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

Keeping It Peel - Biffy Clyro #keepingitpeel

How about something nice and quiet for you to have your dinner to? How about no.
I can generally take or leave Biffy, but the stuff at the start of their career is the more takeable, and Jaggy Snake is good stuff any way you dress it up. Suppose the second session track might fall into "topical" territory, but I didn't notice that till I was about hit hit "post" on the session. Fun cover version too.

Biffy Clyro - John Peel Session 22.01.2004
1. There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake
2.Liberate The Illiterate (A Mong Among Mingers)
3. You Can Go Your Own Way
4. With Aplomb

Keeping It Peel - Boards of Canada #keepingitpeel

We'll be bouncing between Scottish bands and bands from elsewhere this year for Keeping It Peel, but we'll kick things off with one of my favourites from these shores, Boards of Canada.
It has been a while, as far as I can remember at least, since Boards of Canada have released anything, but when you are responsible for the absolutely sublime Music Has the Right To Children you can do whatever you like in my book.

I'm of the opinion that everyone with functioning ears should have a copy of Music Has the Right To Children by the way. Heck, even people whose ears don't work that well should have it.

The one Boards of Canada Peel Session was released as Peel Session EP, available to buy from Amazon and iTunes, so to avoid getting into trouble I won't post the whole session, just the first track, and the last. The last song, XYZ, was initially available on the Peel Session EP, but removed due to licensing issues.

Boards Of Canada - Peel Session 16.06.1998
1. Aquarius (Version 3)
2. Happy Cycling
3.Olson (Version 3)
4. XYZ

Boards of Canada popped up three times in the Festive Fifty, with two entries in 1998 and another in 2000.

Boards of Canada website

New Release: Butcher Boy - Helping Hands

Following up on the single from last week, Butcher Boy release their third album this week.

I've not had a listen to the album yet, so I can't tell you much about how good it is. Instead I'll pass you over to JC of The Vinyl Villain, who got me to pick up the first two Butcher Boy albums through his comments on them previously, who has written about Helping Hands here.
JC is calling it his album of the year, and has an interview with Butcher Boy's Alison Eales, and a competition to win the Imperial single on 7", over here.

Helping Hands is available to download from iTunes. CD available from HMV.

New Release: Butcher Boy - Imperial

Butcher Boy emerge from a quiet period with the release of a new single, Imperial, ahead of the release of their third album next week.

Both songs are pretty much what you'd expect from the band, a bit twee, jangly and poppy. Also, good stuff, as you'd expect from Butcher Boy by now.

Imperial is available on 7" from Damaged Goods, or to download from iTunes, with both formats including non album track Juicy Fruit.

Spotlight: Black Jash

It is probably about time I did another interview thing, isn't it?

I can never think up interesting questions, so these don't roll round all that often. I've cheated a bit this time, but we'll get back to that.

Black Jash then. Hailing from Gretna, the first I heard of them was from Vic Galloway, when he picked them when a guest on Glasgow Podcart all the way back in February 2010. An EP was promptly purchased when available (5 Track, which you can get on iTunes) and enjoyed, with a mental note made to go see them sometime. Fate has so far conspired against me on the last count though. One day, one day... There has also been split cassette releases, with Male Pattern Band and If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home By Now.

The interview? Well as i said above, I cheated. Instead of doing it myself I roped in Kate from Charles of the Ritz to interview Bob of Black Jash. What? I'm a lazy man! Here's what happened.

I got asked to interview Black Jash and I shuddered half in nervous anticipation and half in sexual delight. I thought I'd better do my research, and by keeping a weather eye to Gretna's horizon, and my ear to the drum pounding ground, I was able to throw myself into a terrifying world full of sordid games, danger and Crap Alan's. I tried to contact all the members of theJash - the two drummers and the bassist, but all were "unavailable for comments" according to Bob, the lead singer and guitarist, the dirtiest of the bunch. The monarch of the Jash. When I asked him why the others declined to speak to the press, he muttered something about how they don't speak unless he says they can. He slurred his words as if he was the bastard love child of Elvis and Sid Vicious. Live, they are the most filthy, disgusting thing I've ever seen/heard. He pummels you with insults and swinging hips, demanding to know why you even bothered to show up to see them. One of a kind and Black Jash are the band that makes masochists of us all. I bribed Bob with Irn-Bru and a twenty deck of Mayfair for some answers to my questions.

Black Jash in repose, by Mike Griffiths

A lot of your songs are about Gretna. Is it really that much of a hell hole? Does it inspire you?

It's no more of a hell hole than anywhere else, there's good and bad wherever you go. It's not easy dealing with tourists and mildly racist comments from both sides of the border though. All the Deep Fryers think we're in England or may as well be and all the Morris Dancers vent their hatred for the whole country, of which borderers have very little say in, on you. Aye we're surrounded. To my recollection there are no Gretna specifics in our songs, it's more certain types of people that everyone has where they live, and every community has a Crap Alan or Black Jash. I don't hide my Gretna accent, maybe that's causing the confusion?


