Advent Calendar - Day Six: Aidan John Moffat

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

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



Aidan John Moffat: Website - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar - Day Five: Zoey Van Goey

Bonus song today? Go on then, why not.

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

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

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

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

Zoey Van Goey: Website - Facebook

Advent Calendar: Day Five - The Plimptons

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

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

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

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



The Plimptons: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Advent Calendar: Day Four - The Darien Venture

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

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

The Darien Venture - Feed The World

The Darien Venture: Facebook - Buy Indications EP

Advent Calendar: Day Three - The Last Battle

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

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

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

The Last Battle - Once Upon a Boxing Day

The Last Battle: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

How To Be A Ghost: An Illustrated Guide

I don't respond well to spooky behaviour

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

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

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

Advent Calendar: Day Two - Ambulances

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

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

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



Ambulances: Website - Bandcamp

Advent Calendar: Day One - A Band Called Quinn

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

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

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

A Band Called Quinn: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

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

Off camera - alien spacecraft.

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

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

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

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

Rumour Cubes Announce Debut Album

The Narrow State art by Lauren Mortimer 

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

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




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

The Gove Curve by Rumour Cubes

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

Rumour Cubes: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

Aye Tunes Readers' Poll 2011

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

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

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

Quickie rules & regulations type things:

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

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

Aye Tunes Readers' Poll 2011

Best Album:

1.

2.

3.

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

1.

2.

3.

Best Band:

1.

2.

3.

Best Solo Artist:

1.

2.

3.

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

1.

2.

3.

Best Live Band:

1.

2.

3.

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

1.

2.

3.

Best Music Radio Show/Podcast:

1.

2.

3.

Best Venue:

1.

2.

3.

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

Your Name:

Where You Are From:

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

Zoey Van Goey - You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate

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

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


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

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

 Zoey Van Goey: Website - Facebook

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

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

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

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

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



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

The Spook School: Website - Bandcamp - Facebook

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kochka - The Entropic Biopic of a Quixotic Psychotic

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

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

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

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

But It's Only November!

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

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

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

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

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

Black Books - An Introduction To...

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

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

Yeah, I'm making excuses for myself.

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

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

Black Books - The Big Idea


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



Black Books: Blog - Bandcamp - Facebook

Rob St. John - Sargasso Sea [Free Download]

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

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

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

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


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


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

Bloggers Doing Gigs - Last Year's Girl

Not pictured - a crazed axe murderer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technical Difficulties

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

We'll be back when it works again.