Best Albums of 2011: 20 - 11

MORE LISTS! Yes, list season continues, as I fight with borderline obsessive compulsive disorder and an overwhelming need to rank things using a system that makes no real sense and changes every ten or fifteen minutes.
Two disclaimers

1. best just means my favourite, you are allowed to disagree without either of us being wrong.
2. I've not heard every blooming album released this year.

Onward then, to the first batch of my twenty favourite albums of the year. You can find a bunch of other albums I liked that didn't quite make the cut here.
In reverse order, like some kind of fancy countdown, here's numbers twenty to eleven:

20. Fay Wrays - Strange Confessor

Noisy Americans. This was another one that came from the random blog submissions pile that i listened to loads, but never really did anything about writing up. We've long established that I'm useless though. Not quite sure why Strange Confessor ended up clicking with with me, but it did.
Fay Wrays - Paper Tiger Meets The Straw Man
Download Strange Confessor: Bandcamp

19. Zoey Van Goey - Propeller Versus Wings

I've had a wee bit of a Zoey Van Goey bandcrush thing going on this year, as they've generally done a bunch of stuff that has left me smiling like a fool. They started off that trend early in the year with their second album, Propeller Versus Wings. Playful, witty, fun, and with more hooks than the average fisherman, it's a pretty easy album to fall for. Also "I am drunk and on a ladder" is the finest opening line in a song in ages.
Zoey Van Goey - My Aviator
Buy Propeller Versus Wings: Chemikal - Amazon - iTunes

18. King Post Kitsch - The Party's Over

I'd been looking forward to this album for ages, such was my enjoyment of the first, and following King Post Kitsch EP. The Party's Over didn't disappoint. At times a fuzzy garage rock album, at times something more psychedelic  sometimes dreamy pop, occasionally all and none of these things, all excellent.
King Post Kitsch - Fante's Last Stand
Buy The Party's Over: Song, by Toad - Amazon - iTunes

17. Sparrow and the Workshop - Spitting Daggers

Picking up where they left off with Crystals Fall, Sparrow and the Workshop remain one of the more interesting sounding bands around. They are a bit more muscular sounding and in your face this time round, and none the worse for it. An album with swagger and stomp, balanced with moment of graceful calm and tenderness.
Sparrow and the Workshop - Snakes In the Grass
Buy Spitting Daggers: Sparrow and the Workshop - Amazon - iTunes

16. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

You pretty much know what you are going to get with Mogwai, and this was the best thing they've have done in years. Up until they released the Earth Division EP later in the year, which was also excellent, but isn't an album. George Square Thatcher Death Party is the best song title of 2011 too.
Buy Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will: Mogwai Shop - Amazon - iTunes

15. Remember Remember - The Quickening

This is an album I can never quite find the words to properly describe, so I'll leave it at this: blooming gorgeous.
Buy The Quickening: Amazon - iTunes

14. Take A Worm For A Walk Week - T.A.W.F.A.W.W.

As I've mentioned before, this year I've mostly been enjoying loud things. T.A.W.F.A.W.W. delivered in spades. A brutal and aggressive half hour of music that left more of an impression than the metaphorical Mouldmaster to the thigh on a frosty morning.
Buy T.A.W.F.A.W.W.: Bandcamp - Bigcartel

13. Martin John Henry - The Other Half of Everything.

I still miss De Rosa, but getting an excellent solo album from Martin this year lessened the nostalgia considerably. As I said when the album came out, if you can listen to Ribbon on a Bough without your head bobbing check your pulse, you might be dead. Martin is one of the best songwriters in Scotland, and it is a joy to have him back on record.
Buy The Other Half of Everything: Bandcamp

12. Doctors & Dealers - Every Sinner Has A Future

The second Sparrow on the chart, Doctors & Dealers being mainly the work of Sweden's Sparrow Lindgren, Every Sinner Has A Future balances light and shade wonderfully. Tales of heartbreak and depression lurk behind pop songs, with a playful sense of humour lurking round the corner to save things getting too dark.
Doctors & Dealers - Carpet Burn
Buy Every Sinner Has A Future: Amazon - iTunes

11. Black International - In Debt

Internal debate ahoy over whether to include this album or not. In the end it came down to the same old thing, I became quite friendly with Black International and got them to do a gig for me after falling for their music, not before, so In Debt can go on the list for the right reasons. Every song has something that catches my attention, and the whole album has been subjected to more listens than just about anything else to come my way this year. Also good and noisy, with some properly excellent drumming.
Read more about the album in Black International's track by track guide here.
Buy In Debt: Bandcamp


We'll be back tomorrow with the final countdown, the top ten Aye Tunes albums of 2011.

Advent Calendar - Day Fourteen: Lovers Turn To Monsters

We had Lovers Turn To Monsters in the Advent Calendar just last week, but promised then that Kyle was working on a new Christmas EP, and would be turning up again.

Well, Feed My Christmas Time is finished and available, and I'm a man of my word (unless I've promised to review something) here's Lovers Turn To Monsters again.

The Christmas EP is a pay what you want download from Bandcamp, and if you have a look in the files after downloading you'll find out how to get a copy of last year's Lovers Turn To Monsters Christmas EP too, in case you missed it first time round.



Lovers Turn To Monsters: Facebook - Bandcamp

Best Albums of 2011 - Bubbling Under

It is December, I write a music blog, that means it is list season. That time of year when the blogging community spend too long trying to remember what albums came out this year, which ones were good, which ones were rubbish, which ones it is cool to like, which ones we haven't heard but have to pretend we have, and so on.
It is also the time of year that we all suppress a snigger while looking at other people's best of lists while saying to ourselves "REALLY? That album was SHITE!", and silently judging each other's taste in music.
It's a fun time of year.
I've been obsessing over my list for too long already, trying to cut it down into a manageable length, and having the nagging feeling that I've missed something out.
Eventually I decided to pick a Top Twenty to run as my best of, but since I liked more than twenty albums this year, and since I don't know what the difference between #33 and #45 in a top 50 is, here's a bunch of albums that I want to mention somehow, and on a different day could easily have swapped places with something in the Top 20. Go ahead and start judging me, just remember that "best" always means "favourite" really.

