We've Got It Covered #68

The one thing that I never fully appreciated when I first started blogging was how forward looking I would be in terms of consuming music. Far too often you find yourself listening to something, then after two or three listens you're off to find you're next 'hit'. I guess it's that unhealthy drive amongst my peers to be the first person to unearth the next big thing. Then again it could be argued that is also one of the major driving forces which motivates music bloggers to write. As much as I enjoy the thrill of the chase in listening to new music, every so often I have to remind myself to go back and listen to things from even just last year. So this morning as I was stuck in work doing some much needed over time, I decided to go back and listen to Call To Mind's self titled EP which came out just last year. Now it's been a while since we last heard anything from the Highlands finest 'glacial pop' outfit, but I am sure a few of you will be pleased to learn that work is due to start on their debut album which should hopefully be out next year (or so their singer Jamie tells me). If you haven't heard the EP before then it's well worth checking out, you can download it for free on their Bandcamp. If the EP is anything to go by then we should be in for one massive fucking treat when the album lands.
Which brings us to this weeks cover which of course comes from Call To Mind and their take on the Cocteau Twins classic Cherry Coloured Funk, which was recorded as part of a session they did for Vic Galloway a while back. If you have a hunt about on this site you should be able to find the full session to download. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did...

Call To Mind-Cherry Coloured Funk (Cocteau Twins Cover)

Festive Freebies

Apologies for the lack of a Friday Freebies last week, I'm afraid that I got struck down by a dose of the dreaded man flu and was pretty useless to man nor beast. On the plus side I now have a double dose of free shit to share with you all, bet your chuffed to bits with that news. Either that or you don't give two fucks and are too excited about the prospect of getting hammered tonight and eating the face of random strangers. Either here's this weeks freebies........

Mitchell Museum
Those luverly Mitchell Museum kids recorded an EP especially to give to you all for Christmas, what a nice bunch they are. The tunes aren't too shabby neither, in fact I'd go as far as saying they're pretty fecking awesome. Stop what you're doing and go and download 'The Closer We Got The Harder We Fell' for free on their Bandcamp.

King Post Kitsch
I must admit that I am pretty excited about the forthcoming KPK album which is due in March on Song By Toad Records, as a wee pre-cursor of what to expect he's very kindly giving away a download of a new track called 'Movies & Magazines'. After listening to the track a couple of times it just made me want to hear the album even more, you can hear what' getting me all excited by following this link where you can download the track for free.

FOUND
Not content with already having one of the greatest album you're likely to hear in 2011, those amazing FOUND boys gave away a whole albums worth of remixes last Friday. If you're quick off the mark then you might still be able to download yourself a copy. While we're on this wee FOUND-trip, I also wanted to point you in the direction of this EP that Tommy from the band recorded using car sounds, it might sound pretentious as fuck, but it's actually pretty good. It's also free (unsurprisingly) and you can find it here.

Call To Mind
For me personally, Call To Mind's debut EP was one of the most beautiful releases of this year, now they're giving it away as a free download there are no excuses for you not to check it out. With their debut album due to arrive at some point in 2011 it should be one hell of a year for these guys.

Adam Stafford
The YIFI frontman has a new solo album, 'Build a Harbour Immediately', due out early next year. As wee taster of what to expect, you can download new track 'A Temple of The Holy Ghost' for free on his Bandcamp.

King Tuts
As they did during the summer, King Tuts are running a few nights of local talent at the start of January, under the banner of New Year's Revolution. As they're getting into the festive spirit of giving stuff away fore free, they've compiled a wee compilation of some the artists they have lined up, down it in exchange for your details here.

The Darien Venture
Those lovely Darien boys are giving away their cover of the Christmas classic, 'Feed the World' as their festive gift to you all. Just right click, save and it's all yours.

How to Swim
I wouldn't even know where to start if I was to try and pigeon hole How To Swim under some kind of genre, let's just say it's not dull. If you fancy delving into the unknown then you their free festive EP, 'Santa Has All The Best Tunes' is a good starting point. It's available to download for free on their Bandcamp.

