Saturday, 7 November 2009

Detour Podcast Launch Night


As I've said before, I prefer to leave gig guides to other sites that can do it better than me, but some things I'll post up here, mostly things I'm going to.

This is one I might not get to, but if I don't I'll be kicking myself.
The occasion of the night is, as the poster suggests, to launch the new Detour Podcast. The podcast itself sounds like something worth keeping an ear out for.
Even if it turns out rubbish, which I really doubt it will, Bronto Skylift and Lions.Chase.Tigers are both excellent bands, well worth seeing.

Detour Scotland Website - MySpace - Facebook


Friday, 6 November 2009

Kochka - Dacha/Summer House EP Review


Kochka are a band I've been meaning to write about for ages, but for on reason or another I've never quite gotten round to it. Since they are one of the bands playing Define Pop 2, and since they really cheered me up on a bad day by sending me badges, it's about time I finally gave them the coverage I've been intending to.

Kochka (Czech for "cat" I believe) are a four piece, formed in Glasgow. Made up of two girls and two boys - Sheryll, Mhairi , Stewart and Markk - they make music, funnily enough. Since forming in 2008 they've kept themselves busy gigging extensively, both on their own and supporting the likes of The Phantom Band, and slipping out a couple of EPs and a single. Second EP, Dacha/Summer House was released way back in August. I picked it up from eMusic on release, loved it, and promptly forgot to review it.

The Dacha/Summer House EP holds the distinction for the release I've taken the longest to get round to reviewing then. I'll point out now that that is no reflection on the quality of it - as the review will show - but is all down to my good old fashioned forgetfulness and circumstances too boring to detail.
The first thing that struck me about the EP was that even though it hadn't been that long since I'd gotten their previous release, The Dead Room Party single, they'd improved quite a bit, and I say that as someone who loved that earlier single (Sadly I don't have debut EP Numbers. Wonder if the band have any left they could sell me?). Maybe improved is the wrong word. If so, take your pick from evolved or matured instead. Stop looking at me like that, I've always said I'm rubbish at writing reviews... The other thing that struck me was that I was struck with a sudden urge to dance around the room. Good work by the songs, but not pretty for anyone who may have the misfortune to see my shimmy.

Right from the off lead track Cowards and Kings grabs you with a jangling, Television-esque guitar line, before Markk's distinctive vocals kick in. Next thing you know you've been dragged along for the ride through a song while changes direction several times and remains infectious throughout.
So far so good then, but things get even better with the next track, Dacha (In The Summer). Outstanding bass and percussion threaten to steal the show for a while before falling back around half way through to allow Stewie to take centre stage with his guitar. It brings about 50 different songs to the back of my head, just enough for me to think "that sounds a bit like..." before shoving them away before I can think of what. The lesson I'm taking from this is that it might remind me a bit of something, but it just sounds like Kochka.
Memory Box / Personal Effects has a darker tone to it, and a lot going on in the background. I swear there's a typewriter in there somewhere. It's a bit sleazy, very funky, and an awful lot excellent.
Finally Black Cat closes proceedings and goodness, they've quite possibly saved the best for last. Quite a trick considering the previous three songs, as you can hopefully tell, left quite an impression. Distorted guitars, Markk's vioce threatening to venture into Pixies territory, percussion all over the place tapping out a beat straight into your urge, defying you not to move.

All the songs from Dacha/Summer House - and a few not from it - can be heard on the band's MySpace. I urge you to have a listen.
Kochka don't do indie by the numbers. There music might initially sound simple enough, but that's all part of their diabolical plan to make your body move before you've noticed you aren't listening to another plain, run of the mill band. There's some fantastic musicianship going on in there, and careful or repeated listen will make you notice that things are a lot more complex than you initially thought. These aren't disposable, sing-along 3 minute pop songs, they are smart, sexy, funky and oh-so-groovy.
If listening at home close the curtains, make sure the dog isn't watching, and dance your arse off to this fantastic little EP.