In no particular order, The Aye Tunes Best of the Rest Albums 2011

Scroobius Pip - Distraction Pieces
Quantum Leap reference in the first song equals instant inclusion. That and Death of the Journalist, which has been one of my favourite songs of the year, even if I'm one of the targets. The rest of the album is pretty swell too.
Dad Rocks! - Mount Modern
Suffering slightly from only having been released fairly recently, Mount Modern is an album that started off good, and grows on me a bit more with each listen. Had it had more time it would rank higher, but as it is still a gorgeous thing, and worth a few of your pounds.
Eureka Machines - Champion The Underdog.
Power-Pop Punk from Leeds. Their first album won an Aye Tunes award back in the days when no one read the blog (no, not yesterday you cheeky bugger) and this, their second album, is no slouch either.
The Antlers - Burst Apart.
Never quite fell in love with the whole thing, and less taken with this than I was with Hospice, but there's some really great bits on there.
Le Reno Amps - Appetite.
We've swapped some pandas for Al Nero now I think, but before the band went on hiatus they gave us a new, really good, album.
Something Beginning With L - Beautiful Ground.
A right good debut album, this .Fuzzy, poppy, shoegazey, and fragile all at once, tis a lovely wee thing.
the douglas firs - Happy As a Windless Flag.
It was a good year for releases from Armellodie Records really, this was another fab album from their stable
Milk Maid - Yucca.
Scummy sounding lo-fi rock that sounds like it cost about a fiver to record? Yes please. Not as good as PAWS but.
Edinburgh School For The Deaf - New Youth Bible
Album opener Of Scottish Blood and Sympathy gets things off to a great start, from there it gets a wee bit rough in spots, but ace in others, certainly a good enough album to be included in here.
Comply Or Die - Depths.
One of far too few albums that I actually got round to reviewing this year, and one of several that took advantage of me being a bit sick of acoustic folky stuff - though there's plenty of that in my end of year lists too - by making an almighty exciting noise.
Loney Dear - Hall Music
Fragile, melancholy, and quite gorgeous. Not the most immediate of albums, but a good one.
The Moth And The Mirror - Honestly, This World
The Sons(s) - The Son(s)
I may have mentally marked The Son(s) and The Moth and the Mirror down slightly in the year end ranking because both were released by my pals, Olive Grove Records. Both are smashing albums.
Piet Haag - Countryside Walks With Piet Haag
Very little amused me this year as much as this did, so it's in.
The Great I Am - Real Capital
Another I actually remembered to review. Real Capital is a very schizophrenic album, swapping from electro to folky from song to song, but that just endeared it to me even more. The Great I Am have switched names to Machines In Heaven now, but are still making wonderful noises.
Evil Hand - Huldra
A bit dreamy, a bit shoegazey, entirely gorgeous. One of the hardest albums to omit from the top 20 really. Ask me again another day and it would be in there.
Tiny Birds - Hymns For the Careless
"Sad songs with happy music". I touched on Tiny Birds a bit (that sounds slightly wrong) in one of my wanders down south earlier in the year, and the album is still one I keep going back to regularly.
The Wiggle Room - I Presume
Really, really enjoyable pop. One of my favourite albums that randomly popped up in my inbox this year that I'm kicking myself for glossing over until now.
I Build Collapsible Mountains - The Spectator & The Art
In a year when I largely got bored of "man with guitar" music, I Build Collapsible Mountains still produced something good enough to remind me that there are tremendous artists out there doing that thing.
Trips and Falls - People Have To be Told
Song, by Toad Records released an awful lot of good stuff this year. This Trips and Falls album is awfully good. Smart, witty, and sounds great, what's not to like?
Veronica Falls - Veronica Falls
It's a bit jangly and twee at times, but that's fine with me. It's a fun album, and there's some lovely boy/girl harmonies in there, which I'm always a sucker for.
Jacob Yates and the Pearly Gate Lock Pickers - Luck
Imagine Glasvegas weren't shite. That doesn't have a lot to do with this album, but imagine it anyway, just to make yourself feel better. Anyway, filthy sounding doom-wop from a man and band that sound like they could crush you like a paper cup and thoroughly enjoy doing so. Brilliant then.
Zombie Girlfriend - Music For Porn
MORE lo-fi noise pop? Oh go on then. I know virtually nothing about Zombie Girlfriend other than there is two of them, they come from Hungary, and they please my ears. That's more than enough information for me.
Loch Lomond - Little Me Will Start a Storm
Chemikal Underground released a lot of good albums this year, including this one from Portland's Loch Lomond.
Luke Haines - 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations On British Wrestling Of The 1970s & Early '80s.
I like Luke Haines, I like wrestling, how could I not like a concept album about British wrestling in the '70s and '80s? There's plenty of ways I could have hated it I'm sure, none of them came to pass though. It's a weird beast, but a good one.
Come On Gang! - Strike a Match
Quite willing to admit to the inclusion of Strike a Match being one tinged with bias and nostalgia, since Come On Gang did an Aye Tunes Vs Peenko gig, then had Peenko and I along to DJ at their last gig. Not entirely a nostalgic entry though, as there's some right good stuff on the album anyway.
Dead Boy Robotics - Dead Boy Robotics
A very late entry to the list, on account of it having only just been released. If I'd sepnt more than a week or two with my copy it might have ranked higher, but as it is it deserves inclusion somewhere. I particularly like it when they get all shouty.