A Band Called Quinn
Louis Quinn's pop starlets have a free download of their tune 'I Wish You Love' up for grabs as part of their A Band Called Quinn Advent Calendar. Nice.

How Garbo Died
There are a whole load of goodies up for grabs for nowt on their Bandcamp page, including a festive tune which is interesting to say the least

Mariachi Eli Bronx
For one week onlry, Mariachi El Bronx are giving away a free download of their Christmas song, 'Lady Rosales', all you need to do is sign up to their mailing list and it's all yours.

Pete and the Pirates
They have posted up a new track called 'Winter 1' which you can find here.

St Etienne
Head over to RCRD LBL where you will find a free download of St. Etienne's festive song 'No Cure For The Common Christmas'

Bright Eyes
Conor Oberst is giving away a taster of what to expect from his forthcoming album The People’s Key, in the form of new track ‘Shell Games.’

Iron & Wine
Just follow this link to download “Tree By the River” from Iron & Wine’s forthcoming album Kiss Each Other Clean.

Curators
Get yourself a free download of State Of Grace by Curators here for free.

Stanley Odd
As a wee festive treat the Scottish hi-hop outfit are giving away their track 'Ten to One (Solareye Demo)' away for free on their Bandcamp.

Owen Pallett
The artist formerly known as Final Fantasy, or the guy that does the strings in Arcade Fire or the man who Poo's Clouds, however you want to know him, is giving away an EP worth of material for free here.

Gorillaz
I am guessing most of you already know about this one, but just to be on the safe side here it is. The Gorillaz gave away a whole album's worth of material on Christmas Day, recorded over the past few months on Damon Albarn's iPad, you can download 'The Fall' here.

The Decemberists
I am pretty sure I have already posted this, but in case you missed or my mind is just playing tricks on me you can download The Decemberists new single 'Down By The Water' for free on iTunes.

Verbicide Magazine
Have a wee compilation up for grabs featuring songs from Deer Tick, Slow Club and The Hush Now, you can find it here.

Yeasayer
Fancy a wee Yeasayer live album, then look no further as they've posted up a free download of one of their live shows. Recorded at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on October 28th, 2010, you can download it here.

Pixies
Another band giving away free live recording are the Pixies, who have posted up four from London in 2004, and one from Athens in 1989, which you can find here.

Domino Records
The influential label have a wee compilation up for grabs, including tracks from Four Tet, Steve Mason and Orange Juice. You can find it here here.

6DayRiot
The London based folk outfit (fronted by a Scot) have posted a free download of their cover of the Pretenders classic '2000 Miles'. Download it here.

Tracey Thorn
Download yourself a free cover version of Tracey Thorn's take on the Sufjan Stevens' seasonal classic, 'Sister Winter'.

The Klaxons
If I am honest I've never seen the appeal of the Klaxons, but I am sure that some of you out there must like/have liked them at some point. In which case you might be interested in their new EP 'Landmarks of Lunacy' which they're giving away for free.

You Animals
They've put together an EP of alternate version of some of the tracks from their forthcoming debut album and they’re giving it away absolutely free.

Gizeh Records
Home to folk like Conquering Animal Sound, worriedaboutsatan and Sleepingdog, the Leeds based indie label have a free sampler up for grabs. It includes tracks from the aforementioned bands, plus a whole load of other goodies. Download it here.

Friday Freebies

Call To Mind
Kicking this weeks freebies off, we have a cracking wee festive tune from those fabulous Call To Mind boys. You can download their gorgeous wee tune, 'Learning Alone Again (Merry Christmas)' for nowt on their Soundcloud page. If their debut album which is pencilled in for some time next year is half as good as this then we're in for a right treat.

Zoey Van Goey
I am sure that I am not alone in looking forward to the forthcoming Zoey Van Goey's album 'Propeller Versus Wings'. Well as a wee taster of what you can expect to hear they've posted up new song 'My Aviator' taken from it for free on their Bandcamp.

Beach House
The dream pop outfit recorded a holiday song a few days ago, you can download their holiday gift for free here.

