This Week's Gigs 14th - 20th June

A pair of gigs, my Dad's birthday and the start of the World Cup managed to kill my productivity last week, so sorry for the lack of posts. Must try harder. There's a fair amount on this week too, but I'll be forcing myself to skip almost everything, I'm short on money and need cash for Friday.

Monday:

Codes in the Clouds, Barn Owl, The Seventeenth Century and Katerwaul, The 13th Note, £5.
Particularly annoyed I'm missing this one. I really want to catch Barn Owl, and The Seventeenth Century are always great.

Tuesday:

Rick Redbeard and Sunset Song, West End Festival, Brel, £6.
The Phantom Band's frontman dusts off his solo project for a gig in the intimate surroundings of Brel. It likely won't be rowdy, but it should be pretty good.

Thursday:

The Ray Summers, Sonny Marvello, Stevie and the Moon, Captain's Rest, £5, tickets available here.
This is a gig for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres, so if you needed another reason to go, there it is.

Friday:
Friday is my birthday, I'll be going for a pint. Anyone fancy a pint on Friday? I also have this lot to choose from for my evening entertainment. Anyone fancy taking me to a gig on Friday?

Astral Planes, Male Pattern Band, Brel.
Kitty The Lion, The Seventeenth Century, Crow Road. Captain's Rest.
Beerjacket. Oran Mor.
Martin Metcalfe, Cosmopol.

St Deluxe, King Tut's.
!!!, Dam Mantle, The Arches. Free gig, but with a booking fee, tickets from here.
Stop taking the piss, gig promoters.

Saturday:

Glasgow Podcart Presents: Pooch & Tokyo Knife Attack. Stereo, £5.
Another charity gig this one, with proceeds going to Beatson Oncology Centre. With Pooch and Tokyo Knife Attack playing live, and a host of DJs, one thing is for sure: There Will Be Dancing.

Sunday:

Unity Benefit Gig: Second Hand Marching Band, Maple Leaves, Withered Hand. Stereo, £5.
Another charity gig, and another one that is very easy to support on the basis of having a cracking line up.

Kid Canaveral - You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night Single Review

This is one of the things I should have done last week, but ended up shivering, sniffling and coughing instead.
Having the cold was rubbish, the new single from Kid Canaveral isn't.

I'm probably at the point now where I like Kid Canaveral too much to be able to be trusted with an unbiased opinion on them, they did headline our Peenko Vs Aye Tunes gig after all, but I'll try my best.

You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night does pretty much all the things I love about Kid Canaveral. There's a catchy hook from the off, a lush melody, oodles of singalong potential (good for me, not so good for anyone who happens to be near me at their gigs) and it just plain puts a smile on my face.
It is also probably the best I've heard Kid Canaveral on record. All the time locked away in a studio working on upcoming album Shouting At Wildlife has clearly paid off.

The single is filled out with a pair of remixes of You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night, from Kwaing Creasite (how many pseudonyms does Kenny Anderson need anyway?) and Becky Becky Parentheses. Remixes tend to be a bit tricky for me to write anything about, generally they either work for me, or they don't.
The Kwaing Creasite remix answers the first question I ask of remixes - does this do anything worthwhile? - by being a bit less of a remix and more a complete overhaul. It is verging on being a cover version, and is really good, giving a more downbeat take on the song, without removing any of the charm. Lovely.

Becky Becky Parentheses also gives the song a thorough overhaul, which includes slowing down the female la la la parts until they sound considerably more demonic than sweet. The results are somewhat sinister, yet rather compelling. Pass marks all round!

Kid Canaveral: Website - Bandcamp - MySpace

You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night is available now from Bandcamp and all the usual download shops. Kid Canaveral play the Glasgow Slow Club at Bar Bloc on June 8th, before taking a little break before their Shouting At Wildlife album launch gig in Edinburgh's Roxy Room on July 3rd.

We've Moved! (Sort Of)

Technically Aye Tunes was two years old on June 1st. Since we don't count that rubbish first year that I didn't do anything we are more like one year old round about now.

To celebrate, we've splashed out on a fancy proper domain name - ayetunes.org.uk

We picked up web hosting while we were at it, but that doesn't matter right now, until I can work out how to build a website we'll still be on Blogger.

Anyway, ayetunes.org.uk should bring you here quite happily, and blog.ayetunes.org.uk will work nicely -possibly better - too, so do feel free to update any bookmarks or links you might have. The old blogspot address still works, so no one will get left behind if they keep following that instead.

Ideally there'll be a shiny new version of Aye Tunes to look at in the future, but like I say, I need to work out how to make it first, and I've not built a website in about ten years.

This Week's Gigs 7th - 13th June

I ended up missing half of last week's insane number of gigs by being ill. Not a bad way to save some money, but a bit drastic, I think. Still hit two gigs and WPM on Sunday too mind, so it still wasn't a quiet week.

This week looks pretty busy too, as does the whole rest of the month. Fairly sure bands are trying to kill me.

Tuesday:

Tuesday is our first "spoiled for choice" day of the week.
Shambles Miller, Florynce & Lauryn and Andrew Lindsay can all be found playing at Sloans Ballroom at 8pm, for £4. I keep promising to go and see Shambles, then for one reason or another not making it along. I'm keeping that record up this week by missing this.
French Wives, Trapped in Kansas, Emma Curran and Selina Henriquez make quite the line up at The Captains Rest. Any other night attending this would have been a no brainer, but we've got on more gig on the list.

Kid Canaveral and Lovers Turn To Monsters are playing Bloc for Slow Club. My love for these two is well known, so you bet your arse I'll be off to that.

Wednesday:

First of all, it is the delightful Last Year's Girl's birthday. Happy birthday Lis!
Secondly, following the Kid Canaveral gig the night before fellow Peenko Vs Aye Tunes alumni Mitchell Museum launch their new single with a gig at Nice N Sleazy. Support comes from Inspector Tapehead and GRNR. See you there.

Thursday:

goNorth is taking place up in Inverness on Thursday and Friday, before Rockness at the weekend. I'd considered going along for a day or two, but since Thursday is my Dad's birthday, I'd get killed. If you go then as well as checking out all the good bands playing have a look at the seminars Born To Be Wide are running on Thursday and Friday.
Back in Glasgow you've got Q Without U, Endor, Glider and Cruiser playing at The Captain's Rest. I liked q without u's first album, then they vanished for a while. Nice to see them back.
Rounding out Thursday is a charity gig put on by Cold Blooded Clarity. Playing live are State Broadcasters, The Dirty Cuts and Deserters Deserve Death. There's also a raffle, and the gig takes place in The Admiral. Visit the Cold Blooded Clarity website for all the details and to buy tickets.

Friday:

The Halt Bar Hijack returns for another year, taking place over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Find The Halt Bar on Facebook for all the details.
There's an Electric Honey showcase gig on at King Tut's, with White Heath and Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers playing. That ought to be a good one.