Who are Black Jash's main influences?

The Stooges, I'm a fan of proper frontmen like Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, GG Allin, Lux Interior and the like. I can't be on with meek tortured souls, I want a pure throbbing phallus. I like ODB, Wu-Tang and The Beastie Boys, I think the ego rappers have, getting on a microphone and telling everyone you're on it and openly saying everyone else is worse than you, is really admirable. It's hard to master doing that and not be hated on for the idiot you're being. Have I nailed it? Some folk say so. I hate myself so you're not going to get a valid answer from me. You'll have to come check me out and decide for yourself. Please give nonviolent criticism.

Who taught you how to dance?

I know you won't believe this but I've never had a lesson! I think my styles are genetic, having seen my Dad's moves at numerous family parties I’d have to say it's not him. My Mam used to go to dance schools and my Sister's in a dance group so I think it's off the good old Fife stock that I get my moves from. Fife for Life. I've always wiggled my hips on stage but in the early days I stopped myself when I realised I was doing it. After seeing Spawny from Big Ned openly does it I thought to myself "Hey, I've got a better arse than that, let’s show the ladies the goods available". I still do wish I was Spawny though.

How do you usually decide who to do the split tapes with? Is it a case of collaboration/admiration or do you just take what you can get?

It's admiration. The 'size' of the band is a factor too. I wouldn't send a gushing email to a band already with a record deal, they have to be unsigned and to my taste. It helps if they're from a different part of the country/world too, broadens each other’s fan bases and trying to shift that many cassettes in one town is sheer idiocy. They're the ideal format for a split. One side each, nobodies 'on top' either.

What are Black Jash’s world domination plans?

The Tortoise from The Tortoise and The Hare saga is a massive inspiration. Myself, Alex and Neill went to see the 'Transatlantic Feedback' film about the Monks at Indie Cinema 'Star & Shadow' in Newcastle and it changed my mind greatly about our imminent world domination. I'd much prefer to be stumbled upon by the next generation of music fans, or the one after that. That's why we release cassettes. Someone that finds one of our cassettes and listens to it hopefully will not know what era we're from and have to do a bit of homework, type the name into Ye Olde Google, to find out what we're about. So the plan is to plod on as we are, get fed up with each other, not talk for years then get a phone call pleading for us to reunite for a one off show, back catalogue reissue box set with mouse mat and usb storage pen in the shape of a pineapple, documentary and hopefully we'll get the Black Jash lighters made we've been saying we are going to for years.

Are you as much of a dick in real life as you are on stage?

Obviously.

What about local bands/musicians that you like? Any that compare to the Jash?

I just realised the other day that I haven't listened too much else but music made at Green Door Studios for about a year. Nothing else gets me going. So anyone that records there I rate everything else I don't. I'd be lying if I said anything other than Black Jash is my favourite, followed closely by Charles of the Ritz, the band I drum for. (If I was reading this I'd hate me too.) Why would I be in a band... nae front a band I didn't think was awesome? I'd be wasting my time and be unhappy. I know it's not the done thing to say it but it's not the done thing to wear bodyform bandit masks and I've done that.

Did you know your bassist looks like Jim Morrison?

His hair did a few years back. He also looks like Mick Jagger, Vernon Kay, Mica and Brian Ferry, he's got one of those faces you really want to punch, wait 'til it's slightly healed then punch again and again, then pay for him to get a new one. He's actually distantly related to Brian Ferry and Neil Armstrong. I couldn't do the frontman thing without Neill to be honest though, he's my rock. I envy how effortlessly cool he is and how I always get asked, before anyone asks how I am, how he is.

How did the idea for the two drummers come about?

After we stopped playing with Liam we went through a few one off shows with drummers. Sam from Casual Sex was my favourite. Brickyard sound technician extraordinaire Nic Jay was the closest we had to a constant drummer at the time. We had a gig in Carlisle where we the only band on the bill and I thought we should make i a bit extra special. Black Manajash Arkastra was created. Black Jash and Manatees combined. The line-up was Pauley, Alex and Nic on drums with Greg Wynne on white noise guitar and Neill and I doing our usual. We sounded massive, the vibrations made drunk girls sick and drunk boys head bang. Nic moved to Newcastle and Pauley and Alex just kept coming back to practises. I'm quite insecure about their presence in the band. Manatees are proper and I don't think we can compare in any way to them. Every time I get a phone call from those guys I think 'oh no here comes the bad news'. I like the primal sound we've got now. Drums are awesome. I've always wanted to be a drummer.

How much better are Charles of the Ritz?