Duncan and the Ex-Teens
It really feels as if a new Dananananaykroyd side project crops every week at the moment. You'd think they'd be busy enough as it is, what with sunning it up in LA recording their new album. But being the creative bunch that they are they continue to produce amazing tunes, the latest side project comes from Duncan who has posted up his EP 'Songs, I Know' on Bandcamp.

French Wives
It's the fifth week in the series of Home Fires posts from those lovely French Wives, this week they're giving away 'Small Time Crooks'. Apparently this is a long lost French Wives song that they don't really play any more for 2 reasons: 1. they don't really like it and 2. it's quite difficult to play. They sound like pretty good reasons to me. You can download the tune here.

Gargleblast Records
"Available digitally for the first time, a one-off Xmas EP featuring exclusive recordings by De Rosa, Foxface and Pan. Originally a CD-R release, one hundred hand made copies were given away at the Gargleblast Christmas party in 2007". Download it here.

Chemikal Underground
Not signed up to the Chemikal Underground mailing list yet, then you are a nugget. As it's fucking ace and every month you get free stuff, cause they're dead nice. This month they're giving away a free download of a wee compilation called 'A Chemikal Xmas Present' - With Thanks And Love'. You'll find that and plenty of other free downloads here.

REM
As a wee Christmas gift REM are giving away a free download of their new track 'Discoverer', to get it all you have to do is give them your email address.

FOUND
It's week 12 of FOUND's Free Friday series in the build up to the release of their third album in March. As always I have no idea what it's going to be, but I am sure it'll be cracking as always.

Seafieldroad
Having release a corer of an album last month, Andrew from Swimmer One has decided to giev away some free tunes from his side project every other week. Kicking it all off you can download one of his old demo's 'Fanbloodytastic' for free on his Bandcamp.

Otherpeople
Ye another band giving away a wee festive tune for free are those lovely Otherpeople, quite possibly the hardest band to google ever. Thankfully though you don't have to go hunting for their tunes as you can get their Christmas song '2 zero double 1 (the festive song)' for free here. Rather good it is too.

My Cousin I Bid You Farewell
There is a free download of My Cousin I Bid You Farewell's song, 'I'm Yours' up for free download on their Bandcamp Be quick mind as it's only going to be up for a wee while longer.

Hectares
I've always been a sucker for things that are a bit ramshackle, Hectares EP 'The Zooey Deschanel Pity Fuck Adventure Dream' certainly falls into that bracket. Plus that's possibly the greatest release title I've seen all year. You can download it for free on their Bandcamp.

The Forest & The Trees
The Swedish duo have posted up a cracking wee festive number, 'Santa Claus is coming' for free on their Bandcamp. I fully guarantee this song will put a huge grin on yer chops.

Toro y Moi
Here's one for all you hipsters, it's a free download of a new track from the forthcoming Toro y Moi album, it's called 'Still Sound' and you can find it here.

Stray Kites
Lo-fi duo, Stray Kits have a cracking wee album called 'One Day, Earth Time' up for free download on their Bandcamp. It kind of reminds me a wee bit of some of Adam Green of Moldy Peaches fame. Which is all good in my book.

Miss the Occupier
You can download the spiky indie pop trio's song 'All Day' for free here.

The Mountain Goats
Stereogum have a free download of new Mountain Goats track, 'Tyler Lambert’s Grave, you can find it here.

Gorman
Another act getting with a festive tune to share are Glasgow's very own Gorman, who's tune 'Snow' is available to download for free here.

Idiot Glee
Fans of Perfume Genius take note as this will probably be right up your street. There is a free EP called An Idiot Glee Christmas up for grabs here.

Clockwork Radio
The Manchester based band, with members coming from North Wales and Egypt have just released their second, The Soul Harmonic EP and yep you guess it, it's free. Kudos goes out to Oh So Fresh for the tip, nice find.


Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner

It feels like ages since I've posted the last Kowalskiy EP, but it's been more than worth the wait. This month he's got exclusive tracks from Dirty Cuts, Johnny Reb, The Parrifins, Mamoeth and Thirty Pounds of Bone. Download them all here for free here.