Saturday:

At The Flying Duck on Saturday you can find the inagural Blog Rocking Beats night. Coming to you "from the folks behind some of Scotland's best music blogs", the first night has JC from The Vinyl Villain and Drew from Across The Kitchen Table as your DJs, playing all sorts. It runs from 7pm until Midnight, entry is free up till 11pm. There will be far fewer mentions of 1966 here than on the TV on Saturday night.

Sunday:

The West End Festival is in full swing by now, and is one of the main contributors to overloading me with gigs throughout June, the first notable one being on Sunday, when Burnt Island and Andrea Marini play Bar Brel.

And a sneak preview of next week, Friday 18th June in particular. Kitty The Lion, Beerjack, St Deluxe and Martin Metcalfe all have gigs on. The reason I mention this is that that day also happens to be my birthday. Thanks a lot for making my night remarkably hard to plan!

Service Interruption

This week I've fallen victim to the dreaded Man Flu. Doing reviews is a bit tricky when everything you listen to sounds like it is underwater.

Normal service will be resumed shortly.

This Week's Records

Quite a lot out this week, so lets get to it.

Tokyo Knife Attack release Cool Kids, it should be available from iTunes by the time you read this. It is a cracking wee tune too.

The Lava Experiments have their Backbody Vol. III EP out today too. I liked it lots. It'll be available from all good download places, or visit the Lava Experiments website to get a CD.

Kid Canaveral release a new single, You Only Went Out To Get Drunk Last Night. I like it too, no surprise there. Backed with remixes by Kwaing Creasite and Becky Becky Parentheses the single is available on cassette or download, visit Bandcamp for a listen and to buy.

Ming Ming and the Ching Chings unleash their new EP, Not In Anyone's Gang. Guess what? Liked that too.

Stanley Odd release their debut album, Oddio. I've not heard this yet, so I've no idea if it will be good or not, but reviews have been good, as have the few Stanley Odd songs I've heard previously.

Silver Columns have their much anticipated debut album out today also. I'm eagerly awaiting my copy arriving in the post.

Meursault's new album, All Creatures Will Make Merry, is now available on general release after being sold at gigs for the last few weeks.

Finally, one of my favourite bands return after five years. Yup, Teenage Fanclub have a new album out! Shadows is released today, and one of the first things I did after getting up today was buying a copy.

Words Per Minute - WPM2

Just a wee reminder that this Sunday - June 6th - sees the second WPM event take place at Creation Studios in Glasgow.

I'm far from the most literary minded of people - normal the phrase "spoken word event" is enough to make me look for a hiding place - So when I tell you that I really enjoyed the first WPM event that should give you a clue about the quality of the performers, and how accessible it is to all. Even people like me that don't read nearly as much as they should and are terrified of poetry.

If you never went to the first one and want to find out what you missed then you are in luck, as thanks to the magic of the internet you can listen to the whole thing, or watch some lovely videos. Videos of the performances can be found on YouTube, and podcasts of the first event are here. You can still read the interview that Kirstin and Anneliese did with me prior to the first event here too.

Performing at this month's event are: Sophie Cooke, Emily Ballou, Craig Lamont, Adrian Searle, Iain Campbell, Adam Stafford and Rodge Glass. If you visit Aye tunes for the music - which I presume you do, since there's not much else - then the last two names should be familiar to you.

Adam Stafford is label boss, film maker, and musician as part of Y'all Is Fantasy Island and more recently on his own. Recent single Shot Down You Summer Wannabes is by far my favourite thing Adam has done, and as it is a free download you could do much worse than check it out.
As well as a musical performance, I believe there might also be a screening of The Shutdown, a multi-award winning short directed by Adam Stafford, novelist Alan Bissett recalls growing up next to one of Europe's largest petrochemical plants and the harrowing experience of an explosion that temporarily deformed his father.

On the subject of Adam Stafford, Euan McMeeken of The Kays Lavelle (whose debut album Be Still This Gentle Morning is out now) recently sent me a track from a covers album that Adam Stafford is making with Emily Scott which I'm allowed to share with you, but hadn't gotten round to fitting in yet, so here's a chance. The song is a cover version of The Twilight Sad's Walking For Two Hours.
Adam Stafford and the Death Bridge Convention - Walking For Two Hours

Rodge Glass is another one of those disgustingly talented people. Having gained attention as a novelist Rodge also has a critically acclaimed biography of Alasdair Gray under his belt. As if that wasn't enough he is currently Writer in Residence at Strathclyde University, where he also teaches Creative Writing. Then there's the song that Rodge wrote for Vashti Bunyan that appeared on Ballads of the Book, and more recently the quite splendid Burnt Island mini album.
Sticking with Burnt Island for a moment, please go here to have a listen to their cover of Elliott Smith's Between The Bars. If you like it, pay the quid to download it, all profits go to Depression Alliance UK.
Rodge, along with Dave Turbitt, will be giving a sneak preview of their new graphic novel Dougie's War at WPM2. Being something of a comics geek, I'm rather looking forward to that.

WPM2 will be starting at 4pm on Sunday, so try and get down a bit before that, maybe for about 3.30pm to get in, grab a drink and a seat and get comfy, and runs till 6pm, followed by a DJ set from Miaoux Miaoux.
Entry is £2, and you can bring your own booze if you buy a food voucher for the Creation Studios cafe.

For lots more details visit the Words Per Minute website.

This Week's Gigs 31st May - 6th June

This week, and most of June, is quite frankly insane for gigs. Look!

Monday:

We Are Jawbone have a free gig at Pivo Pivo, with Mother Midnight, Forgotten Sunday and The Parting also on the bill.

Tuesday:

Scout Niblet plays Stereo, with support coming from The Martial Arts and Donald MacDonald.
Just announced, Remember Remember are playing The 13th Note. They'll be debuting new songs, and a new line up.

Wednesday:

Wednesday appears to mark the start of silly season. Check out this lot, all on one night.
Team Ghost and Deathpodal are playing The 13th Note. Deathpodal's EP is brilliant, and the live show should be pretty memorable too. (Side note: looks like I've got a spare ticket going for this, so holler if you want it...)

Detour move out of Bloc this week, down the street to The Buff Club. Playing for them this month are Song of Return, There Will Be Fireworks, The Second Hand Marching Band and Meursault. Now that is a line-up! Tickets are £5 and available here.

Open Swimmer, Maple Leaves and Kettle of Kites are at The Captain's Rest. We like Maple Leaves a lot round here, even though I'm still waiting on Julian serving up a restraining order on me for stalking him, of which there's plenty chances this week by the look of it.

Since that lot isn't enough, there's also Glissando and Debutant at Bar Brel.

Thursday:

Oh Thursday, you saw there was loads happening on Wednesday and just had to try and keep up, didn't you? You swine.