So, there you go. Most albums are available to buy from Amazon, HMV and iTunes.
My twenty favourite albums will follow in a few days.

Advent Calendar: Day Thirteen - Trapped Mice

Hooray, we're now past the halfway point in the advent calendar! The end is in sight.

Today's post is a special one, we've got a wee exclusive! Last year Trapped Mice donated the song God Is Here to the advent calendar, and this is still the only place you can get that song. This year they've donated another exclusive track too, accepting a challenge I made on Twitter for someone to do a cover version of a song I love. Apparently God is Here will be getting its first live outing on Thursday, download it below if you missed it last year.
This year's Aye Tunes exclusive is Trapped Mice covering, and giving a reworking to, Low's Just Like Christmas.

Trapped Mice - God Is Here
Trapped Mice - Just Like Christmas (Low Cover)

Trapped Mice play at The Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on Thursday the 15th, with Supermarionation and Plastic Animals. There's the promise of mince pies, and a three way Rock Paper Scissors contest to decide the running order for the night. Doors open at 7, entry is £4, and you'll want to get along sharp for the battle.

Trapped Mice: Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar: Day Thirteen - The Banana Sessions

Advance warning, I've got the cold again, posts for the next few days might be half arsed and rubbish...

The Banana Sessions launch their debut album, Mixtape, this Sunday - the 18th - at The Bongo Club in Edinburgh. The album is available to pre-order from Bandcamp now.

Here's a festive tune from them to go with the plug.
01 Don't Lose Your Mind (It's Christmas Time!) by The Banana Sessions

The Banana Sessions: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar - Day Twelve: Advances In Mathematics

Oops, rather late with today's Advent Calendar installment, aren't I? Better have something good to make up for it then. Let me have a root around my metaphorical bag of stuff....

Ah yes, Advances In Mathematics! Today sees the first release from the Manchester band, with the Sad Xmas Present EP. I've been listening to this a fair bit in the past couple of weeks, and now that Sad Xmas Present is available to all, it is as good a release as any to use for the advent calendar today.

The Sad Xmas Present EP is available on limited CD, or as a free download from Bandcamp.



Apparently the ‘Sad Christmas Present’ in question is the Tremelo pedal guitarist Ben Ambridge asked for 4 years ago. It features heavily in the song that carries its name.

For good measure, here's a video too:

Advent Calendar - Day Eleven: Yossarian

Tim London is a many of many names and talents, but for today he is going under the name Yossarian for his entry into the advent calendar.

Mr Xmas reminds me a bit of Madness, which is rarely a bad thing. It's loads of fun, grab it down below.

Yossarian - Mr Xmas

Tim London: Website - Music - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar: Day Eleven - How To Swim

How To Swim can always be counted on to deliver a Christmas present, and this year is no exception.
A Minor Key Christmas is available as a free download from Bandcamp, and you can listen to it below. It features two new songs, and a cover of the one Christmas song that makes me want to commit mass murder, Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime. How To Swim's version is much less murder inspiring, so well done to them for that. Have a wee poke around their Bandcamp for more stuff too, including the Christmas EP they did last year.



How To Swim have a wee festive gig coming up too, which is why I'd held back on posting this till now. The gig takes place on Friday December 16th at Nice & Sleazy, with How To Swim supported by The Store Keys and Adam Stearns. It'll cost you a fiver to get in.

Behold, a poster.

How To Swim: Bandcamp - Facebook

We're Only Afraid of NYC - zero.four [Free Download]

Time to sneak in a quick plug for something that isn't draped in tinsel and glitter, I think!

We're Only Afraid of NYC - AKA one of our favourite bands in Scotland - have a new EP out now. As ever Team NYC are being far too kind to us by offering the EP for free. You can get zero.four - and their previous three EPs - for no cost at all over on Bandcamp.

We're Only Afraid of NYC are a band I've been stalking for ages, ever since I caught them supporting Mitchell Museum way back in the early days of this blog, and I'm always pleasantly surprised that every time I see them or they release something they've improved again. They were hardly poor in the first place, I wouldn't have kept following them if they were, so that they can continue to up their game every time round is getting a bit frightening, frankly.

Anyway, listen before and get stuck in over at Bandcamp.



We're Only Afraid of NYC: Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar: Day Ten - Evil Hand

I pretty much love Evil Hand. And Bottle of Evil. And indeed the other half of Bottle of Evil, Bottle of Steven.
There'll be more coming up soon about Huldra, this year's Evil hand album when - spoilers - it comes time to get into best of lists, so I'll spare you too much rambling for now.

Grab Around The Tree, a new festive Evil Hand offering from Bandcamp, for free. Yay free stuff!
If you like free stuff it is worth keeping an eye on Evil Hand on Twitter too, as Derek often sticks up an assortment of free music for a few hours, and he'll tell you when over there.



Evil hand: Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Caledar - Day Ten: Gargleblast

Gargleblast Records are having their Christmas party tonight (Saturday) and everyone is invited.
The party/gig takes place at the Gargleblast studios in Hamilton, with Martin John Henry, Pan and Tio Malo playing live.
Tickets are available here, and include a copy of the Gargleblast Xmas 002 EP.

The EP, featuring songs by De Rosa, Martin John Henry, Pan and Desert Hearts is available to buy as a download from Bandcamp too. It doesn't have any Christmas songs on it, but I'm using it as an advent post anyway. Sue me.

Advent Calendar - Day Nine: Withered Hand

I promised Withered Hand would make an Advent Calendar appearance, so here he is.

