum, they speak for the city, almost as well as Alex Kapranos did on Franz Ferdinand’s debut. … Continue Reading