Antimatter present the second of their Music Box nights at The Universal. Playing live are Call To Mind, Error Response, Cracks In the Concrete, and Nomogram, with visuals courtesy of Ruan Suess, Awai David Wan, Erin Hardee, and Parallax. Visit the Antimatter website for more details, and to buy tickets.
The Last Battle and Yahweh are supporting Peggy Sue at Stereo.
Kochka are playing at Maggie Mays.

Washington Irving launch their debut EP with a gig at Mono, with support from Endor, Randolph's Leap and The Social Services.
Sleepingdog play Brel, with support from Euan McMeeken.

Finally it is the latest Elba Session Presents gig, with acoustic sets from Shambles Miller, Blue Sky Archives and My Cousin I Bid You Farewell. We like all of them round here.

Friday:

Radar are branching out from writing about music to putting on a gig (hey, why didn't I think of that?) at Nice n Sleazy. Miaoux Miaoux is playing live, offering another chance for Julian stalking, and you get another chance to see Blue Sky Archives and My Cousin I Bid You Farewell if you missed them the previous night, but playing louder this time.

Saturday:

The Lava Experiments launch their wonderful Blackbody Vol. III EP with a gig at The 13th Note. Also on the bill are The Hundred Metre Club and Mammals. See The Lava Experiments website for cheap tickets!

Mi Ami, Ultimate Thrush and the brilliantly mental Divorce are at Nice N Sleazy, presumably making lots of noise.

Sunday:

WPM2 takes place at Creation Studios at 4pm on Sunday. There's a post on that coming up tomorrow, needless to say there's a great line-up.

Macabre Scene play King Tut's, supporting Murder by Death.

Little Yellow Ukuleles, Galleries, Pacific Theatre, He Slept on 57 can all be found making noise at The 13th Note.

Spoiled for choice, or taking the piss? You decide.

The Lava Experiments - Blackbody Vol. III EP Review

Roughly a year on from the release of Blackbdy Vol. 1, The Lava Experiments have completed their promised trilogy of EPs with the release of Volume III.
When listened to back to back you can really hear progress with each release. Blackbody I was good, Blackbody II was better generally with a couple of real standout moments and now Blackbody III has arrived and takes another step up.

I love my music to be atmospheric, and The Lava Experiments deliver in spades. They make dark, at times cinematic, shoegazey soundscapes that are just dripping with atmosphere. Like previous releases (and funnily enough The Release from Blackbody II in particular) the songs on this EP draw you in and trap you in their midst as they swirl around and wash over you as you listen.

Atmosphere is all well and good, but of course there needs to be a bit more about songs than just that to hold my attention. Lurking amidst the darkness there's no shortage of hooks and melody, spine tingling riffs and drumkits being beaten into submission, while listening to this EP there's little danger of my mind wandering.

Great stuff, from a band that seemingly keep improving.

Lava Experiments: Website - MySpace

Blackbody Vol III is released on limited edition CD and download on May 31st, with a launch gig at The 13th Note in Glasgow on June 5th.

What's Happening This Week?

Quick answer, not all that much.

No guide gig proper this week, partly due to there not much being on, but mostly down to me being in a bloody horrible mood today. Instead of doing a gig guide, or replying to the pair of ridiculously bitchy emails that put me in a mood today has been spent hanging around in the garden with a couple of beers and cheery tunes.

There's a couple of decent gigs this week, so I'll batter through them quickly.

On Wednesday Kitty The Lion play Stereo, along with The Invisible Republic.
Thursday has Over The Wall, Gdansk and Adam Stafford at Oran Mor, a line up which is quite likely to tempt me out of the house.

Friday (and Saturday) has both a decent gig and worthy cause going for it, in the shape of Dusk To Dawn. This is a two night thing at The Buff Club, presented by TBC (Together Beat Cancer). Friday's line up includes Admiral Fallow and Louise McVey & Cracks In The Concrete, while Saturday has Findlay Napier and Alan McKim, amongst others. Visit the TBC website, and check out our PodcART pals for all the details you need.

Records out this week include singles by Teenage Fanclub and God Help The Girl, a Julia and the Doogans EP, and an album by Jack James.

Next week, and pretty much all of June, promise to have gig guides that will kill me - not to mention going to the gigs themselves - with the amount of stuff that's on, so it is probably a bonus that I can save my energy this week.

Ming Ming and the Ching Chings - Not In Anyone's Gang EP Review

Even though they've been around for ages, honestly, Ming Ming and the Ching Chings are a band I've never really paid much attention to, for the simple reason that their name always makes me think of Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, and life is too short to spend time thinking about that particular talent vacuum.

However, since their upcoming new EP has made its way to me it would be rude to ignore it just because I dislike their name, not even I am that petty. A quick look at the band's MySpace for a bit of background sees them start their list of influences with "Sergio Leone, Airwolf, Taxi". This could all go horribly wrong, or very, very right then.

First impressions are promising enough, good hooks, scuzzy basslines, fuzzed up guitar, some parping brass, and a breakneck pace (along with my spellcheck screaming at me that many of those aren't real words) and bags of attitude and served up in heaps on opener Season of Horrors. Secrets of Men does similar, but slows the pace enough to catch breath. Well, momentarily at least... This songs puts me in mind of the likes of The Cramps a bit, which is no bad thing.

After that brief breather Creepy Tales ups the pace again, before Punch in the Face verges dangerously close to Fratellis territory, but stays just on the right side of bouncy on fun to avoid making the song title into something you'd like to do to one of the band members.

Throughout the EP there's bags of attitude and swagger about the band, but thankfully they've also remembered the thing that so many others forget, which is to back the cockiness up with bloody good songs.

By the time you've reached the final track of the five it becomes obvious that that short, sharp, infectious, filthy sounding pop is something that Ming Ming and the Ching Chings excell at. Just as you might wonder if there's more to them that than the final track answers a resounding yes. In contrast to the songs before that struggle to average three minutes between them EP closer Straighten Up! comes in a few seconds short of a monstrous eight minutes, and there's never a dull moment during it.

Straighten Up! is frantic, frenetic, and surely destined to cause carnage on dancefloors forever.

So, how did it go? Fears were dismissed early on, it all got very messy but very fun, and everything turned out gloriously right. Can't ask for much more than that really.
I'm not convinced Ming Ming and the Chings Chings bring much new to the table, but when something is this much fun, energetic and charismatic that is quite alright with me. Still don't like the name mind you, but I'll deal with it.

Ming Ming and the Ching Chings - MySpace

Not In Anyone's Gang is launched with a gig at Nice n Sleazy on May 30th, with the EP going on full release on limited edition CD and download on May 31st.

T-Break Announced

I haven't been paying much attention to T in the Park to be honest. I fear I'm too old for it now, and the main line up does nothing to convince me, or even think a little bit, that I'm missing out on anything by not paying attention.