Real Snow is the first new material from Withered Hand in a while, and it's a cracker (sorry). The song is only available if you subscribe to the Fence Records Chart Ruse 7" series before December 16th, so do that here. If anyone fancies getting me a subscription for Christmas that would be magic too.
Here's the video for Real Snow:



As a wee bonus, here's an old Christmassy effort from Withered Hand to download:
Withered Hand - It's a Wonderful Lie

Withered Hand plays The 13th Note with The Second Hand Marching Band and The Last Battle on December 22nd. Tickets are available here.

Withered Hand: Website - Facebook

Advent Calendar - Day Nine: Giant Squidz

I know nothing about Giant Squidz. I found them on one of my Bandcamp trawls, and their Christmas album is rather good, so here you go, help yourself.



Giant Squidz: Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar - Day Eight: Campfires In Winter

Bit windy out, eh? I'm late with the advent calendar today, I know. The midnight post never happened today as last night was spent whipping my best albums of the year lists into something resembling a shape, which took till about 2am, at which point I could not be arsed digging up a Christmas song.
Today I'm phoning it in a bit, and opting for another repeat. It is one of my favourites, there's no way I could leave it out, so for the third year running, here's Campfires In Winter's contribution to the Christmas songs, with Christmas Song. In the words of Boab from Campfires In Winter "it's about 2 guys getting pished, one of them decides to burn down the tree and pretends to be a bear and asks the other one to join him. It's a lot of shite."

Campfires in Winter - Christmas Song

As if the song isn't good enough, you must watch the video that the (now sadly depearted) Macabre Scene made for it.


Campfires In Winter: Facebook - Bandcamp

Podcart Hit 100

Today sees a bit of a milestone for our pals over at Glasgow Podcart, as they hit their 100th episode of the podcast. For their 100th episode Halina roped in Vic Galloway to swap songs and have a chat. On the podcast are Hidden Orchestra, Salo, Wounded Knee, Craig_FS, Clean George IV, an exclusive new song from Julia & The Doogans, Young Fathers , PAWS, Django Django and Die Hard. You can listen to the podcast down below.
Episode 100: The Milestone by GlasgowPodcART

The podcasts have been in less regular supply this year with "weeks" becoming "episodes", no doubt the folk that like to complain about Podcart are no doubt happy about that, but when a new one comes along it is always worth a listen. The Glasgow Podcart team do plenty other than the podcast though, so pointing at them and mocking their move from a weekly schedule to a more leisurely one is rather missing the point a bit.

Podcart were a big help to me when I was getting things up and running around here, though these days they are less helpful, mostly choosing instead just to swear at me online when they have an opportunity, but I'll forgive them for that. Those interested in new music in and around Scotland should be checking in on the Glasgow Podcart website and Facebook for news, tips and gig info. Plus of course the kind of language you'd expect from an inebriated sailor.

Glasgow Podcart - Website - Facebook

Advent Calendar - Day Seven: Abagail Grey

Doubling up again today, carrying on the trend of something for free, something to buy, we have the new single from Abagail Grey.

New double A-side single Winter & Icicles came out at the start of this week, and I've got my timing all wrong, so missed plugging it in time for a launch gig in Edinburgh on Tuesday. There's a gig in Glasgow on Thursday at The Captains Rest though.



Winter & Icicles is available to buy from Bandcamp, iTunes and Amazon.

Abagail Grey: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar - Day Seven: Now Wakes The Sea & Lovers Turn To Monsters

Repeats again today, but good ones, and ones which aren't currently available elsewhere right now. Plus, I'm doing you a two for one deal, so just be glad of the stuff eh?

Today's songs come from two different folk, for the simple reason that they are sharing the bill at a rather tasty looking bill in Glasgow on Wednesday. Lovers Turn To Monsters and Now Wakes the Sea will be playing at The 13th Note, along with theapplesofenergy and some bloke called Adam Stafford. Yeah, I've never heard of him either. It'll be good and it's cheap, so get along if you can.

When I posted the Now Wakes the Sea song last year it turned in to a mini essay about Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). I'll spare you it again, at least until the song makes another appearance, which I wouldn't rule out. There's an album coming from Now Wakes the Sea pretty soon, which I'll get back to once I've stopped obsessing over Christmas songs and end of year lists. Oh God so many lists.

Now Wakes the Sea - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Now Wakes the Sea - Silent Night

Lovers Turn To Monsters has new Christmas EP in the works, so we'll be checking back in on Kyle soon when that is finished. In the meantime here's a song taken from the EP he put out last year, a cover I requested when he asked for ideas. Fun trivia: if you are my pal on Facebook or follow me on Twitter the wee picture on my account was drawn by Kyle. He's a sickeningly talented chap.

Lovers Turn To Monsters - Stay Another Day

Now Wakes The Sea - Website - Soundcloud - Facebook
Lovers Turn To Monsters: Facebook - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar - Day Six: Julia and the Doogans

Another double dip into the calendar today, I'm really going to regret this when it hits the 18th and I only have rubbish left to post. But see, I told you there'd be another free thing along soon!

I've not had Julia and the Doogans on here in ages, which is clearly a massive oversight on my part, so here they are with a take on Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas that is sweeter than that crap chocolate you got out of you Thomas The Tank Engine calendar this morning.



And if you like to watch things, video!



Julia and the Doogans: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar - Day Six: Aidan John Moffat

Something you have to pay for today. Suck it up, it's only two quid and there's plenty of more free stuff to come.

Aidan Moffat has released a Christmas EP, containing amongst other things covers of Last Christmas and Santa Clause Is Coming To Town. It is every bit is ridiculous and amusing as you expect.
Stream Oh! What a Not So Silent Night Before Christmas below, and buy it from Bandcamp.



Aidan John Moffat: Website - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar - Day Five: Zoey Van Goey

Bonus song today? Go on then, why not.

My bandcrush on Zoey Van Goey is firmly out of the closet by now, and shows no sign of dropping off any time soon. They released a new single just a couple of weeks ago, which you can hear and find out a bit more about here.