Scots Way-Hay - The Artists Albums of the Year (Part 1)

As it's that time of year when every man and his dog is drawing up their end of year album lists. I thought it would be a fun idea to ask some of the bands that have done interviews for me this year as part of my Scots Way-Hay, to tell me what their favourite albums of 2010.
Kicking it all off we have Call To Mind, Eagleowl, Ghost Pants, I Build Collapsible Mountains, Miss the Occupier, Seafieldroad and the Son(s) telling us a bit about what was floating their boat in 2010.

'Deerhunter - Halcyon' Digest

chosen by Paul Carlin, Ghost Pants/Dananananaykroyd/American Men

"I got into Deerhunter by accident about three years ago and remember walking around in the sunshine listening to their album 'Cryptograms' a LOT. They've steadily become better and better since then and this new album, Halcyon Digest, is, by far, their most concise and complete collection of songs to date. They've somehow managed to come up with a body of work that has a 4-track recorder for a heart but is significantly more shiny on the outside. Everything that Deerhunter has done up until now has culminated in this great album and in Desire Lines, they've written pretty much the perfect indie rock song. There's perhaps less ramshackle charm on this record compared to their earlier work but when the songs are THIS good, who cares? Halcyon Digest is darkness and light in equal measure and a fine starting point if you're new to the band"

'Marnie Stern by Marnie Stern'

chosen by Magnus Hughson, Miss the Occupier

"The basic idea of taking the none-more-metal musical technique of guitar shredding and placing it within the context of non-metal, quirky, Deerhoof-ish songs with sweet vocals was refreshing enough on Stern's first two albums. Here she expands on this massively with the epic For Ash, the bruised Transparency Is The New Mystery, and the understated The Things You Notice. With lots of awesome choruses and riffs in between. For what it's worth, the rest of my top ten albums of 2010 list is as follows: Quasi, The Fall, Manic Street Preachers, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, Neil Young, M.I.A, Kristin Hersh, Emma Pollock, and Scout Niblett."

'The Phantom Band - The Wants'

chosen by Jamie Ross, Call To Mind

"We were lucky enough to play one of our first gigs opening for them. It's really pleasing to see a band who've taken their time and done things their own way deliver a really solid first album. With The Want's though, it shows a definite step forward: diverse, more grooves on there, lots of melodies.. You can tell they don't take themselves seriously, but at the same time it's a more intense record than Checkmate Savage. They've really stepped up in terms of song craft, and we've all got a different favourite track ('The None of One' being mine just now). Weird and lovely sounds + weird and lovely blokes to boot"

Field Music - Measure

chosen by Bart, Eagleowl

"This was released way back in February - but it's one I've kept coming back to all year. Field Music always floor me. I guess they're very much a musician's band. The two brothers - the songwriting core of the band - are really proficient, both musically and in terms of the production. It's amazing that they can create such interesting rhythms and structures, have such intelligent lyrics, and yet still retain a real sense of fun. Still keep it so light and accessible. It always seems like they're having the time of their lives, despite the complex nature of the music. This came after a three year break from Field Music. And where most bands take time out to concentrate on other things, or have a rest to recharge the creative batteries, Field Music spent the intervening time concentrating on two side project 'solo' albums - School of Language and The Week That Was. And still had time to write this rather stunning double album. It's as impressive as it is expansive. I think their secret is economy. There's 20 songs, but only one breaks the 4 minute mark. They're never afraid to experiment or play around with ideas, but it's always within the confines of a pop song. Also they always seem to take influences from the most unlikely, most unfashionable places (prog rock, 80s pop), and turn it into something that sounds, for want of a better word, really cool. They're really quite an inspiring band"

St Vincent - Actor

Andrew Eaton, Seafieldroad/Swimmer One

"There are two albums I've had pretty much on repeat this year -Everything Everything's debut, and Actor by St Vincent. If I had to pick one I'd go for Actor. It's called Actor because in every song she plays a character in a different imaginary movie. So the words are very evocative and the music is very cinematic - there are shades of Michael Nyman, Ennio Morricone, Yann Tiersen, Ryuichi Sakomoto and David Arnold, but it's never just pastiche. It’s audacious, unpredictable, really inventive and ambitious in the structure and arrangements, and every song has its own distinct atmosphere. I love it"