For the next few days you can snag a free download of Man Of Letters here.
Find Kochka on MySpace - Last.fm

Kochka's records are available at shows, in the usual independent shops, and to download from the like of eMusic and iTunes.
They play The Living Room stage of Define Pop 2 on Saturday Nov. 14, Sleazies in Glasgow on the 20th and in Stirling on Dec. 20th. Go see them.



Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Gig Review: Debutant, Esperi, Panda Su and Yahweh

Amidst the freezing cold winds, pouring rain and general miserableness on Sunday's weather there was one huge bright spot, the gig in The Classic Grand.
If you've been here at all in the last week you'll know all about it, but just in case you haven't, Glasgow PodcART put on a gig with four pretty swell acts. I went, rubbish weather and no money is a poor excuse for missing out on a line up like this -especially since I'd seen none of the acts before, and this is what I thought of it.


Taking the stage first was Debutant, AKA Phillip Quirie. Debutant's first song was marred by technicals issues. Fortunately that was sorted out quickly and the rest of the set, just one man, his guitar and his pedals, provided a fine start to the evening. Gentle and mellow but never becoming samey, up until King of Double Speak provides a surprisingly intense climax to the set. I think this might also have been the quietest gig audience I've ever come across too, as everyone stood (or sat) hushed, listening to Phillip go to work. One of the lyrics from one of the songs (sorry, the title escapes me, help very welcome!) was "You know I hang on every word you say", which pretty much summed up what I thought of Debutant.

Panda Su was up next and after the rotten job I did on her profile piece the other day (sorry again Su) her set was always going to be bombproof review-wise. Luckily for me I don't need to say nice things about it just to make up for being rubbish, since Panda Su were actually brilliant. Joining Su and her regular cohort Red was esperi's Chris on drums and later Jonnie Common, hopping up on stage at Su's invitation. Su promised to keep between song chatter was kept to a minimum, even though there was still more of than you'll get with many bands, due to Su being a bit under the weather, but any illness doesn't appear to have affected the performance. Panda Su's songs have an air of melancholy and fragility to them, but are delivered in a strong, confidence voice that can alternately put a smile on your face and a crack in your heart.
Also, you can't really complain about any band that has a front woman with panda face paint and a song about Prince Eric from the Littlest Mermaid, can you?
There's a little sample of Panda Su's set - Facts and Figures - recorded on the night by Glasgow Podcart here.

Tonight esperi was just Chris Lee-Marr and his selection of instruments, of which there were many. Beginning by inviting the audience in closer to the stage and assuring us he's "not that scary" Chris then abandoned the stage for his first song opting instead to quietly sing Home from atop a table, after which he admitted that maybe he is a bit scary after all. Having never seen esperi I didn't know what to expect from the set, but I think any expectations would have been blown anyway. It was incredibly engaging throughout, enchanting almost. On Cats And Dogs Chris went through God knows how many instruments, looping little bits as the song gradually builds. By my count Cats and Dogs clocked in at around 20 minutes long and throughout the full length never threatened to get stale or boring. It would be easy for this kind of thing to be performed too seriously, but thankfully Chris Lee-Marr isn't just a fantastic musician, he also has a sense of humour, so things never get too earnest. Tremendous stuff.

The final act was Yahweh, playing as a full band tonight, and elevating the noise levels in all the best ways. Main man Lewis Cook is probably sick and tired of people mentioning his youth, but I'm going to do it again anyway. For one so young not only do Cook's songs have incredible maturity, but he's comfortable on stage too. Add into that a tight live band and Yahweh are quite special live. I mentioned in my feature last week that I'm a big fan of the album, Tug of Love, I'm possibly an even bigger fan of the way the songs sound live now. Great songs, great band, great night!