In Scotland It Never Snowed But In Canada It Did isn't actually anything to do with Christmas, but since it has been snowing - what, you hadn't noticed? - I'm going to squeeze it in anyway. Hey, it's a bonus, and free, so don't complain.

Zoey Van Goey are playing a Christmas matinee show in Glasgow on Sunday December 18th, at Mono from 2-5pm. Entry is a suggested donation of £3, while kids get in free. Take the family then, I'll try not to scare your children.

Zoey Van Goey - In Scotland It Never Snowed But In Canada It Did by Chemikal Underground

Zoey Van Goey: Website - Facebook

Advent Calendar: Day Five - The Plimptons

Ooh, today's advent calendar post has a picture and everything! Swish.
We're spoiling you again today (well, we aren't, we didn't write, record and release this single. We're also just one person, but now I've started saying we and can't seem to stop. Anyway...) with a full single. THREE SONGS!
Good ones too.
AND a video.
Thank you, The Plimptons.

You can listen to the single below, and download it for FREE here. I'll now stop typing before I abuse capital letters any further.

The Plimptons- Christmas All Over This Town 3 Track Single by The Plimptons

And here's the video. No prizes for identifying the pub, but you can have some points for spotting one of my favourite places in Glasgow.



The Plimptons: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar: Day Four - The Darien Venture

Sunday brings the first Christmas cover song, and me quickly writing and scheduling posts to avoid missing a day while hungover, although when this goes online at midnight I'll probably be drunk and deaf, trying to find my way back to Paisley after seeing Mondegreen and St Deluxe.

Today The Darien Venture go at Band Aid, with pretty good results.

The Darien Venture - Feed The World

The Darien Venture: Facebook - Buy Indications EP

Advent Calendar: Day Three - The Last Battle

Three days in and already we have our first repeat song. Sorry. I have a reason though!
That reason is that by posting The Last Battle today I can elegantly work in a plug for the gig they are playing at tonight.
With PET having to pull out of the Beard of Truth Heavy Pop Xmas Party The Last Battle have stepped in to the breach. They'll be playing tonight (Saturday) at The Wee Red Bar, with The Spook School and Calypso Brown.

Also, The Last Battle came and did a gig for me earlier in the year when they launched The Springwell EP (buy it here!) and are therefor entitled to plugs at every possible opportunity. They are right good too, which helps.

Support at that launch gig was The Second Hand Marching Band, and you can catch them and The Last Battle in action together again in The 13th Note on December 22nd. They'll be joined by the excellent Withered Hand, who is likely to turn up in one of these advent posts at a time conveniently arranged to remind you about that gig. If you can plan ahead, tickets are available here.

The Last Battle - Once Upon a Boxing Day

The Last Battle: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide

I don't respond well to spooky behaviour

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide is a new wee book by Campbell "Shambles" Miller and Neil Slorance. Written by the pair of them, and illustrated by Neil, it's a lovely little thing, and at an A6 size, wee and little are fitting descriptions.

The book tells the story of a man, well, a ghost I suppose, adjusting to his new found ghostliness, along with his advice on how to be a ghost from what he has learned. A playful tone to the writing, alongside Neil's clean, understated art keep things from getting either too sugrary sweet, or too morbid at the less cheery parts, adding up to something roughly describable as "adorable".
Neil and Campbell say the book is for big kids, but there's nothing in it to stop small ones reading either. Pick up a copy for all your Ghost, comic, or general good thing loving friends.

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide is published by Pipe Down Productions, and available online here.
There's also a launch event for the book on Sunday December 4th, at the Life Craft premises upstairs in De Courcy's Arcade, from 6.30-9pm. You can pick up the book, enjoy some cakes and drinks, and smile/shout at the creators.

Advent Calendar: Day Two - Ambulances

Advent Calendar blah blah blah. Christmas themed song blah. You know the deal, now enjoy the intros getting worse with every passing day.

Today we've got something new from Ambulances. They've been quiet for a while, but promise a new album early in 2012, which is something to look forward to.

Here's their Christmas tune, a free download of The True Meaning of Christmas, featuring - in their words - the lovely young ladies of Denbeath Parish Church Choir.



Ambulances: Website - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar: Day One - A Band Called Quinn

It's December! That makes it Advent Calendar time.
For those that weren't here in previous years the deal is this, every day from now till December 24th you get a Christmas themed song here, like opening an advent calendar and getting a bit of chocolate. Like advent calendar chocolate you may or may not like the songs, but I'll try my best to pick out good stuff.
Starting us off for this year is not just a song, but a whole EP from A Band Called Quinn. They are awfully good to us, aren't they?

Fill yer boots - winter or otherwise - below.
ABCQ Christmas by abandcalledquinn

A Band Called Quinn play Glasgow's George Square as part of Hear Glasgow on December 15th, with Selective Service, Shambles Miller, Tragic O’Hara and Sonny Marvello.

A Band Called Quinn: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Last Year's Girl's Friday Night Speakeasy - A Reminder and a Contest

Off camera - alien spacecraft.

I did a full preview of this gig a few weeks ago, you can read it here, but now that the night is almost upon is, I figured I'd throw out a wee reminder. Not only that, but read to the bottom and you can win something!

Anyway, short version, Last Year's Girl is putting on a gig on Friday night, with Franz Nicolay, Chris T-T and Dave Hughes.

Last Year's Girl's Friday Night Speakeasy takes place at The Old Hairdressers, right across from Stereo on Renfield Lane in Glasgow, on Friday (funny that) December 2nd, you can buy tickets here.