I like that I just have to turn up for Charles of The Ritz. I hate gig promotion and the admin side of Black Jash. Organising one drummer is bad enough but two? Getting in touch with a recluse bass player also proves difficult. The Ritz have catchier choruses and appeal to more people. I think the 'Black' in our name closes more doors than it opens. It's not my fault; I didn't name Black Jash, Black Jash. We took the name from the local 'nutter'. The guy you'd shout stuff at to get a chase off. Everyone's been part of a wee gang that does that for funsies. The best fun I had as a youth were running away from people. It's the best kind of buzz I've ever had. Honestly I'm like shit off a shovel for about a hundred yards. Shouting scathing one liners on your feet is a talent I'm glad I've honed. Growing up is such a bummer.

What's in the future for Black Jash?

General jealousy of other bands that get better support slots and releases than us. Ideally more of the same. Having fun and playing gigs we'd pay to go and see anyways.

Will you buy me a drink? I'm skint.

What are you after? I'm not asking for a Rose Spritzer, Jagerbomb or a half though. (Jim: while you are up, I'll take a Guinness...)

Thanks Kate for doing my work for me, and Bob for answering the questions.

Lothario by * B L A C K ~ J A S H *

Black Jash: Facebook

Birthday Guests: The Big Nowhere

If you have somehow managed to not hear about it yet, the Aye Tunes Birthday Bash takes place on Friday at The Flying Duck. All the details can be found here.

I've already done little introductions to two of the bands playing, you can read up on some facts about Black International here, and learn more about Verse Metrics - and get a sneak preview of their new single - here. That means it is time to round things off by telling you a bit about the third band playing the gig, The Big Nowhere.

The Big Nowhere have given me permission to make up some facts about them. I'll try to resist. I still enjoy bullet points, so here goes:

• The Big Nowhere are at various times Simon, Billy, Joe, Arvid, DP, Helen, John, Sandie and Malcolm.
• Fitting them on The Flying Duck's stage could be a challenge.
• One of them is a dragon.
• Simon wins the prize for "person I've known longest off the internet" I think. We used to talk to each other on Usenet, and I went to see his old band Brown Eye Superfly at the Barfly in Glasgow.
• Brown Eye Superfly and Barfly don't exist anymore, and no one still uses newsgroups except to download stuff. I now feel old.
• Debut album Pull Down The Moon was almost entirely recorded in Simon's living room. The album was released in 2009, and is available from all good download shops, like iTunes and Amazon.
• You can also have a listen to Pull Down The Moon on Spotify, or here.
• I've been promising to review that album for ages, but still haven't done it. It is good though. Bluesbunny gave it four carrots.
• On a bunny related note, they were promised a spot on a gig I was putting on after this picture. Well, that and me liking their music.
• A second album is set for release later this year. I'll review that one. Eventually.
• Musically there is a bit of rock, folk, country (regular and the alt. type) and Americana going on.
• This is by far the least helpful intro piece I've ever written.

You'd probably be better off not paying attention to me and just having a listen to them instead.

Things We Lost In The Flood by The Big Nowhere

The Big Nowhere: Website - Facebook

Aye Tunes Birthday Bash: Facebook

Birthday Guests: Black International

Nope, still not shutting up about the Aye Tunes birthday gig next week.

Time to tell you a wee bit about the bands involved, I think. First up, Black International. I could yammer on about how much I enjoyed the times I've caught them live, or how good debut album In Debt is, but since I invited them to play the birthday gig it should be pretty obvious I like the band, so I'll spare you the hard sell, but buy an album here.

I already interviewed the band last November, so you can read that here. Stewart from the band also gave us a track by track rundown on In Debt here. Instead of retreading what is in those two pieces, I'm shamelessly lifting some facts about the band as posted on their Twitter account. Well, they did say they were cut out and keep, which I'm choosing to reinterpret as copy/paste and steal.

Without further ado then, some Black Facts about Stewart, Gavin and Craig:

• Stewart once woke up on a golf course at 6am wearing a cricket jersey that didn't belong to him.
• Craig used to own a replica Lion-O sword (from Thundercats) but it was destroyed in a fire.
• Gavin once went into a Japanese restaurant to ask if they had any free sushi. Tight bastard.
• Stewart own a complete set of Postcard records.
• Bassist Gavin has 4 or 5 tattoos.
• Drummer Craig can't grow a handlebar moustache to save himself.
• As a youngster, Stewart knew a kid who could vomit on command.
• Bassist Gavin is from the isle of Barra, where they don't even have a cinema!
• Drummer Craig once had a letter published in the Nintendo fan club magazine. They misspelt his surname as Beebles.

Black International: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Aye Tunes Birthday Bash: Facebook - Tickets

Track By Track: Black International - In Debt

Way back towards the tail end of last year Black International were roped in to be one of my rare interview guinea pigs. At the time they mentioned that they were working on finishing off their debut album. Well that album, In Debt, is now all finished and released, so I roped Black International's Stewart Allen in to coming back to tell us all about it.
Due to me being (a) lazy and (b) rubbish I've yet to write a review for the album, but I wouldn't have asked Black International for a track by track run down if I didn't like it.