However, tonight (or this morning for most people reading this) saw the line up for the T-Break stage announced, and there;s some really, really good bands involved.
Here;s the full line-up:

Be Like Pablo
French Wives
Fridge Magnets
Kitty The Lion

Kobe Onyame
Lightguides
Make Sparks
Mitchell Museum
Mopp
Night Noise Team
Stanley Odd
The Draymin
Three Blind Wolves
The Ray Summers
The Seventeenth Century
Washington Irving

I'm of course delighted for all the bands who have been chosen to play at T-break this year, but I'm particularly happy for about half of them who have featured in one form or anther on this blog over the last year or so, and doubly happy for Mitchell Museum, who in one fell swoop have gone from playing a gig for a couple of guys that had no idea how to put on a gig to one of the major summer festivals.

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

The Scottish Enlightenment - Pascal EP

I mentioned this last week in the new releases round up, but this is the first that I've managed to batter through laziness to write a wee bit more about it.

The Scottish Enlightenment first came to my attention around October last year when, apparently after a lengthy hiatus, they posted a few tracks as a free download, and I was pointed in their direction. The freebies were excellent, and the band were filed away in my head as one to keep an eye out for.

When I heard they had an EP of songs that wouldn't be on their upcoming album ready to go I was eagerly anticipating it then, even more so when some friends got their mitts on review copies and taunted me with how good it sounded. I waited impatiently on release, even going so far as checking to see if the label Armellodie would sneak it out early like they've done with the last couple of Super Adventure Club releases, every day for the week before release.

When I'm that hyped up for a release it would be really easy to be let down by it. Especially considering that the EP was to be composed of songs that hadn't for whatever reason made the cut for the album. Let's not beat around the bush and get straight to it, the Pascal EP is no collection of duff songs, it's gorgeous, and more than lived up to the expectations I had heaped upon it.

The whole thing can be sampled using the wee player at the bottom of the post, so I won't bother telling you what it sounds like, you can spare 20 minutes some time and find out for yourself.

If you are like me the dreamy, slow paced melodies will quickly have you hooked, and thinking something along the lines of "if this is the stuff that didn't make the album, how bloody good is it going to be?". All Homemade Things is one of the best songs I've heard all year. Simple, understated, and a bit brilliant. But there I go, raising my expectations again. Somehow I don't think I'm going to be let down.

If you aren't like me and find yourself unimpressed, well, you are of course entitled to your opinion, just know that it is wrong, sorry.

The Scottish Enlightenment: Website - Bandcamp

The Scottish Enlightenment's Pascal EP is released by Armellodie Records and available now.

This Week's Records

It's a good week for singles, but there's a cracking album out too. Here's the new releases.

Night Noise Team - You Won (single) Touched on this one in the round up reviews the other week. It's a big disco dancefloor monster, and gets a large Aye Tunes stamp of approval. Released today through all the usual download places, and Bandcamp.

French Wives - Me Vs Me (single) We like this one a lot too. New single from the band that make me sing songs on the night bus, available on CD and download. Why not go along to LOVEmusic later today to see the band do an instore performance and buy the single there?

Camera Obscura - The Nights Are Cold (single) Twee pop loveliness, as usual. The A-side is a cover of the Richard Hawley song, while the flip side has a remix of The Sweetest Thing by Hawley himself. Out on 7" and download.

The Whisky Works - Electric (single) Ahead of the (re)release of their debut mini album next week, here's a new single. This is the song I didn't like until it turned out all the things I disliked about it were due to a faulty mp3 file, and the song is pretty good, really.

Silver Columns - Cavalier (single) Another teaser for the upcoming Silver Columns album, with a couple of remixes thrown in for good measure. Out on 12" and download.

Crow Road - What Your Hand Can't Hold (single) Available from Wednesday, when there's also a launch gig for the single.

The Red Show - EP (EP, obviously) Not actually a new release, but this is as good a time and place to mention it as any. Over on their (very swanky) website The Red Show are offering a chance to buy their next EP in advance of it being recorded. In return you'll get the new EP as soon as it is done and a download of their last EP, along with some other unspecified goodies.

The Kays Lavelle - Be Still This Gentle Morning (album) Oops, I've still not written my review of this, have I? Short version then - it is really very good. Should be available from record shops across the land on CD, and a download option is on the way too, keep an eye on Wiseblood Industries for more info and buying options.

Maxwell Panther - Lovers reBEL (album) Another album from the prolific and endearingly lo-fi Mr Panther. Available as a pay what you like download on Bandcamp.

I think that's the lot for this week, tell me if I missed anything.

Haftor Medbøe Group - A Box of Monkeys - EP Review

Normally when I write the word jazz it will be followed by an expletive, so I was as surprised as anyone when I bought this EP (or is it a mini-album? I never know) on impulse a little while back.
Heidi Kuisma of We Sink Ships had pointed me in the direction of the promo video for As Time Spins Backwards, one of the songs from this album and I was quite taken. Even though I knew I shouldn't be buying stuff after midnight on a Saturday night, although for once I was doing it while sober, a bit of listening around convinced me that parting with my five quid would be worth it.

I wasn't wrong. Yes, it is absolutely a jazz album, but it isn't impenetrable or over indulgent, and at no point did I think of any expletives to use against it while listening to it. There's plenty of genre mashing in there if you need to rationalise it to yourself.
That being said the standout moments for me are the ones with vocals, like As Time Spins Backwards, the song that hooked me in the first place. Give me a break, you know how frightened I get when I move outside my comfort zone!

Vocals on the album come from Anneke Kampman, half of Conquering Animal Sound. If you've been paying attention round here you'll probably have noticed that that band have quickly become a big favourite of mine, and I just plain love Anneke's vocals, both there and here. Coupled with interesting but again never over indulgent arrangements, and strong melodies everything comes together nicely.

Don't get me wrong, the instrumentals - which outnumber the vocal ones if you want a count - are pretty gorgeous too, and more Boards of Canada than Jazz Club. Opening track Pneumatic is a little bit too frantic for me, but still has plenty in it I enjoyed, while the other two are much more laid back affairs, and more to my liking.

A Box of Monkeys won't be to everyone's tastes, but if you leave your preconceptions at the door and give it a try you might find yourself pleasantly surprised, just like I was.

Have a listen to As Time Spins Backward and see what you think.

Haftor Medbøe Group: Website - MySpace

A Box of Monkeys is available directly from Fabrikant Records, and from the usual download places.

This Week's Gigs: 17-23rd May

Gig guide time, always exciting. No? Oh shush.
As usual, if there's something you want to see included on the gig list just drop me a line. Telling me on Thursday or Friday the week before the gig usually works well.

Monday 17th:

Not much on, that I can see, so pop down to LOVEmusic (what used to be Avalanche in Glasgow) to catch French Wives doing a short set to launch their excellent new single. I'll try not to sing along.

The Cheek, Miniature Dinosaurs. King Tut's, Glasgow.
Later you could always head along to this. Don't know much (anything actually) about The Cheek, but support band Miniature Dinosaurs are pretty good fun. Tickets are £5 here, if you hurry.