Both Yahweh and esperi are performing at Define Pop 2, I can't wait to see them both at that.
Panda Su is back in Glasgow in December for the PodcART crew's Christmas Party, in a night that I won't be missing. Hopefully it won't be too long before Debutant pays Glasgow another visit too.

Lest I forget, Waves Below did a great job keeping the ambiance going between acts from the DJ booth.

Links: Glasgow PodcART - Oxjam - Debutant - Esperi - Panda Su - Waves Below - Yahweh


Monday, 2 November 2009

EP Review: Kid Canaveral - Left And Right

We've established that I'm not the best at keeping up on what I'm meant to be doing by now, so it should come as no surprise that I once again preface a review with an apology. Sorry to Kid Canaveral, who sent me over their new EP just before it's launch night weeks ago and it has taken me this long to get round to reviewing it.

There's something I knew already about Kid Canaveral from picking up their previous singles, and that is that they know their way around a catchy tune. The Left and Right EP reinforces this from the off, with the opening track after which the EP is named grabbing you instantly with it's killer hook, sweet harmonies, summery cheeriness and all round bouncy joy. Indie pop splendidness that reminds a bit of The Delgados (and being compared favourably to The Delgados is one of the highest compliments I can pay someone).

From there the songs change direction somewhat - no pigeonholing for this lot. Stretching the Line is still catchy as heck, but throws an electronic drum beat and some strings into the mix. Still cheery, still headboppy, but entirely different from Left and Right.

Finally Long in the Tooth closes the EP and is another shift in direction, leaving behind the bounciness for a more gentle, melancholic tone.

With just three tracks, the longest clocking in at three minutes long, the EP doesn't run any risk of outstaying it's welcome, but shifting the songs from out of your head will take considerably longer. Left and Right is a great little piece of work from a band who started off pretty damn good but continue to evolve and improve.

You can buy the EP, on cassette no less, direct from the band here. They'll give you a free download with the tape, so there's no need to panic that you won't be able to listen to it. If you just want the download the EP is also available from eMusic, iTunes etc.
MySpace

Kid Canaveral play the upcoming Define Pop Festival II at The Flying Duck, so can we pretend I'm not horribly late with this review and I was just saving it to act as a Define pop preview? No? Oh ok then.


More on Define Pop Festival 2


I've mentioned the second Define Pop Festival a couple of times already, but now there's a wee poster to show you to go with it.
Some of the artists playing - Kid Canaveral, Esperi, The Morgue Party Candidate, Yahweh, Second Hand Marching Band - have featured on Aye Tunes before, others are scheduled to appear on here between now and the gig. I doubt I'll get round to everyone, but I'll try to do as many as I can.
Barring any hiccups I'll be attending both days, desperately trying not to drink too much so I can review it afterwards.

If you want any more details head on over to the Define Pop MySpace. If you ask nicely over there you might even be able to get tickets at a lower price than Tickets Scotland are asking.


Saturday, 31 October 2009

Yahweh

It's the final day of the previews for Sunday night's big New Artists gig, presented by Glasgow Podcart. Surprisingly I've kept to my schedule with the posts, although the Panda Su one was written while exhausted after a pair of awful days and was incredibly half arsed. Sorry Su...

On record Yahweh is Lewis Cook, an 18 year old multi-instrumentalist from Moffat, now based on Glasgow. For one so young Lewis is disgustingly talented. His debut album, the bedroom recorded Tug of Love, was released earlier this year and is a fantastic piece of work. It's a proper record of two sides, the first half, Dear Green Place, dedicated to Cook's new base of Glasgow, the second, The Long Plain, to his home town of Moffat.

It's a little difficult to pin down the sound, Cook writes minimalist, alt-folky songs, then adds textures and layers of instruments, occasionally augmented with samples and electronica beats.
All together, it's like a bit of a clash between Arab Strap, especially their first album, slices of Mogwai, and Boards of Canada, without being derivative of any of them.