Thanks to the magic of Bandcamp embeds you can listen to the whole album as you read too. If you like it, buy it. Now, read on to learn about the mysteries of the Brazilian Trilogy, and other things.

A Million Mouths

This song probably had the longest gestation period of anything we’ve written, as I was terrified that I couldn't think of any lyrics for it, and always felt ill whenever I contemplated doing them. I think we started rehearsing this in 2008 before temporarily abandoning it, but the general chord sequence may have been kicking around for two or three years before that. We finished it a week before recording started. Nail biting, etc.

Destruct-o-

I can’t remember much about the process of writing this one, but the basic structure was finished before I took it to the rest of the band, which is quite unusual for us these days. Believe it or not, we had a sort of Sly & the Family Stone thing in mind when we were arranging it, which I think shows in the rhythm section. Imagine there are trumpets and grunts on it and you’ll see what I mean.

Dread (Excerpt)

The ‘excerpt’ in the title refers to the introduction, which was originally a complete song but wasn't very good, so we binned most of it and bolted it onto another song. The first of what I’ll call the Brazilian Trilogy, as it was written on a little Spanish classical guitar I got from a charity shop while I sat around trying to copy Jorge Ben.

The lyric idea owes a little bit to McCarthy’s Charles Windsor, but doesn’t have quite the same level of joyous nose thumbing. I’d say it was supposed to be ‘darkly comic’, if I were a bit more of a twat.

Word Virus

Imagine my disappointment upon finding out that the title was subconsciously pinched from a William Burroughs book. I thought I’d struck gold, but alas, he’d beaten me to it. Still, at least it was Burroughs and not Enid fucking Blyton.

This one was written extremely quickly in rehearsal, and I finished off the lyrics at work the next day when I was supposed to be doing some dull task or other. If my former boss is reading (doubtful), I’m sure he’ll be pleased.

Know You Exist

Originally this had the somewhat childish working title of ‘Sonic Urethra’ when I first started it, as it sounded a bit like… actually, do I even have to explain that? It doesn't sound like Sonic Youth anymore. Musically it was very much a collaborative effort, if it’d been left up to me it would have been a shapeless twenty-minute drone. Luckily Craig has a good ear for structuring stuff.

I can’t say for sure, but the “Here’s your hair shirt, son” line was probably cribbed from the title of a Birthday Party song, called (strangely enough) The Hair Shirt. I was in a bit of an odd place when I wrote these lyrics, but it’s ALL FUCKING FINE NOW OK?

Interval

Does what it says in the title. We just fancied having a bit of breathing space and dividing the album in two, so did this one evening near the end of mixing. I could give a proper in-depth description of how it was made, but nobody wants to read that shit.

The City Is Dead

This song dates back to around 2007 along with Monument and You Can Trust Me, so I can’t really remember much about its inception. It’s supposed to be a rockabilly type thing, but has been put through our patented ‘bombastic washing machine’ and the colours have run a little bit.

Lyrically it’s a bit of a jumble, but I suppose it’s about dropping out of repetitive cycles of living and doing something fun instead. We’re deep, man, what can I say?

Monument

Again, it was written a while ago and my memory is hazy… I remember doing some of the lyrics in a bar on George IV Bridge in Edinburgh one Saturday afternoon. Spot the deliberate mistake, metallurgy fans.

Idle Worship

The second of the Brazilian Trilogy, I’d have thought it was quite obvious in this instance. Close your eyes, visualise it slowed down, samba rhythm, acoustic guitar, singing in Portuguese… You could almost be mugging tourists in São Paolo!

Feed Me Rhetoric

Brazilian #3 (sounds like a humiliating waxing routine). I’m doing my best Jim Morrison croon on this one. Should I buy a pair of leather trousers, hmm? Call myself ‘The Crocodile Baron’ or something? Anyway, Lovely Latin drumming from Craig I must proclaim, and it seems to be a firm live favourite with audiences, so we hardly ever play it.

And yes, I know how ‘rhetoric’ should be pronounced, but it doesn’t fit in that way. So fuck off.

You Can Trust Me

This started out as a little folky number but when we began working on it properly we focussed it through a Birthday Party-esque prism and noised it up a bit. Are you still reading this? If I were you I’d have gone home ages ago. You really are a glutton for punishment.

In Debt is out now. You can buy it from Bandcamp - where you can get fancy CDs and T-shirts as well as a download - and the usual digital outlets, like iTunes and eMusic.

If you are reading this on Saturday then it isn't too late to make it to a Black International album launch gig. They play The Admiral in Glasgow tonight with Rollor, Ex-Men and fellow Aye Tunes interview victims Male Pattern Band. Doors are at 7pm and if you stick around afterwards you'll get free entry to the Pretty Ugly club.