Tuesday 18th:

The Red Show, Glasgow Glam Bangers, Charles Randolph Rivers’ Slim Rhythm Revue and Little Eye. BOX, Glasgow, Free.
Three bands I know nothing about, and The Red Show, who I quite dig. At the bargain price of free it's worth risking if you need a gig on Tuesday.

Wednesday 19th:

Song, by Toad Showcase: Loch Lomond, Johnnie Common and Meursault. Mono, Glasgow.
Mr. Toad comes to Glasgow. Making the Edinburgh to Glasgow journey look irrelevant are Loch Lomond, over from Portland in that big America place. Joining them on the bill are two more of the Song, by Toad roster, including Meursault who I always find excellent live.

Crow Road, The Seventeenth Century. Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow.
Crow Road are launching their new single, and are one of many bands this week to have got themselves a right good support band.

It's also my pal Justin's birthday on Wednesday, so if you see us around feel free to buy him a pint.

Thursday 20th:

I always complain there's no good gigs happening in Paisley, finally there's something to shut me up this week. With a line-up boasting a ton of bands, the UWS Union Music Festival takes place at the Paisley Student Union on Thursday from 5pm. Entrance is only £2, and you don't have to be a student to go. Go here for more details, and if anyone wants to buy me a drink that would be lovely, I'll protect you from neds.

Lots on elsewhere too...

Tigerfest moves on to its second stage, leaving Edinburgh behind for Dunfermline for the next few nights. Full details here.

The Whisky Works, LightGuides & Pareto. Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow. 8pm, £5.
The Whisky Works launch their mini album, and rope in some fab friends to support. Funny story: I picked up the mini album a while back and thought that the new single, Electric, was ok, but terribly repetitive with no pay off. When I finally caught the band live it turned out my mp3 is wonky, and loops a couple of times during the song before cutting off before the end. That explained that then.

Glasgow PodcART Live Session: Stanley Odd + Bigg Taj
The PodcART crew spread their wings for a hip hop session. Admission is by invite only, visit the Podcart website for details on how to get in.

Lafaro, Always Read the Label. Captain's Rest, Glasgow.

Norn Iron's LaFaro are out and about touring their recently released debut album. Support comes from local lads Always Read The Label. Rifftastic.

Friday 21st:

Tigerfest reaches Aberdeen too, with quite frankly awesome The Unwinding Hours playing at the Tunnels.

The Dirty Cuts, The Paraffins, Palace Ballet and Canary Warfare. 13th Note, Glasgow.
Yet another bill packed with bands Aye Tunes likes. Clearly there's a conspiracy to seperate Jim from all his cash this week.

Mix Up Mayhem 2: Boygirlanimalcolour, Call Me Ishmael, Little Yellow Ukuleles and Gav Galloway. Creation Studios, Glasgow. Free entry, buy a food voucher and you can BYOB.
See? More evidence. Bands do a bit of their own stuff, a cover of the other bands, and a cover of something else.

Saturday 22nd:

Stag & Dagger takes place across Glasgow, you can see who, where and when in my post a couple of days ago.

Night Noise Team, Paul Vickers & The Leg and Little Kicks. Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh.
For those of you of an Edinburgh persuassion you could skip along to this. It's a launch gig for the new Night Noise Team single, which is a cracking tune. Also, Paul Vickers & The Leg are mental.

Ace City Racers, Suplex The Kid, Lords of Bastard and Serf. Flying Duck, Glasgow.
The latest Ducksoup night at The Flying Duck boasts a fine line-up. Doors open at 7.30, £5 in.

Sunday 23rd:

RBRBR and Horse Meat Disco, Devil Disco at The Bongo Club, Edinburgh.
Dance your face off to this pair, but watch out for RBRBR's ninja.

Digging Your Scene Live: You Already Know, Trapped in Kansas, Sugar Crisis & 1 more TBC. Creation Studios, Glasgow. 2pm start, tickets £5 from LOVEmusic.
Right away in the shape of YAK and Trapped in Kansas you have two Aye Tunes endorsed bands. TiK made my Tips for 2010 list, while YAK made one of my favourite albums of last year (and snuck me some demos of album #2, which sound cracking). Add in a cool wee place and a host of other things going on during the day and this promises to be pretty awesome.

bis, Peter Parker. Stereo, Glasgow.

The one and only bis play a one off Scottish date on another reunion, with support from the splendid Peter Parker.

Lloyd, you've been warned, not a word in the comments.

Save The Pop Cop - A Call To Arms

I'm slightly later to the game than others on this one since I didn't want to do a post last night since I didn't have all the details yet.

Last night Scottish music blog The Pop Cop was unceremoniously deleted by Blogger. The Pop Cop has been around for about three years, and was one of the main inspirations for me leaving behind the blogs I was doing at the time and moving on to start up Aye Tunes, so to say I'm a bit unhappy at its closure for "code violations" is a bit of an understatement. I may frequently disagree with the choice of bands featured and the opinions expressed, but I always enjoy reading them.

Head over here for all the details on what happened, and why.

Earlier this year a bunch of blogs were shut down around the same time, do a search for "blogocide" to find out more on that story. The good news is that on some of them at least Blogger did a U-turn, and reinstated the blogs. It's my hope that the same will happen for The Pop Cop.

How can you help? Well, the best thing to do is email support@blogger.com to ask that The Pop Cop be put back online. My email was quite heated, but try to remain polite and reasonable, it's easier to ignore us if we send expletive filled rants.

Since nothing is a campaign without a Facebook page these days there's one of those too here. By all means join up to show your support, but please, get emailing too.

Conquering Animal Sound, Cheer & Yahweh - Important Announcement

We interrupt your Friday night to tell you that Sunday's Cheer, Yahweh and Conquering Animal Sound gig has moved from the Captain's Rest, to The Halt Bar.

Ok, now you can go back to whatever you were doing.

Got One More Vote In You?

We'll gently gloss over what happened the last time the Nation voted for now, and instead move on to something else.

If you aren't too jaded to vote after last week, then may I politely enlist a little help with something?

Mitchell Museum, as you can't have failed to notice, are pretty well loved round Aye Tunes way, and they are gearing up for the launch of their new single. Warning Bells is released on June 14th (hey, just in time for my birthday!), backed with a brand new remix by We Were Promised Jetpacks.

Before that though, the song is currently up for inclusion on Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist.

Competition for the spot comes from She & Him and recent Geffen Records signings Everything Everything. Both of them are good, but I dare say they don't need the assistance quite so much as a small operation in Glasgow does, do they?

So, basically this has been a rather long winded way of saying please go here and vote for Mitchell Museum.

All it takes is a quick email and you'd be helping out a bunch of smashing musicians and lovely men.

Stag & Dagger 2010 Running Times

Going to Stag & Dagger in Glasgow next Saturday? Want to know what venue and what time the bands you want to see are at?

