Happy Birthday To Me

Aye, 31 today. I don't look a day over 40.

Also, a big happy birthday to the other JC, The Vinyl Villain, who shares the day with me.

I'll be spending much of the day sat in Bloc drinking cheap lager I think, before possibly going to one of the many gigs that are on in Glasgow. Do feel free to send presents, or stop by to buy me a pint. It's ok, I know no one will.

Normal service will be resumed when I sober up. Sunday maybe? After all, on Saturday I have to go back out to this:

So this post isn't just me mentioning how I'm now official Thirty Something, here's a little bit of news too...

Aye Tunes Vs Peenko II will be taking place at The 13th Note, Glasgow, on July 17th. That's all I can say for now, there's a few details still to be sorted out, but it should hopefully be another good one.

This Week's Records

What is there to spend your money on this week then?

Astral Planes (y'know, formerly Paper Planes) have a mini album out. Sit Still Child rounds up a couple of their previous singles, and four new songs. Cracking band, I'll be getting hold of a copy of this ASAP.

Frightened Rabbit release the third single from The Winter of Mixed Drinks. Living in Colour is out today, backed with an alternative version and a remix.

Mitchell Museum warm up for the release of their debut album next month by releasing Warning Bells as a single. If like me you've bought this previously buy it again, it's been rerecorded and sounds a bit different now. The single is available from iTunes, Amazon.co.uk, eMusic and all the other usual suspects. To encourage you to spend a little money there are six FREE remixes available, including ones by We Were Promised Jetpacks and Coach-a-cola, AKA band manager/ex-De Rosa/Aye Tunes cousin Chris Connick, you can find more details on how to get them here.

North Atlantic Oscillation have a new single, Ceiling Poem.

Tommy Reilly releases his second album. HELLO! I'm Tommy Reilly is out now, released by Euphonios.

Maple Leaves released a new single a few weeks ago, but this is the first time I've remembered to plug it. Tapestry is available on download and limited edition CD, the best place to buy it is Bandcamp.

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.