Black International: Website - Facebook - Twitter - Bandcamp

Spotlight: Black International

Photos by Claire Thomson

Getting a wee bit better at this interviewing lark. This time around Edinburgh three piece Black International join us for the latest Aye Tunes Inquisition.

Who are Black International?

We’re three white males named Gavin Hargin, Stewart Allan and Craig Peebles who’ve all enjoyed reasonably comfortable upbringings and have, relatively speaking, nothing to complain about.

What do you sound like?

Aggressive, primitive, noisy, melodic, nervy... Like dirty broken glass. All the instruments get equal space, it’s democracy in action!

How did you all get together, and what made you stay together?

Craig and I have known each other for years. We were both at art college at the same time, he’d played in loads of bands while I’d generally sat at home pissing about with synths. In 2006 I decided to start a new group, and coincidentally his previous one had just come to an end. He seemed to like the songs I’d demoed, so we took it from there. We booked a gig at the Wee Red Bar, and off we went.
Gavin joined a year ago, he’d been living in New Zealand and we recruited him pretty much as soon as he stepped off the plane. He’s brought stability to the group, something that wasn’t always there before, and we’ve developed a lot since he came on board.

I think ultimately it’s a simple case of belief in the music that’s kept the band together. Not

hating each other helps too.

Your influences are listed as "Glasgow and Edinburgh 1979-81, Manchester 1979-

82, the Pacific Northwest 1988-91", would you like to narrow it down to anyone in

particular, or leave it at that?

To be honest, we always feel a bit awkward when someone asks what our influences are.

We’ve never discussed it with each other, I just don’t think it’s important. I couldn’t even

tell you what the other guys listen to beyond a few things, never mind what influences their

playing.
The stuff you’ve mentioned was just a little tongue in cheek reference to bands that

other people have suggested we have something in common with; Josef K, the Fall, Nirvana,

things like that. We don’t copy other bands, even if we wanted to sound like someone else it

wouldn’t happen. I know it’s handy to have some names out there for potential listeners to get

a taste of where you’re coming from, but I think too much is made of it most of the time.

One thing I noticed when seeing the band live was the high quality of "drummer faces" being pulled by Craig, do you feel this is an important art?

He’s just trying to garner some attention for himself, as he’s a raging egomaniac. Nah, he’s

just pretty excitable. A couple of cartons of Capri Sun before we go onstage and he’s as high

as a kite, bless him.

Craig Peebles demonstrates "drummer face"

Since we are getting alarmingly close to the end of the year let's go all "year in review" style and ask what, if anything, have been highlights for the band this year?

We’ve played a good few gigs beyond the Edinburgh/Glasgow axis for the first time, each one of which was amazing. We drove up to Inverness for GoNorth, zipped down to Dumfriesshire to play the Solus Tent at Wickerman, made a foray over the border to Newcastle, and last month we played our first show in London, which was wonderful. We’ve made lots of new friends and had some laughs. We love playing new places!

And any moments you'd rather forget about?

None that I can think of beyond the occasional “I wish I wasn’t doing this gig with a brain melting hangover”, but I suspect that’s a common occurrence in any band. Rock ‘n’ roll, eh? Once we can afford a coke habit that’ll be a thing of the past.

STREAM: Black International - Idle Worship

Any other bands around at the moment you'd recommend?

Ooh, lots, but I’ll attempt to be frugal with my praise… If you haven’t seen United Fruit yet I suggest you remedy that at the earliest opportunity. They’re one of our favourite bands at the

moment, and they played a jaw dropping set at Wickerman. We also love a Glasgow band called Rollor, they’re absolutely brilliant and are well worth checking out. Verse Metrics are a new group that are doing some good stuff, I expect them to do very well next year. Looking further afield Casa Bonita down in London are staggeringly brutal live, and jolly nice guys to boot. We’re hoping to do another show with them in the springtime.

Any you'd avoid like the plague?

Yes, a couple of bands we’ve played with who’re doing fairly well at the moment but desperately need a collective kick in the nuts. I’ll whisper their names to you…

What do you have planned for the next few months?

Top of the list is finishing our album, we recorded it earlier in the year and have spent a few months mixing it. Our friend Andrew Bush who’s doing it for us has started getting extremely “in demand” as an engineer and has been jet-setting around all over the place, so we just do a bit whenever we can pin him down. We’ll send him emails saying “Make it sound like a wet Tuesday in Doncaster!” or “The reverb isn’t red enough!” which probably gives him headaches but he’s a great engineer and knows how to handle us. It should all be done and dusted by February or March, so we’ll be gearing up for loads of gigs in the springtime, probably an English and Scottish tour, that kind of thing. It’s all terribly exciting! There’s also a single release ready to go, we’re just sorting out the artwork for it at the moment.