Now, cause Lisa-Marie is pretty nice, she's offered me a free ticket (just the one, this isn't a bloody charity you know, and putting on gigs is expensive) to give away to an Aye Tunes reader. To have a chance of winning answer me this question: Chris T-T recently put a writer's poems to music, what was the name of the writer? Email answers to competition@ayetunes.org.uk, along with your name.
Competition closes at 11am on Friday morning, then I'll pick out a winner at random and inform them by email, so it'll help if you have access to email on Friday afternoon or I might think you dingy me when I tell you you've won.
You should also be able to come to the gig on Friday. You'd think that would be obvious, but I've had competition winners before realise they couldn't go to the gig they won tickets for,.
If the question seems a bit hard for you and you are too lazy to Google, then you can listen to and buy the Chris T-T songs in question here.

Rumour Cubes Announce Debut Album

The Narrow State art by Lauren Mortimer 

Good news, everyone! The news falls outside the increasingly shaky grounds of the "Scottish bands" remit of Aye Tunes, but since I like the band you can just go sit in the corner quietly if you have a problem with that.

Rumour Cubes have released some details about their forthcoming debut album. Titled The Narrow State, the album will be released on 27th February 2012. I'm already looking forward to it.




Below you can get a little preview of what is in store, with the track The Gove Curve.

The Gove Curve by Rumour Cubes

The Rumour Cubes EP We Have Sound Houses - which I wrote a wee bit about previously here - is still available as a free download from Bandcamp, so if you don't have it already, go get it.

Rumour Cubes: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Aye Tunes Readers' Poll 2011

We've come to that time of the year where a bunch of people obsess over lists of our favourite things of the year, while other people mock us for our obsessing over said lists.

Last year in addition to putting together my own "Best of" lists I decided to ask the people that read my blethering what they think too. That would be you, dear reader. It went pretty well, so I'm doing it again, and so we have the 2nd annual Aye Tunes Readers' Poll.

Everything is pretty much as it was last year, though I've ditched the Best Gig question, as so few people voted for the same gigs it became a wee bit pointless.

Quickie rules & regulations type things:

• Answer or skip whatever questions you want, but if a bunch of people answer one question with the same answer it'll be pretty obvious ballot stuffing.
• No ballot stuffing! If it isn't obvious I probably won't notice it though.
• You can choose up to three answers for each question, try and put them in order, 1 being best, 2 second best, blah blah blah.
• You can vote for bands, albums etc from anywhere, they don't have to be Scottish.
• Polls close on December 26th, after that I'll count up the results and post them around new year.
• This is meant to be a wee bit of fun, so don't moan about the results when posted!
• I won't keep your name/email address or any other info once the poll is done, unless you tell me to.

My attempt at putting together a fancy voting form failed miserably, so I'm afraid you'll have to do a wee bit of work. Copy/paste the stuff below and stick it in an email to poll@ayetunes.org.uk and I'll do the rest.

Aye Tunes Readers' Poll 2011

Best Album:

1.

2.

3.

Best Single/EP: (Basically anything that isn't an album)

1.

2.

3.

Best Band:

1.

2.

3.

Best Solo Artist:

1.

2.

3.

Best New Band/Solo Artist: (New is very subjective, if you first heard of them this year, that'll do)

1.

2.

3.

Best Live Band:

1.

2.

3.

Best Music Blog/Website: (Aye Tunes isn't eligible for this. Partly to avoid accusations, partly to stop me seeing how few would have said it anyway)

1.

2.

3.

Best Music Radio Show/Podcast:

1.

2.

3.

Best Venue:

1.

2.

3.

I keep wanting to put a Smash Hits style sexiest male & sexiest female question in, but I suspect doing so would get me battered. If you want to write in a vote for that though I won't stop you...

Your Name:

Where You Are From:

That'll do I think. Feel free to tell your pals about the poll!

Zoey Van Goey - You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate

Hurrah, a new Zoey Van Goey single!
You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate was one of my favourite songs from the second Zoey Van Goey album, and now you can buy it, in digital single form! How exciting.
The b-side is a quite tremendous remix by GRNR, under the name of You Told The Crunk I Knew Karate. That remix was the highlight of the recent remix EP ZVG released, and the live remixing - and dance moves! - at the launch gig made me grin like an idiot, which is always something of a recommendation.

Also rather ace is the video for the song, here it is.


Don't like things that move? Well, here's a stream of the single too then.
You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate (Propeller Versus Wings) by Chemikal Underground

You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate is out on Chemikal Underground Records now. Buy the single straight from the Chemikal Shop and your download will include the video. The single is also available to buy from Amazon and iTunes.

 Zoey Van Goey: Website - Facebook

The Spook School - Are You Who You Think You Are? [Free Download]

I like The Spook School loads. They are quite lovely too, so much so that they came through to Glasgow back in September to do a gig for me. You probably never came, but more fool you, as it was pretty good and we all enjoyed ourselves without you. Anyway...

The Spook School have some new songs available for download. You can have them for free, or you can pay for them if you want to, but either way you should probably go and get them.

A bit like their previous single History/Hallam, they've gone for a fast song/slow song approach to the new single.

Are You Who You Think You Are? jangles along brightly and all smiley, despite lines about heartbreak
Devil Of Mine is a slower, quieter and sounds quite melancholy.
In depth reviewing there, eh? Look, just listen to them yourselves, or you'll make me sad, and no one likes a sad Aye Tunes.



The Spook School play the Beard of Truth Heavy Xmas Pop Party at Edniburgh's Wee Red Bar on December 3rd, and Glasgow Popfest at Heavenly on December 9th.

The Spook School: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

This Week's Gigs: 22nd - 27th November

What happens when there are lots of gigs this week that I want to get mentions in for, but writing about them individually would take ages? I bring back the gig guide. Not an exhaustive list of everything on this week, but some of the highlights.