On stage Lewis is joined by a full band, with Stuart Anderson, Hugh Guthrie and Sadie Ryan helping out. Out of all the artists performing on Sunday Yahweh is the one I have most familiarity with, since I've got the album. However, like all the others I've not yet caught them live. Again just like the others I'm really looking forward to doing so on Sunday.

I didn't have time to ask permission to use this before I wrote the post, so hopefully Yahweh won't mind.
Download Yahweh - Glasgow Smiles Better

If you need any more convincing to get along on Sunday all four artists playing feature on this week's Glasgow PodcART podcast, so you can have a listen.

Yahweh MySpace
Buy Tug Of Love

Huge thanks to everyone that has visited Aye Tunes this week, or helped send people over here. My traffic this week has been higher than any week previously. You will all come back and visit me sometimes, won't you?

Now that I'm done writing about gigs for the week, I'm off out to go to some. I'll probably be taking the weekend off from the blog, but you can email me if you want to get in contact and catch me on Twitter if you have the urge to know what I'm drinking. I'll be back at the start of next week, there's a few EP reviews coming up, and there should be some gig reviews too.


Hallowe'en Special

Can't resist the temptation to knock out a quick post for Halloween.


First of all, what's more terrifying than Michael Jackson? Not much really, so here's Aereogramme covering Thriller, taken from their Livers & Lungs EP.

There's a whole bunch of Halloween themed gigs & club nights happening over the weekend. I won't be attending any of them though, since my weekend is already packed with gigs. Instead I'll stay in on Saturday, avoid answering the front door and watch a selection of scary films.

As far as films go, what is more perfect for Halloween than, well, Halloween? Just John Carpenter's original of course, stay away from sequels and remakes.

Aidan Moffat quite likes Halloween too, so much so that one of his many side products, Ben Tramer - named after a boy Laurie Strode mentions having a crush on - released an EP years ago reworking parts of the Halloween soundtrack. You can get a taste of that here: Ben Tramer - Laurie's Theme (Halloween 1978)

Finally, Glasgow's The Plimptons have a special single out, called 'I Hate Hallowe'en'. It sounds a bit like The Misfits version of Monster Mash, with a Scottish accent. Fantastic then. It's available as a free download here.


Friday, 30 October 2009

The Twilight Sad Announce Intimate Scottish Gigs

Headline says it all for this one really.
The Twilight Sad have lined up two Scottish gigs in December.

On December 15th they will play The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh, on the 16th they cross country to play Nice N Sleazy in Glasgow.

Tickets are available now from Synergy Concerts


Panda Su

Day three of the New Artists Showcase gig previews. Are you as surprised as I am that these are appearing on a timely basis?

Panda Su is, mostly, Su Shaw, a young lass from St. Andrews who writes her own songs, sings, and plays guitar, as well as a host of other instruments. being able to play every instrument going is an advantage in the studio, where she can record songs of great beauty, but makes recreating the songs live a bit tricky. To help out she is frequently joined on stage by some helpers, like unofficial second member Adam Phillips - who allegedly can't play anything - and esperi's Chris Lee-Marr.

Panda Su makes songs that are mature, gorgeous, and at times melancholy. I can't wait to catch her on Sunday.

Oh, and she also paints her face to look like a panda.

Panda Su recently released a new EP, Sticks and Brick, produced by Steve Mason, formerly of The Beta Band. You can get copies through her MySpace, or at gigs.

Panda Su MySpace


Thursday, 29 October 2009

Waves Below

Messing up my one feature a day plan since I wanted it finished the day before the gig, Waves Below will be joining the line up of Sunday's New Artists Showcase gig, so today there's a double dose of spotlights.


Neil Milton is a man with his fingers in a lot of pies. Along with Heidi Kuisma he is one half of We Sink Ships. We Sink Ships is a photographic and musical project between Heidi and Neil. I couldn't possibly describe their work and do it justice, instead I urge you to check it out for yourselves. Their latest project, Masquerade, can be found here.