Finally, quirky interview questions, fun and harmless, or generally a bit of a waste of time?

Quirky are the best kind. Perhaps your readers will be disappointed we haven’t discussed our

biscuit of choice? Mine’s a garibaldi.

STREAM: Black International - Dread (Excerpt)

Black International: MySpace - Facebook - Twitter - Bandcamp

Keeping It Peel - bis

Ah, bis. Even if you don't know any of their songs there's a good chance you'll have heard of the Glasgow three piece, due to their appearance on Top of the Pops many years ago when they were the first unsigned band to do so.
Me and bis have a bit of an uneasy relationship. There's enough of their stuff that I really like to make me enjoy them, but there's also a few songs that I can barely listen to. General rule of thumb for me tends to be avoiding most of the early stuff, although there are a few pop gems sprinkled in there, and concentrate more on the later material. Social Dancing is a good album, and ridiculously cheap to download from Amazon according to that link. The posted Peel Session, the band's third, draws from that album.

The first single from Social Dancing, Eurodisco, placed at number 7 in the 1998 Festive Fifty, the fourth year in a row bis had a song included.

bis - Maida Vale Peel Session 28.06.1998

1. Making People Normal

2. Action & Drama

3. The Hit Girl

4. It's All New

For more information on Keeping It Peel visit the website set up here.

bis: Website

Keeping It Peel - ballboy

I sometimes take Edinburgh four piece ballboy a bit for granted. It feels like they've been around for as long as I've been paying attention and partly because of that familiarity I find myself forgetting how many blooming brilliant songs they have under their belts. Ballboy do also have an eye for a great song title, and are one of the few bands that have not just gotten away with covering The Boss, but added something new, with their gorgeous version of Born in the USA.

John Peel obviously agreed with ballboy's quality, with 10 songs in the Festive Fifty in only four years and a number of sessions.

Those Festive Fifty picks in full:

I Hate Scotland (Number 13 in 2000)

They'll Hang Flags From Cranes (Number 26 in 2001)

I've Got Pictures Of You In Your Underwear (Number 41 in 2001)

All The Records On The Radio Are Shite (Number 10 in 2002)

Where Do The Nights Of Sleep Go? (When They Do Not Come To Me) (Number 24 in 2002)

The Sash My Father Wore (Number 14 in 2003)

I Gave Up My Eyes (Number 23 in 2003)

Born In The USA (Number 38 in 2003)

The Art of Kissing (Number 21 in 2004)

I Don't Have Time To Stand Here With You Fighting About The Size Of My Dick (Number 49 in 2004)

There are several Peel Sessions available direct from the ballboy website, so go over there and help yourself. I'll posted up the last one from November 2004 below.

ballboy: John Peel Session November 9th 2004

1. We've All Had Better Days

2. Let's Fall In Love And Run Away From Here

3. Slow Days

4. The Art of Kissing

For more information on Keeping It Peel visit the website set up here.

ballboy: Website - MySpace

Single Review: Burnt Island - Hiding Out

Last time I checked in on Burnt Island properly they'd just released debut mini album Music and Maths, which I really quite liked. A new single means it is time to check in again.

Hiding Out comes from Music and Maths and is every bit as gorgeous as it was back in March. What starts out as a very gentle, quiet and stripped back song gains pace around half way through, before exploding in to a fuller sound towards the end. It is one of those moments that catches you off guard and makes for a wonderful, spine tingling little surprise.

B-Side Gambler's Dream doesn't appear on the album, but wouldn't have been out of place. Based entirely around vocals and acoustic guitar it is a soft, laid back, storytelling song, which works to beautiful effect.

Stay tuned for a catch up interview with Burnt Island's Rodge Glass sometime soon too, just as soon as I get my act together.

Burnt Island - MySpace

Hiding Out is available as a free download from Wiseblood Industries on July 12th. Music and Maths is available online and in shops, released by Chaffinch Records. Also, do check out Burnt Island's cover of Elliott Smith's Between the Bars here. It is a great version of a wonderful song, with proceeds going to Depression Alliance UK.

Burnt Island play the Spiegletent at the Edinburgh Book Festival with Adrian Crowley, Alan Bissett, Doug Johnstone, Ryan Van Winkle and a top secret special guest on August 30th.

Chris Bradley - At the Outpost Album Review

Sometimes Aberfedly member Chris Bradley releases his second solo album on Monday. While Aberfeldy tend towards slightly twee, chirpy indie pop on this album Bradley shows much more of a Country tinged Americana influence.


Chris Bradley knows his way around a catchy tune, and his always excellent voice has an effortless quality to it, but the album as a whole is a bit of a mixed bag. For the most part the songs are pleasant enough, but nothing really stands out and grabs my attention, only Not What It Was leaving any real impression on me.