Tuesday:
Black International, Birdhead, Vasquez. Captains Rest.
My love for Black International should already be well known. I haven't seen them in ages, possibly since my birthday gig, so I'll be taking myself along on Tuesday to catch them. Really liked Birdhead's Talons EP from earlier in the year too, so looking forward to finally getting around to seeing them. Birdhead say the last time they played in Glasgow there was an audience of zero people, so some of you should come along too and make sure that doesn't happen again. Vasquez aren't half bad either.

Wednesday:
Miaoux Miaoux Album Preview Show. Captains Rest.
Another of my favourites, Miaoux Miaoux will be showing off some songs from the new album he has been working away at. Miaoux Miaoux has roped in some special guests to help out too, and he'll be joined on Wednesday by Paul Carlin (Ghost Pants/Dananananaykroyd), Profisee, Kris Ferguson (Mitchell Museum) and Anna Miles (Maple Leaves), which all sounds rather brilliant to me.

Wounded Knee, Hal Duncan, Andrew Raymond Drennan, De Selby. The 13th Note.
Also rather tempting on Wednesday is this gig. Wounded Knee has just re-released his House Music album through Gerry Loves Records - you can buy it here - and is always entertaining, both on record and live. De Selby count some Second Hand Marching Band members amongst their number, and are also rather good.
Sparrow and the Workshop, Martin John Henry, Two Wings. Nice & Sleazy. (Tickets)
At which point Wednesday officially starts taking the piss. Both Sparrow and the Workshop and Martin John Henry are ace.

Friday:
Pin Up Nights 8th Birthday. The Flying Duck.
Aww bless, Pin Up Nights is getting all grown up! Helping our favourite club night in Glasgow celebrate their birthday are Laurence and the Slab Boys, Johnny and the Giros, The Callas and Electric Gardens, after which the Pin Ups DJs will be doing their thing till the wee hours of the night.
Idiosync 3: If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now, Without Aeroplanes. The Common Rooms.
Free entry and two good bands, there you go.
Sick Kids, Casual Sex, Black Jash. The 13th Note.
One to confuse people searching for weird stuff. Sick Kids are launching an EP, which is pretty good. Both the music and the whole launching thing. We also approve of the support bands.
The Winter Tradition, The Bronze Medal, We're Only Afraid of NYC. Captains Rest.
For the first time in aaaaaages I'll be missing a We're Only Afraid of NYC gig. Bah!

Saturday:
Django Django, Robert Redford, She's Hit, Killer Street. Nice & Sleazy.
In which we all pretend we don't know who Robert Redford are. Good other bands too though.
Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers. WRI Hall, Comrie.
This gig exposes my lack of geography knowledge, as I have no idea where Comrie even is.

Sunday:
Withered Hand, Samantha Crain, Mike MacFarlane.Henry's Cellar Bar.
A Song, by Toad gig, and a good looking one.
Loch Lomond, The Last of Barrett's Privateers, Pronto Mama. Sneaky Pete's.
See, I do know Edinburgh exists. Loch Lomond are ace, and I should really get round to writing about their new album sooner or later.
Muscles of Joy, Palms, DJ Jamie Grier. Oran Mor.
The wee bit I've heard of Muscles of Joy has been good, and this is a launch gig for their debut album. Must get my mitts on a copy.
Song of Return, Atlas : Empire. Nice & Sleazy.
Song of Return are launching their new EP, and it'll also be their last gig in a while, so get along if you want to see them.

Kochka - The Entropic Biopic of a Quixotic Psychotic

When you are a blogger and your pals release an album things get tricky. Kochka are one of the first bands I stalked followed when I started up this blog, they headlined my first Aye Tunes Presents gig back in January this year, and I've been politely bugging them to get this album finished for longer than I can remember. Well, now they have released their debut album, it is probably fair to say I can't really give an unbiased opinion.

I'm a fan of the band first and foremost though, I wouldn't have roped them in to the gig, reviewed their old records, and generally told people to listen to and go see them if I didn't like, so it was with mixed emotions I listened to The Entropic Biopic of a Quixotic Psychotic. What if it's rubbish? How do you politely tell folk you like that the album you'd been waiting eagerly on was a massive letdown?

Happily I didn't have to answer those questions, since the album is certainly not rubbish. Happily I get to dodge trying to properly reviewing it too, since frankly I don't know where to begin describing it. This is an excellent album, and a "proper" album, with songs flowing from one to another, a beginning, middle and end.
Listen for yourself at Bandcamp or down below.

Kochka play an album launch for The Entropic Biopic of a Quixotic Psychotic this Saturday at Stereo, where you can pick up a very limited CD copy of the album. Support comes from The Mademoiselle and Tragic O'Hara, and it'll only cost you £4 to get in. I'll be there.

But It's Only November!

This post comes with an apology. I know it is barely the middle of November, I know talking about Christmas now is evil and wrong. But...

Every year that I've been writing a blog (this is the third year on here, plus four years before that elsewhere) I've gone Christmas song crazy come December. At least one song a day every day from the 1st to the 24th, like a musical advent calendar. I'll be doing it again this year. This year there might also be a little something extra too. That's secret for now, but I'm rubbish with secrets, so if you ask about it I'll likely tell you.

I like to keep repeats to a minimum, but that all depends on me having new songs to include, which is the purpose of this post, as I start to beg for material. The sooner I get things, the more organised I can be, and the less I use something from the last few years again.

So, are you a band or artist and fancy donating something? Something I can post as a free downloads is best. but I can set things to stream instead of download if it is something you want to sell instead of giving away.
Bandcamp and Soundcloud embeds are fine too if you want to keep the song under your control, but want it included here too.
If you have something up your sleeve you don't mind sharing send a wee email to jim@ayetunes.org.uk and I'll be delighted to include you, but the earlier you get to me the better.
Covers, originals, I'm not fussy in the slightest. Neither does it have to be your most professional recording, demos, home recordings and decent sounding live tracks are great. Err, just songs though, no links to YouTube of you doing Slade at karaoke, please. I said that last year and still got two emails containing videos of the band drunk and singing something, this year if anyone does it I'll name and shame you.