Additionally Neil takes his musical side further as beneath us, the waves, making ambient soundscapes. Originally formed to provide music for We Sink Ships, the music started to gain as much attention as the photography did and was spun off into beneath us, the waves.

Waves Below is a spin off from beneath us, the waves set up to differentiate Neil's DJing and remixing work, with a more electro basis, from his own musical projects.

In addition to all that Neil was formerly a member of the band Troika, ran the too many fireworks record label, releasing singles by Troika, Findo Gask, Errors and more, and for two years ran the club night fire: works at Barfly.

You can get a taster of Waves Below's DJing at SoundCloud.


Esperi

Day two of my spotlight on artists play this Sunday's big Glasgow PodcART gig, the line up for which has grown with the addition of Waves Below DJing at the show. The gig is also now tieing into Oxjam, making it even more worthwhile!

esperi is mainly the work of Chris Lee-Marr, assisted at times by any combination of his wife Cat, Jon Adam, Kev Black , Craig Arnott and Eilidh Glynn.

Again, I've not yet caught esperi live and aside from hammering the songs on MySpace to prepare for this, haven't heard an awful lot of their stuff. What I've heard is great though. Similar to Debutant there's a lot of layering of vocals and different instrumentation - some very exotic and unconventional instruments at that - going on, combines to form gorgeous gentle, melodic storytelling songs

esperi are launching their new EP 21:21 at the show too. If I've got my copy/paste right there ought to be a wee widget down the bottom that will let you buy a copy. In addition to Sunday's gig there's a lot more esperi live dates coming up, including Define Pop II.

I don't have any mp3s I can post, but you can hear esperi songs at MySpace and Last.fm. You have to listen to Proverb Part 2. That isn't a suggestion, that's a demand.




Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Don't Forget!

Just because I'm focusing a lot on the gig I'm going to on Sunday this week doesn't mean you should forget about the one I'll be at on Friday!

All the details here.


Debutant

In the run up to Sunday's gig I'll be taking a quick look at each of the four acts performing, one each day.
Since I'm not all that familiar with any of them - Sunday will be the first time I've seen any of the four - this could be terrible, but I'll try my best!

Debutant is just one man, an Aberdonian gent by the name of Phillip Quirie, who has embraced the DIY music ethos for his work.
Starting off in his bedroom in 2007 and plugging away since he has more recently been juggling Debutant duties with being a member of Edinburgh's Meursault.
Debutant plays a mostly instrumental set with occasional vocals, just one man, his guitar and an assortment of pedals, but makes a very big sound.
I've only been able to listen to a couple of Debutant songs, but those few I've heard provoke instant reactions, the main one being massive anticipation to see and hear the set on Sunday.

What I've heard has been gorgeous, dreamy soundscapes, packed with atmosphere. For quick, lazy comparison look to My Bloody Valentine. Minus the ear bleeding volume and feedback that is.

Phillip is currently working on a debut album which will hopefully be out early next year. I for one can't wait to hear more.

<a href="http://buy.gerrylovesrecords.com/track/thirst">Thirst by Gerry Loves Records</a>

Debutant MySpace


Monday, 26 October 2009

What's Happening This Week?

My list of things to listen to keeps getting longer despite my attempts to stay on top of it, so why not fall a little further behind by taking a break to run through a few things happening this week? If nothing else it'll save me from messing about with templates any more, I've already broke the blog 3 times today.

Cassidy and Roddy Hart both have singles out. As do French Wives, which I reviewed last week. Those French Wives songs are still wedged in my head incidentally, I've found myself humming Halloween on countless occasions over the last few days. The band were also in good form when I caught them in Bloc last week. It was a shame about the pain in the arse drunk bloke that caused quite a few people to leave early though. I'm a non violent kind of guy, but that twat deserved a sound thrashing.