Well, we've got you covered.

ABC1
The Antlers 19:15-19:50
Wild Beasts 20:15-21:15
We Were Promised Jetpacks 21:30-22:15

ABC2
Wilder 18:00-18:30
Erland and the Carnival 18:45-19:15
Jaguar Love 19:45-20:15
The Unwinding Hours 20:45-21:15
A Place To Bury Strangers 21:30-22:00

Glasgow School of Art
Gold Panda 19:00-19:30
Javelin 19:45-20:15
Egyptian Hip Hop 20:45-21:15
Titus Andronicus 21:45-22:15
Sleigh Bells 22:45-23:30
Dam Mantle 23:30-00:15
Synth Eastwood 00:15-00:45
Taz Buckfaster 00:45-01:30
Joker 01:30-03:00

The Vic Bar
Wilson Tan 19:00-19:30
Samuel Chase 19:45-20:15
Django Django 20:45-21:15
Fun 21:45-22:15
White Hinterland 22:45-23:15
Esban & The Witch 23:45-00:15
Schnapps 00:45-01:15
Silver Columns 01:45-02:15

Stereo
Milk 17:15-17:45
Three Blind Wolves 18:00-18:30
Yuck 18:45-19:15
Jesca Hoop 19:45-20:15
Chapel Club 20:45-21:15
My Latest Novel 21:45-22:30
Men and Machines with guest: Serge Santiago from 11pm

Nice n' Sleazy
Aerials Up 17:15-17:45
Bridezilla 18:00-18:30
North Atlantic Oscillation 18:45-19:15
Sky Larkin 19:30-20:00
Male Bonding 20:30-21:00
Divorce 21:30-22:00
Kong 22:30-23:00
Hot Club from 11pm

The Captain's Rest
Olympic Swimmers 14:00-14:30
Sparrow & The Workshop 14:45-15:15
Islet 15:45-16:15
Tripwires 16:45-17:15
Wax Fang 17:45-18:15
Copy Haho 18:45-19:15
Turbo Fruits 19:45-20:15
Crocodiles 20:45-21:15
Kid Adrift 21:45-22:15
Blood Red Shoes 22:45-23:30

These times are correct at the time of going to press and subject to change
For more info and tickets visit http://www.staganddagger.com/

French Wives - Me Vs. Me Single Review

A week or so after I reviewed Halloween/Dogfight, the first single by French Wives, I commented that "those French Wives songs are still wedged in my head". Roughly seven months on, they still are. Seriously, at times it's been a little embarrassing, as I've been sitting on a bus or train, idly staring out a window, then realised I'm humming, whistling, or worst of all having a wee sing to myself of Halloween in particular. Still, that does a good job of keeping the nutters away, since the assume you are one too.
It's nice then to have some more songs by the band to try out, although from its appearances in live sets Me Vs. Me is already familiar enough to me that it makes the occasional appearance on my mental shuffle list too.

Obviously then there's a scary amount of love for French Wives round my way (hm, should maybe rephrase that actually, or I'll get some very disappointed visitors coming in off a dodgy google search...) so you if you suspect that this review will pretty much be me telling you to buy the single you wouldn't be far wrong.

So, we've established that I a) like the band and b) like the single, but why? Well, Me Vs. Me does loads of things I like in a song. Pace changes, some nice guitar jangles, cheeky bit of violin, sing along lyrics, and does all the sweepy building to a crescendo stuff that makes me go "oooh". Plus, Stuart Dougan has a cracking voice.
Not only that, but listening to Me vs. Me a handful of times on repeat has brightened up an otherwise pretty dreadful day, which is just grand.
Hyndland Weather Bear on the b-side (read a wee bit further down for more on this song) is a more quiet, fragile affair. Simple, understated, but no less gorgeous than the A-side.

Love the band, love the single, and make no apologies for my very fanboyish approach, sorry!

You can still listen to B-side Hyndland Weather Bear, and watch a wee video, in the post here, but hurry, I'll be taking down the stream when the single comes out.

French Wives: MySpace - Facebook

Me vs. Me is available from May 17th on CD and download. You can preorder it here.
French Wives play a launch gig at Glasgow School of Art on May 14th, and an instore gig at LOVEmusic (the shop formerly known as Avalanche) in Glasgow on May 17th.

This Week's Records

Not all that much out this week, but what's available is very good.

The Lamplighter album that I reviewed last week, All Is Vanity, is released today. You can buy it direct from the Antimatter shop. It's a really good album, you should own a copy.

The Scottish Enlightenment have an EP out. I've been waiting weeks for a chance to get my hands on this and buying it was just about the first thing I did today. It is brilliant, get it. You can download it from all the usual places, or buy a CD from Bandcamp.

I know nothing at all about Ghost Pants, other than the fact that there's a free EP on the go over at Bandcamp, and it's pretty good.

Non-Scots with new releases include Nina Nastasia who has a single Cry, Cry, Baby out. It's a gorgeous, delicate wee thing, and bodes well for her new album Outlaster which is out in June.

LaFaro have their self titled debut album out too.

This Week's Gigs: 10-16th May

This was supposed to go up on Sunday, but I went to the pub instead. Sorry...
Quite a lot on this week, and some really good bands playing too.

Edit: Missed a couple, so there's a few more added.

Monday:

Shonen Knife are at King Tuts, for possibly their first Scottish date ever. I could be wrong on that though.

Tuesday:

Krautrock legends Faust bring chainsaws, cement mixers and more to The Arches for what promises to be quite a memorable gig.

Banana Sessions are playing at Sloans Ballroom, along with Tragic O'Hara and Mummy Short Arms.

Wednesday:

The last of this week's featured out of towners CocoRosie play The Classic Grand.

It's also Detour Live time again. As usual the Detour crew will be at Bloc, and on the bill this month are Midnight Lion, Iain Morrison and Carnivores.

Thursday:

Blue Sky Archives, who I was quite taken with the other day, are playing along with Pishy Tissue at Brel on The Concrete Campfire evening. (Update: Pishy Tissue aren't playing anymore)

Over at Maggie May's, its Catapult's first birthday. To celebrate Acrylic Iqon, Lousie Against the Elements, Julia and the Doogans and Upbeat Beatdown are all playing.

Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band, Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun, Oxygen Thief and Judith Harron are all playing at The 13th Note.

Missed this one earlier, but Emma Pollock will be doing an instore gig at the Apple Store in Glasgow at 6pm on Thursday.

Friday:

There's another Ten Tracks gig taking place at Stereo. On the bill are Make Sparks, Cairnhill Trading Estate and Panda Trap, all for the super cheap price of £1.

There's a Chaffinch Records night taking place at The Captain's Rest. Playing at that one are Anthony Reynolds and Charlotte Greig, The Second Hand Marching Band and Burnt Island. Tickets are available here.