At times the album is a little too laid back for my liking, and also can feel a little cold. Just my personal tastes being different, but I'd have liked a couple of gear changes and feel some of the songs could benefit from being a bit rougher round the edges.


At the Outpost is a perfectly competent album, it's just not one that really strikes a chord with me.

Chris Bradley: MySpace - Website


At the Outpost is released on March 29, 2010 by 17 Seconds Records, on CD and download.

Burnt Island - Music and Maths - Album Review

Some weeks you just don't get very far on the "to do" list, last week was one of them. Last Sunday I popped along to Mono for the launch gig of this mini album and picked up a copy with the intention of giving the album a review. Typically for me, it's a bit later than planned. The launch gig was good, but unfortunately a heated argument between the DJs on duty midway through Burnt Island's set was quite a distraction that made it hard to give the band the attention they deserved. Fortunately no one is yelling at anyone during the CD, so listening properly is an awful lot easier, and very worthwhile.

Burnt Island's frontman Rodge Glass is 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 now - after a few years of work - comes the Burnt Island mini-album.
Before I make Burnt Island sound like a one man show I should also mention that they are very much a band, with Andy Campbell, Amber Comerford, Rik Evans and Malcolm Jack all making contributions that are far from insignificant.

As for the album itself, as you might expect the lyrics are excellent, more short stories than disposable pop songs, and the music is frequently gorgeous. The songs are subtle and understated, with an air of melancholy. I'm a sucker for a harmony, which is why the stand out tracks for me are the ones where Glass and Amber Comerford share vocals - Man on Fire and the title track in particular- her voice and his work fantastically together. The other songs are every bit as well written, crafted and performed.

The only downside is that at 6 tracks long I'm eager for more, but that's far from a complaint.

I had a mad girlfriend once that came from Burntisland, but with music this fine I can't hold that against the band. Music and Maths is a beautiful little debut.

Burnt Island - MySpace

Burnt Island's Music and Maths mini album is out now. You can buy it directly from the Chaffinch Records website or from some record shops.
Last year's The Moments Before single can be downloaded free from Wiseblood Industries.

beneath us, the waves

beneath us, the waves is Warsaw-based, Scottish musician and composer, Neil Milton. Regular readers might recognise the name, as he is also one half of We Sink Ships who get fairly regular plugs round here due to me being a huge fan of their work, and I've nodded at his DJing before too, not to mention the occasional mention of Too Many Fireworks, Neil's record label. He's a busy man, is our Mr. Milton.

As mentioned, Neil is currently based in Warsaw, but he's heading back to Scotland soon for some gigs, so now is as good a time as any to get round to writing about the music he makes, instead of all the other stuff.
beneath us, the waves make music that is, and since I can't describe it any better myself I'll use Neil's own words, glacial, minimalist and classical. Since "classical" is usually a description that normally would have me either scurrying for cover or staring blankly in confusion I'll add another - accessible. Neil may not be classically trained, but he makes modern classical music, yet so accessible that even someone like me can listen to it without being frightened off. There's a lot of ambiance and soundscapes going on in the music, while with influences like Sigur rós, Jónsi & Alex, Ólafur Arnalds there's a very Icelandic feel at times.

Using acoustic instruments and samples of acoustic instruments alongside field recordings and found sounds instead of synthesis, Neil makes beautiful, organic, atmospheric music. Simple melodies and gorgeous compositions grab the attention and never give your mind a chance to wander. While Neil is back in Scotland he has a few live dates lined up, do try and catch one.

beneath us, the waves: MySpace - Facebook - Soundcloud - Reverb Nation

Beneath us, the waves are playing the Liquid Ship in Glasgow on the 1st April and at Stereo in Glasgow on the 12th April,as well as a couple of dates in Edinburgh. Check out one of the links above for more details.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun: Home - EP Review

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun - real name Colin Macleod - is already starting to make waves, with a publishing deal with Universal and a record deal with Geffen under his belt already. Not bad going for a youngster fro Lewis, admittedly.

How do the songs stand up to the buzz though? Well, that depends on what you come in expecting. If you trust the comparisons to Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Nick Drake or even Bon Iver you might find this EP a let down. If you ignore them, and try not to pay too much attention to the nu-folk tag The Boy has been picking up then there's some beautiful stuff.

Title track Home sound nothing like any of those artists above. If it sounds like anything, it's more like a really good song of an early Gomez album, right down to the distorted vocal break near the end. There's nothing wrong with that in my eyes (or ears), or with the song. Just, y'know, don't try to sell me a Gomez single in a Johnny Cash sleeve.
In the Dark has a bit of a Nick Drake feel to it in tone admittedly. Stripped back to vocals and acoustic guitar the song gives The Boy a chance to show off his talents with both to good effect.
The Fox is a warm, gentle ballad that floats along pleasantly, without really doing anything new or surprising. That's ok too, it's nice enough. Much the same can be said about the EP's closing track Change the Clocks. It's a well crafted and extremely well performed song, but it's in too much in danger of drifting off into background music rather than demanding "hey you, listen to me!".
Sandwiched between those two tracks is Lying To Get On Your Good Side, co-written with Ed Harcourt who shares vocal duties, which is much better. Combing across like a bunch of things thrown into a blender - a pinch of Radiohead, a dose of The Who's "Boris The Spider" - the results are quite wonderful. Playful and witty, with a off kilter, sinister undertone it, like Home, genuinely captures your interest for the entirety of the song.

