Loch Lomond - White Dresses EP

Loch Lomond have a Scottish sounding name, but come from Portland which is over there in that America. Their Scottish connections go further than the name though, it was a couple of releases on Song, by Toad that I first heard the band. Chemikal Underground released Loch Lomond's latest album over here last year, and now we have this EP, White Dresses, making up their first brand new material for Chemikal.

The songs on offer here share a gentle fragility, and a sense of melancholy. There's lush, rich instrumentation, but with a restraint that gives everything room to breathe. Allied with Ritchie Young's show stopping voice, constantly oozing emotion, this is just plain really good music. Rather than throw a bunch of adjectives at you as I try and fail to describe the EP any further, I'll just leave it at that.

Loch Lomond - Kicking With Your Feet

Loch Lomond make a rare full band visit to Scotland at the end of this week for two dates.
Friday March 9th - Glasgow, Captains Rest - TICKETS
Saturday March 10th - Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete's - TICKETS

White Dresses is out now, available from shops, straight from Chemikal Underground, Amazon and iTunes.

Loch Lomond - Night Bats EP Review

Loch Lomond might have a Scottish name, but they hail from Portland, which is somewhere over in that America place. They also pronounce their name funny. They are over in the UK at the moment though, doing a little tour to coincide with the release of this EP on Song, by Toad Records, which is why they are getting a mention round here today.

Well, that and the simple matter that the EP is really good, it doesn't matter where good stuff comes from. Loch Lomond are a band that first came to my attention after a previous release on Song. by Toad, a split 12" with The Builders & The Butchers, which I liked enough to send me scurrying to eMusic to find more from the bands. I picked up Night Bats then, but as I say, it has just been released over here by Song, by Toad.

Loch Lomond would fit in pretty nicely over this side of the pond if they ever fancy a move actually, since they do a good line in the sort of indie, folky sound that's always popular round here. I get the feeling that if you enjoy the likes of Sparrow & The Workshop then you'll rather enjoy Loch Lomond too.

Opening track Ghost of an Earthworm could happily rename itself Ghost of an Earworm without any problems, it is as perfectly sculpted a folk pop song as any you'll hear, which lodged itself in my brain rapidly and won't leave. Plus, it has handclaps. I'm a sucker for handclaps.
The EP gets off to a great start then, and doesn't really let up from there on in. Title track Night Bats isn't as immediate, being a more laid back affair that sneaks up on you rather than forces itself on you, but it is no less gorgeous, and makes for a nice change of pace. Particularly as the tempo is upped again by Spine (MMIX) a deceptively simple sounding song that stomps along, slows down a bit, then builds to a glorious climax.

Saving the best for last, the EP closes with Wax and Wire, my favourite of an excellent selection. Mixing a bit of everything - strings, piano, excellent harmonies, even a bit of birdsong - into the song yet remaining sparse and open sounding Wax and Wire is just gorgeous, a song that leaves my spine tingling a little, and my day much better for having heard it.

Loch Lomond have a few gigs over the rest of the week around the UK which should be well worth catching, visit their MySpace or Song, by Toad for all the details.

Loch Lomond - MySpace

But the EP from Song, by Toad Records

Loch Lomond/The Builders and the Butchers - Split 12"

As promised, I'm attacking my inbox and doing all that stuff I was meant to do ages ago, but forgot about.

I'm not going to claim this is a review, because I don't have an awful lot to say about it, but I will throw in a wee bit.
Before that i should really tell you what I'm talking about first, shouldn't I? Well, it's a slightly unusual release in that it's a vinyl split 12". It's hard to make a 12" CD or download after all, although if you buy the 12" you will get a CDr thrown in, which is handy for folk like me that don't have working record players anymore.
The bands involved are Loch Lomond & The Builders and the Butchers, each contributing four songs. Neither of them are Scottish (although with that name Loch Lomond can at least claim a connection), hailing instead from Portland over in the good ole US of A. Why am I covering the release then? Well firstly because I'm allowed to write about stuff that isn't Scottish if I want, I'm not under a trade embargo you cheeky git, but mostly because the 12" is released over here by Song, by Toad Records. So there.

Both bands featured here are new to me, but after hearing this I'll be doing a bit of hunting down of their other stuff now.
Loch Lomond's songs are both gentle and lovely yet also at times a bit creepy and sinister. In that way they remind me a bit of Lambchop, even though the two sound nothing like each other.
The Builders and the Butchers are a bit rowdier, but the songs are just as good. Their first songs throws a bit of a mariachi flair into proceedings, before Vampire Flair, which you can sample below, goes off in another direction, almost putting me in mind of The Pogues.
Any release that can make me think of both Lambchop and The Pogues is a sure fire winner in my book.

The 12" has a very pretty drawing by Matthew of Song, by Toad on the front too.

Downloads:
Loch Lomond - A Field Report
The Builders & the Butchers - Vampire Lake

Buy from Song, by Toad Records