French Wives are launching their new single, Me Vs Me, at The Glasgow School of Art, with support from Endor and Blue Sky. You can listen to the b-side, and watch a nice wee promo video for the single here.

Machar Granite are playing the O2 Academy on Friday night, along with Perduramo.

Saturday:

The Side, Foxgang, Sebastian Dangerfield and Casino Brag are all at The Captain's Rest.

Nuts, forgot about this one. Was almost certain it was next week, but got my dates horrible wrong. Anyway, Sleazy's on Saturday night has a cracking wee line-up of Midas Fall, Galleries and Heart Beats, supporting A Sunny Day in Glasgow. It'll no doubt be raining.

Sunday:

Edinburgh folk could do much worse than get down to the Roxy Art House to see Lamplighter who is playing a gig with Hauschka, Nancy Elizabeth and James Blackshaw. Get tickets and more info here. Lamplighter's All Is Vanity album is out today, and a very good album it is too. I made a few changes to my plans last week to get to the Glasgow album launch and left very impressed, both with Lamplighter and the supports, NOMA and Cheer.

Which takes us on nicely to a rather fine Glasgow gig on Sunday, as the aforementioned Cheer and the rather fine Yahweh are supporting the frankly awesome Conquering Animal Sound at The Captain's Rest. Gig of the week? I'd have said so. CAS have a clutch of other gigs this week, all over the UK, skip on over to their MySpace page for details.

Fuzzbox are playing nice N Sleazy on Sunday, with support from Miss The Occupier. That should be awesome, actually.

Lamplighter - All Is Vanity: Album Review

Lamplighter (aka Robin Legge) is an Edinburgh based musician/producer, with an album of instrumental, electronic hip-hop out next week. I'm already horribly out of my depth and I've not even started reviewing the album, All Is Vanity, yet. Settle in and laugh as I now try to write more than just "I liked this" over and over.

So, we've established that I like the album. Why? Well, for one thing when it is done well I enjoy instrumental hip hop. Lamplighter does it well. Although the album is - at least to my uneducated ears - well produced it isn't too polished. There's an endearing rough quality to things, nothing sounds too clinical.
All Is Vanity also reminds me of a few things that I really like too. There's a few songs that bring to mind the production on the first Wu Tang Clan album, for example. Just little things, the way things sound interesting, a bit off kilter and not quite what you expect.
Another thing the album puts me in mind of is a John Carpenter score. Much of the album has similar use of atmosphere and hooks, and a somewhat retro, lo-fi vibe to it, that you can find in Carpenter's music.

So, yeah, even though I'm rubbish at trying to explain why, I liked All Is Vanity a lot. There's a track embedded below, and more on Lamplighter's MySpace, so have a listen for yourself.

All is Vanity is released by Antimatter Records on May 10th.
Lamplighter plays an album launch gig at La Cheetah in Glasgow on May 6th, with support from Noma and Cheer.

Tigerfest 2010 Updates

As you might know, Tigerfest 2010 kicks off tonight, or more accurately kicked off about 45 minutes ago with tonight's gig at the Electric Circus.

There's been a couple of changes to the gigs previously announced, so this is just a wee update on a couple of things.

Firstly, The Gothenberg Address will no longer be playing at the 17 Seconds night on Sunday. Replacing them on the bill for that gig are White Heath.

Secondly, tomorrow's gig at The Wee Red Bar is, unfortunately, cancelled. Phoebe Kreutz, along with guest and tourmate Casey, have been left stranded somewhere in Europe but the reappearance of that deadly, gig destroying volcanic ash cloud.
Refunds are available at point of purchase, and everyone is a bit gutted.

You can find the line-up here, and further details at the Tigerfest website.

Round Up Reviews

There's a frankly embarrassing backlog of things I've been sent recently, so rather than let stuff sit in the inbox forever, here's a very quick round up of the shorter things, singles and demos.

If you've sent something over and it's ended up on here instead of getting a proper review then sorry, but there's only so much time in the day.

Palace Ballet - Gabriel/City of Lights

This was meant to get a full review weeks ago. Clearly, that didn't happen so instead through no fault of it's own, it's ended up in here. Gabriel is straight up indie pop, complete with a big catchy chorus and lots of "whoa-oh-ohs". Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but perfectly enjoyable all the same. I could have lived without my copy having a radio friendly edit of the "happy as a pig in shit" lyric though, but that's a small complaint. City of Lights stands out a bit more and shows off that there's more to the band than you might expect. Lots going on without being cluttered, lots of shifting styles and moods. Good stuff really. Shame I kept forgetting to review it till now. Gabriel/City of Lights is available as a download from iTunes now.

Night Noise Team - You Won:
I had to check a couple of times I was listening to the right thing here. I've heard a fair chunk of Night Noise Team before and didn't expect their next single to be some big dancefloor monster. This is ace. You Won is released as a download on May 17th.

Happy Vandals - Dusk

A wee bit like Last Shadow Puppets for me, but decent enough. Gets a bit more interesting towards the end, and there's some nice jangly guitar in there. More promising that exciting, but nowhere near bad. Download some demos free here.

Tokyo Knife Attack - Cool Kids:

Gloriously retro synthpop. The kind of thing that - similar to X-Lion Tamer - I usually start off thinking "I shouldn't like this" then after about 30 seconds give in, abandon my snobbery and dance my arse off to. Excellent. Cool Kids is released as a download on May 31st.

Blue Sky Archives - EP:

Ah, I like this. It's pretty much indie pop with a bit of post-rock slung in, but it does what it does really well, and manages to find it's way right up my street. Well, apart from the very start of second track The Highest of Fives, which always makes me think I'm about to hear Natalie Imbruglia sign Torn. Still, it's a pleasant surprise when I don't have to suffer that. Aaaand now I'm rambling. EP closer Sleeves Rolled Up, The Team Rolls Out has a bit more drive and urgency to it than the first two tracks, which rounds things out nicely. Liked this a lot, so you can probably expect me to bring up Blue Sky Archives again in the future. The Blue Sky Archives EP is available now on Bandcamp.

Indian Red Lopez - KYS:

All a bit run of the mill, plodding and indistinct sadly. I've heard much better from this band before, so we'll write this off as a blip. Still, bit disappointing.

This Week's Gigs

Now that I'm done pimping the heck out of my own gig, it's back to just pimping gigs for everyone else this week you'll be glad to hear. This week starts quietly, before going mental around midweek. It's like it knows I'm running out of money. In return for the week mocking me, I'm more bitter than normal at some of the rubbish that's on this week.

Tuesday:

Fear The Fives are playing a wee acoustic gig at Tchai Ovna, but I'll be waiting till Thursday to see them.

You could go and see Scouting For Girls at the O2 Academy, but if you do I might have to question whether you are welcome here. I kid, everyone is welcome here, but still, please don't encourage Scouting For Girls.

Wednesday:

Pavement play the Barrowlands. That's Pavement. At the Barras. And I don't have a ticket. The sound you are hearing right now is me sobbing.