Also, readers, suggestions are welcome too, just stick a comment on the post and I'll see what I can do.

Black Books - An Introduction To...

I'm pretty rubbish at this blogging lark, really. Case in point, this post is about an EP I got way back in July, and only now am I actually getting round to writing about it here.

Black Books come from Austin, Texas. How the heck they found me I don't know, but I'm really glad they did. It may have taken me five months to get round to posting about it, but in the time since first hearing it their An Introduction To Black Books EP has ended up on regular rotation round here, and been a go to recommendation every time someone has told me to give them something to listen to they haven't heard before. A lot of music hits my inbox, gets a listen, and goes no further, so I'll invoke the "better late than never" clause when it comes to this, since I'd rather be months late with it than let something I've fallen in love with a bit go entirely unmentioned on the blog.

Yeah, I'm making excuses for myself.

The four tracks on An Introduction To... fall pretty solidly into the dreamy pop territory, slow paced, a little bit psychedelic in places, but bit of a rock element bubbling just under the surface at time that pokes its head through the blissed out sounds here and there in the form of a jagged guitar line, or a thumping drum beat.
the whole EP is pretty much perfect for sticking on, putting your headphones in, and getting away from reality for 20 minutes, and let's face it, we all want to escape from time to time.

There's a full album on the way from Black Books sometime in the near future, but in the meantime An Introduction To provides exactly what it says, a quick taster of Black Books. Delicious, I say.

Black Books - The Big Idea


An Introduction To Black Books is available to download on Bandcamp, and also available as a limited edition 10" vinyl. UK/Europe readers, don't try and buy the vinyl from Bandcamp unless you want to have a heart attack when you see the shipping costs, instead we can order a 10" from Shifting Sounds.



Black Books: Blog - Bandcamp - Facebook

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea [Free Download]

A few weeks back I babbled a wee bit about a Rob St. John and Ian Humberstone split 7" (short version, it's really blooming good) and now with the release of Weald, Rob St. John's new album, just around the corner there's a new, free single available to share with you.

Like Your Phantom Limb, the last single, I find myself incapable of doing much more than pointing at Sargasso Sea and shouting "THIS IS ACE!" so just a listen to it below and download it if you like it, it is free after all.

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea by Song, by Toad

There's a lovely wee video to go with the song too, for those of you who want to engage your eyes as well as your ears.


Rob St.John 'Sargasso Sea' from rob st john on Vimeo.


Weald by Rob St.John is released on gatefold 12” vinyl and download by Song, by Toad Records on November 21st, but if you order a copy of the vinyl, which comes with a download code for the album, from Song, by Toad you'll likely get it early.

Bloggers Doing Gigs - Last Year's Girl

Not pictured - a crazed axe murderer.

I seem to have fought off the gremlins that killed my computer, fingers crossed on that score. Now I can get back to just having myself to blame for a lack of posts.

At the weekend I mentioned that one of my blogging pals is moving into gig putting on too, well, The Vinyl Villain isn't the only one.

My mate Lis - famous on the internet as Last Year's Girl - is also at it. I pretty much have to plug this gig as (a) she quoted my “Bloggers putting on gigs? It’ll never catch on…” line on her press release, (b) it looks pretty ace and (c) I'm pretty sure she could, and would, batter me if I don't.

Back in June Lis drew up a list of 30 things to do before she hits 30 - cheers Lis for making me feel old every time you mention that too - one of which was "put on a gig". Rather than take the easy option of hiring The 13th Note and getting some local pals to pitch in to play (stop looking at me like that, I've only hired The Note once), she's been a good bit more adventurous.

Since our Lisa-Marie is much better at writing things than I am, I'll just apologise for the cut & paste nature of the next bit and go over to her to tell you who is playing Last Year's Girl's Friday Night Speakeasy.

Franz Nicolay has the face of a villain, but the heart of a vaudevillian. He specialises in moustaches, raconteuring and the sort of antiquated instruments such as banjo, accordion and musical saw it’s pretty awkward to get through customs. He has played with a few bands you may have heard of (The Hold Steady, Against Me!, Guignol, The World/Inferno Friendship Society), and released two albums of solo material that are even better. If you want to see him make a third one, you could contribute to his Kickstarter pledge drive. He feels as weird about it as you do.

Brighton-based Chris T-T tried to be a political songwriter, but Billy Bragg said he didn’t exist so he went back to writing about bunny rabbits instead. Sorry, what? That was a song about communism, you say? You might have seen him set the works of AA Milne to music at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, or joined in one of his acts of civil disobedience through the use of social media (#IAmSpartacus). He is currently working on his eighth album of original material.

Dave Hughes plays folk music without the scarves, handclaps or tambourines. Before buying a car he pretty much invented the Megabus tour, which is the only explanation for that time he ended up playing to a hen party in Birmingham. He does not sound like Ed Sheeran, and does not get offended if you describe his performance as “ramshackle” with or without his Renegade Folk Punk Band. His latest release is the six-track Despite the Blackout EP, on Corporate Records.

Last Year's Girl's Friday Night Speakeasy takes place at The Old Hairdressers, right across from Stereo on Renfield Lane in Glasgow, on Friday (funny that) December 2nd.
You can buy tickets, and we all know you want to buy a ticket, here.

Now Lis, when do we get that podcast that's on your list too?

Technical Difficulties

This afternoon my computer contracted a nasty bit of malware, and is currently, in technical terms, fucked.

We'll be back when it works again.