Luke Haines - who isn't at all Scottish, but is a big favourite of mine - has a new album out today.

eagleowl have sold out of physical copies of their debut EP, so they've made it available for download on one of those pay what you want, even nothing type deals. I've not yet had a listen to this, but they are on Song, by Toad so chances are high that it'll be good.

Staying with the freebies, The Mill have added some songs by The Darien Venture gig that I was at a few weeks ago.

In case you haven't heard, there's a pair of good gigs coming up this weekend which I'll be attending. Say hi if you see me (if you want to know what I look like, which admittedly helps when saying hi to strangers, there's a photo on my neglected and rubbish MySpace. No laughing!), drink offers are also welcome.

Also on the gig front, the Stirling and Glasgow dates of Frightened Rabbit's Scottish tour have sold out, leaving me ticketless...

No doubt there's a bunch of other records out this week, there's certainly other gigs on, but I can't cover everything, can I? Better people than me run gig guides, so I'm sure you can find something to keep you occupied. You can always leave a comment if there's something you want to plug.

As always if you want to help make that list of things to listen to and cover longer, do please get in touch. Best way to get something to me is good old email, if you want to send me anything non electronic ask and you can have my address, so long as you promise not to rob me when I'm out.

Finally on a personal note I'd just like to say a massive, massive thank you to Glasgow PodcART who said some really nice things about Aye Tunes at the weekend, Halina made me blush in her piece about blogs.


Friday, 23 October 2009

EP Review: Cast of the Capital - Rotten Kids and Haversacks



Still trying to get caught up on listening to records. This one has been sitting on the to do list for a few weeks, so time to get to it.

Cast of the Capital are a four piece, formed in Aberdeen by brothers Steve and Matthew Morris, joined by Alastair Naylor and Jamie Watt. Since forming in 2006 they've done some intensive gigging, supporting the likes of Xcerts and Trapped In Kansas, playing Rock Ness and Belladrum and catching the ear of Steve Lamacq, Vic Galloway and Jim Gellatly.

The Rotten Kids and Haversacks EP is the band's first full release. It came out on CD in September and will be available through iTunes in November.

The first song, Comiston Springs, is pretty enough, poppy and jangly, with a bit of a Teenage Fanclub feel to it. Catchy, decent stuff so far then. For me the EP really comes to life with the second track, The Witching Hour, slowing things down and stripping it back a bit. This song actually reminds me a good bit of Mitchell Museum, but without making me think I'm listening to a different band than the rest of the songs.
From there we get Passing The Horse, again a jangly sparkly wee thing, which is just fine, once again catchy and danceable before slowing things down again for Crematory Blues. Like The Witching Hour, its the slower more acoustic sounding Crematory Blues that really catches my ear, before we switch back to something more cheery sounding in Tree Sleep to finish off.

A wee bit of a mixed bag then you might think, but it's a good mix. I preferred the quieter, slower songs to the indie-pop ones, but they do their job just fine and the quality never dips below "good". Were it not near the end of October I'd probably enjoyed the poppy songs more, they've got a nice summery feel to them, but since it's dark and freezing my brain isn't quite appreciating them as much as it would when the sun comes out. The EP as a whole is certainly well worth a listen.

Cast of the Capital MySpace
Buy Rotten Kids & Haversacks


Essential New Artists Showcase



There's always a ton of good gigs happening in Glasgow, but over the next few weeks - right up until the end of the year in fact - there's some particularly eye catching events happening. I've already mentioned a couple I'll be going along to, like next week's 17 Seconds Night and the upcoming Define Pop Festival, and here's another one, presented by the lovely folk at Glasgow PodcART.

The gig takes place on November 1st at The Classic Grand in Glasgow. Perfoming on the night are Debutant, esperi, Panda Su and Yahweh.

This promises to be a fantastic gig. I'll be going along and reviewing it, so if you can't make it be sure to swing back here so I can tell you how much you missed out.