Thursday:

Catch High Places at Nice n Sleazy, with support from Dam Mantle, Kill The Waves (formerly known as Camembert) and Barn Owl.

I however will be heading along to Bloc, where Fear The Fives are having an EP launch gig. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed the EP in question.

Friday:

Ah Friday, why are you mocking me so? You know I'll probably be quite skint by the end of the week, yet you conspire to have three, THREE!, gigs I want to go to.

At Nice n Sleazy there's Midnight Lion, .scores, The Darien Venture and Trapped in Kansas. One of these bands are threatening to be swallowed up by the hype surrounding them, the other three are good. My "too nice" reputations prevents me from being more specific.

Speaking of shite, Sandi Thom is on at the ABC. Please, just don't, there's so many better ways to spend your time and money.

A much better choice would be Make Sparks, Black Heart Generator and Peenko Vs Aye Tunes co-stars Mitchell Museum at The Flying Duck. I missed most of Mitchell Museum on Friday, so I'd have been going to this, were my plans not foiled by...

The Kays Lavelle. It's the Glasgow leg of the launch for Be Still This Gentle Morning, their debut album, on Friday. Ideally between now and then I'll finish off the album review I've been attempting. Support comes from Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers and Autistic Angus, and it's at Stereo.

Saturday:

Song of Return and Boycotts are playing at Stereo, while Owl City gives me another chance to be insulting by playing the Barrowlands on the same night.

Despite having this one written down on a bit of paper right next to the computer, I forgot to mention it. At the Citizens Theatre there's another Frost and Fire gig on. Playing this week are Cath & Phil Tyler, Nereo Bello & Lucy Duncombe, iSSHO and the excellent RM Hubbert.

NEXT Week:

Alright, so mentioning things this far in advance won't be a common occurence, but there's a couple of gigs that look good enough that if I wait a week to mention them might not be options anymore. Best to get your tickets now if you want to go to:

Shonen Knife - Monday 10th May - King Tuts

Faust - Tuesday 11th May - The Arches

CocoRosie - Wednesday 12th May - The Classic Grand

Gig Review: Peenko vs Aye Tunes - Kid Canaveral, Mitchell Museum & Campfires In Winter

Peenko Vs Ayetunes
Kid Canaveral, Mitchell Museum & Campfires In Winter
Captains Rest
30th April

Last night after a long day of avoiding studying by being locked away in a rehearsal studio I headed out to the first ever(and hopefully not the last) Ayetunes vs Peenko night at my home away from home The Captains Rest in the west end of Glasgow. Though I managed to lose my ticket some time in the run up to the event in this sold out event I luckily got in, cheers for that by the way lads!
After wading my way through a crowd of some of my favourite bloggers and podcasters around town I made it downstairs with time to spare to get ready for Campfires In Winter.

Campfires In Winter
Being a fan of all the recordings I had heard so far but not having the opportunity to catch them live yet as of yet I was very happy to finally get the opportunity to see them in action, and they didn't disappoint The band came out of the gate with personal favourite They Looked Like Fallen Leaves they instantly caught my attention with their great atmospheric guitar sounds and honest and convincing vocals backed by a piano and a peculiar yet highly effective percussion set up which appeared to be a tv dinner, a floor tom, a ride cymbal table and a box with a kick pedal, despite the loss of a member in recent months the band did their selves justice which is always a worry seeing an act for the first time live. The band left me transfixed for their entire set with subtle builds and soundscaped backing along with a few well picked covers in Neutral Milk Hotel and Square 9 by Frightened Rabbit which I never knew was a cover until it was pointed out to me post set. They closed with the track Mortigi Tempo which was a powerful ending to an excellent set, and a perfect start to the night! After the topping up of beverages it came the time for Mitchell Museum.

Mitchell Museum
This was a band that I had experienced once in Brel at a gig which seemed to be filled with technical problems but couldn't wait to see what they had to offer. The band spared not even a drop of energy in their performance of fun filled, hook laden and groove ridden pop songs. Mitchell Museum really brought the energy to the packed out sweaty basement that was the Captains Rest, and their highly entertaining yet cheeky banter kept you entertained between every track. Tracks like Take The Tongue which was one of my personal favourites of the set showing off their high tempo almost circus influenced pop side alongside upcoming single Warning Bells more of a groove ridden vamped pop song with a great sing along chorus which I am listening back to again now on their site and cant wait till its available to be bought. All in all they blew me away with their energy and ability to control the audience and look forward to the opportunity to catch them again. After catching my breath and cooling down it was time for the main attraction of the evening Kid Canaveral.

Kid Canaveral
I have seen this band a hand full of times now, they have yet to disappoint and this time? Well they were on fine form! The band kicked off with a slower number which I hadn't heard before which I can only assume is from their upcoming album(which will be released at the Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh on June 3rd) this was a slowed down beginning for the band, I had seen them use this technique before so the second track hits hard and it did with “Good Morning” a song which is a great example of their energetic indie pop sound which managed to capture this rooms full attention. The band were playing all of their hits tonight and it amazed me how many of the songs I actually knew to sing along with tracks like Smash Hits, And Another Thing and Left and Rights. The performance they gave did not leave people bopping their heads but the front of the crowd(myself included among the many bloggers) pulling shapes and bopping around and smiling like idiots. Kid Canaveral closed the set with fans favourite Couldn't Dance where the crowd and the band used up the last of their available drops of energy that they had left form the rest of their set. The band walked off the stage leaving their guitars buzzing and the crowd cheering.

All in all this was a great gig, 3 bands who put their full energy to their performances. If anyone went home from that gig I would be highly surprised. Ayetunes and Peenko put on a great event and I'm left wondering, when's the next one?

Review by Wull Swales of Define Pop. Cheers Wull!

This Week's Records

It's another fairly slim week for Scottish releases, so I'll also be throwing in a few things from elsewhere this week.

Fear The Fives have their debut self titled EP out, which I though was excellent.

eagleowl have a beautiful new EP out, which I should be reviewing some time this week. Don't bother waiting for what I have to say though, go buy Into The Fold here now.

Meursault's new album, All Creatures Will Make Merry, is available from eMusic now, possibly a bit early. Full release is due for the end of the month, if you are lucky you might still be able to get a special early CD direct from Song, by Toad too.

Tim and Sam's Tim and the Sam Band with Tim and Sam are the first non-Scots to make an appearance this week. Their album, Life Stream, is fab.

More non Scots with an album out are CocoRosie. Grey Oceans is out now, and the band visit Glasgow next Wednesday (May 12th) for their only Scottish date of their current tour, with a gig at The Classic Grand.

Kill The Captains have an album out too. Once again, they aren't Scottish, but Fun Anxiety is released by Armelodie, which is a Scottish label, so gives me a tenuous link.

I've probably missed stuff, so as usual let me know if I have.