There's wonderful songs on this EP, but I'm not so sure about the PR. An acoustic guitar doesn't turn you into a folk singer, Nu or otherwise. Acoustic rock might be a term that scares some people off, or makes Mojo magazine prick up it's ears, but it's a more apt description for what's going on here to me.
Leaving that aside though, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun is a gifted songwriter and an excellent musician, and Home is a fine taster for his upcoming album. Just try not to have any preconceptions of what you think the EP will sound like and you just might enjoy it that bit more.

The Home EP is released through Chess Club on March 1st.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun - MySpace

We Sink Ships Radio Launch Gig

Still trying to drag myself out of the Christmas and New Year slump with regards to getting back to regular postings at the moment, bear with me.

Until I force myself to write something more, here's a plug for the gig I'm heading to on Friday.
The line up is The Second Hand Marching Band, Benni Hemm Hemm and Euan McMeeken (of The Kays Lavelle, but promising to play non-Kays material). Also beneath us, the waves DJing. If you click the poster above it should be more readable, but if you can't be bothered then the gig is at The 13th Note on Friday, kicks off at 9pm, and costs £4 to get in.

The gig is to celebrate the launch of the new We Sink Ships podcast on Radio Magnetic. The first podcast should be available some time today update, it's available now here, but in the meantime you can hear a teaser for it here. Head over to Radio Magnetic for full details on what you can expect from WSS Radio.

While on the subject of We Sink Ships I should really point out that their new (and quite gorgeous looking) website is now online at http://www.wesinkships.co.uk/, with two new exhibitions available for viewing.

I'm risking turning into a Second Hand Marching Band stalker, I've seen them quite a lot recently, but since they have been threatening to take a break from gigging for a while I may as well pack in as many as I can before they take a time out from playing live. Benni Hemm Hemm impressed me quite a bit last time round, and I'm interested to see what Euan gets up to on his own. See you at the bar then?

Best of 2009: Beerjacket - Animosity

It seems somewhat fitting to me that the first album I reviewed over here ends up being my favourite album of the year. Even if I did and still do hate the review I wrote.

As I mentioned in the Top 10 post, Animosity took the top spot for more than just musical reasons. The release of Animosity was another thing that coincided with my birthday this year, and was an album that helped me get my act together round here and attempt to do more writing.
The Beerjacket gig I went to back at the start of August is pretty significant too, it was the first of my "at least one gig every week" quest, which I've kept up until now. I'm having a break this week, incidentally. Basically, if you don't like my writing, blame Beerjacket!

Even without the personal stuff the musical reasons for Animosity topping my list are pretty compelling on their own.
Over the course of the year Animosity is probably the album I've come back and listened to in it's entirety the most. It's hard just pick one song from it that stands out - Drum maybe peeks it's head above the others as a favourite - as the entire album is consistently solid.

Deceptively simple, with for the most part just one man and his guitar, Beerjacket songs are beautifully crafted and performed, with lyrics that are never trite or forced. From that point of view it's a little disappointing that a lot of the exposure Peter got this year came from his Dancing in the Dark cover. On the other hand, here's hoping that hearing that will have sent people to check out original Beerjacket songs.

Now to address the elephant in the room from that old review of mine: Elliott Smith. I got a bit stuck on that last time round, so this time I'll just say that Beerjacket songs remind me quite a lot of sitting and listening to my old Elliott Smith albums. To me that's great, Smith is one of my favourite songwriters. Beerjacket does have a stronger voice though.

Now, why not head on over to Peenko's Blog where you'll find a Beerjacket interview and as a Christmas bonus, all the demos for Animosity available for download?

Christmas Songs - Day 16

Before I get into today's song, just a reminder that the eagleowl single Sleep the Winter is out now, and is fantastic. Playing around with link things at the moment, if I've done it right there's a link to buy it from iTunes somewhere below. The band will get more money if you get the download from their Bandcamp page though.

I caught eagleowl on Monday in The 13th Note, it was very good. If I can think of more than "very good" to say about it I'll attempt a wee review.

Onwards to our Christmas song then. Today comes from Belle & Sebastian. Picking a Christmas song for them isn't easy, as there's loads. It ended up being a lucky dip, and this is what came out.

Belle & Sebastian - Are You Coming Over For Christmas?

Belle and Sebastian Website