Tickets cost £5 and are available from We Got Tickets

Also, aren't those posters pretty?

For a bit more info swing by Glasgow Podcart.


Wednesday, 21 October 2009

17 Seconds Night


Remember a couple of weeks back I posted about 17 Seconds Records? Well, the whole crew is coming to Glasgow for an evening of music.

Taking place in The 13th Note in Glasgow on the 30th of October there will be sets from Escape Act, The Dirty Cuts, X Lion Tamer and Chris Bradley.
All for a measely £4 entrance fee.
Not a bad way to spend the night before Hallowe'en.
So, we'll see you down there, aye? Don't forget to say hi.

17 Seconds Records MySpace


Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Define Pop Festival 2 Update

Last week I wrote a wee bit about the mouthwatering line-up for the second Define Pop Festival, taking place on the 14th and 15th of November in The Flying Duck, with a promise of any updates as I got them.

Well, tickets are on sale NOW from Tickets Scotland.


Monday, 19 October 2009

Single Review: French Wives - Halloween/Dogfight


Still got limited computer access, still got the attention span of a goldfish, still job hunting without luck. Due to all that I'm ridiculously behind in reviewing things I've either bought or been sent. One day I'll catch up.

Grabbing something randomly from the "to do" pile throws up the debut double A side single from French Wives. Confusingly they aren't French, and I don't think any of them are wives either. Instead, they are a five piece from Glasgow who have been gigging their wee hearts out for ages now.

Bringing us to this, the debut single, due out next Monday.
Cunning timing then, considering that one of the songs is titled Halloween. It isn't, by the way, a cover version of The Misfits song, even though that would have amused me greatly. Neither is it scary. In fact, it's quite a jolly wee number, with a violin, xylophone and some brass, alongside some jangly guitar and nice harmonies. It's a well crafted wee number that builds, soars, and does other things that make me sound pretentious. After all that soaring and building, there's a strong finish too, which is always handy. As always, my description does the song no justice at all.
The other A side, Dogfight, isn't miles away from Halloween, but is shorter, more direct, and catchy as heck. Nice is a terrible way to describe a song but yeah, this is nice. There's a summery feel to both songs too, which is perfect for times like now, when you are freezing cold and it is pitch black outside.

Sounds a bit like a jaunty My Latest Novel, but just a bit. There's some Aberfeldy, some Camera Obscura, even a bit of Belle & Sebastian in there too. If you likes those bands, you'll almost certainly like French Wives. If you don't, go have a listen to them anyway and stop being so judgmental will you?

For the purposes of reviewing I listened to these songs a few more times tonight and now they've taken up residence in my head and don't seem to want to go away. That makes them highly recommended then.

The single is out next Monday, October 26th, on Instinctive Racoon Records.

French Wives MySpace

French Wives play Bloc in Glasgow on Wednesday 21dt October with the also worth checking out We're Only Afraid Of NYC, before playing The Admiral Bar on the 25th as part of Oxjam Takeover.



Fatcat Want Your Money

Fatcat Records have a good singles coming out over the next wee while from their trifecta of fantastic Scottish bands.

Out today is The Twilight Sad's Seven Years of Letters, taken from the recently released Forget The night Ahead album. The B-side is a cover version of The Wedding Present's Suck, so worth buying for that alone really.

Following that on November 16th is much anticipated new material from Frightened Rabbit, in the shape of their new single Swim Until You Can't See Land. B-side Fun Stuff is a new version of Last Tango In Brooklyn, which has been knocking around for ages. Next year will see a new Frightened Rabbit album, so this'll have to do to tide us over. Sea related pun only half intended.

Finally on November 23rd We Were Promised Jetpacks release another single from debut album These Four Walls, unleashing double A side It's Thunder And It's Lightning / Ships With Holes Will Sink. No new B-sides unfortunately.

Fatcat records are available from record shops, generally show up on eMusic

, or you can get them direct from their website.