Admiral Fallow - Boots Met My Face

chosen by Luke Joyce, I Build Collapsible Mountains/The Gothenburg Address

"I've been a fan of this bands music for quite some time starting back when they were Brother Louis Collective. They were one of the few bands that I knew after the first live show i saw that they were going to be moving on to great things. They took their sweet time mind you. A few years later and a name change in tow, they finally released their awesome debut album for all who had been patiently waiting. The high expectation was easily met. The songs had become favourites from hearing them live so it was Christmas come early to get them in hard copy. The album is being re-released next year and i have no doubts it will find its way in to many a new fans hand"

John Grant - Queen of Denmark

chosen by Karl, the Son(s)

"I must admit there are songs on here I habitually skip but it's also the album I've listened to the most this year, from it's release and still now. Fireflies, Caramel, Marz, Sigourney Weaver.... I love those songs. They seem so naive and unforced. I think you can hear that it is music recorded without an audience in mind, as if it was made to be listened to just by the people who recorded it. I like that here. It came out months ago and it's not spent a week unplayed"

The Peenko Show on Fresh Air - Episode #2 (11/08/10)

This was the second show that I did for Fresh Air, joining me that week I had Boab from Campfires in Winter in to co-host/try and keep me in check. Not sure if he fully managed it or not though! On the plus side we did get to play loads of great music, including two exclusives (at that time) from Come On Gang! and the mysterious Let's Talk About Trees. The banter may well be pish, but the tunes are top notch!

Tracks Played

1. Come On Gang! - Fortune Favours The Brave
2. Call To Mind - All The Happiness In My Mind
3. Campfires in Winter - It's Been Months Now
4. Department of Eagles - Brightest Minds
5. King Post Kitsch - Walking On Eggshells
6. Golden Oldie; Baby Chaos - Hello
7. The Seventeenth Century - Roses in the Park
8. Washington Irving - Islands
9. Let's Talk About Trees - Lumberjacks Lament
10. Frightened Rabbit - Son C
11. Yahweh - Make Me Stop
12. Errors - A Rumour In Africa
13. The Social Services - The Baltic Sea
14. Spaghetti Anywhere - Girlfriends With Boyfriends
15. Endor - Without The Help Of Sparks
16. Admiral Fallow - Squealing Pigs

The Peenko Show On Fresh Air - Episode #2 (11/08/10) by Peenko on Mixcloud

Fresh Air

Scots Way-Hay #27 - Call To Mind

Photo by Steven Gallagher

I think I have started to notice a pattern to these posts, I have a tendency to find myself having back to back posts from bands of the same geographical areas. Last week I had Highland duo Bronto Skylift, and this week I have gone with another band from the same neck of the woods. Musically they are completely miles apart, but once again we have another amazing band coming down from the north and showing the city kids how it's really done. They are a band that I have wanted to feature for a while now, so I am pretty damn chuffed that I can now share them with you. Their ethereal sound blends elements of Sigur Ros, Mew and there are even certain parts that remind me of a less bonkers Beta Band. It is really epic stuff, their self titled debut EP came out back in April (I think), I would urge you to hunt it down, I promise you won't regret it.

Would you care to introduce yourself?

I'm Jamie. Also in the band are Andrew, Joe and my brother Martin.

How would you describe the music you make?

One review described our songs as "Highland Glacial Pop" ha ha I quite like that

How did you come together as a band?

Martin and I met Andrew in secondary school back home in Inverness. We met Joe through the folks in Glasgow band Barn Owl.

How did you start out making music?

I was lucky to have piano lessons from quite early on, from about 5. We had a bit of an old banger of a piano at home. Martin had lessons too, and it wasn't very cool going through school, but it was definitely the single best thing that ever happened to us. It was our first taste of Beethoven, The Beatles, Elvis, Elton, Simon & Garfunkle, Abba, all of that. Later on, Martin and I used to just muck around with the upright piano at home, taking the front cover off it to make it more atmospheric, using ANY part of its structure to get sounds and stuff like that. When we first started playing together with Andrew, it wasn't really to 'start a band' as such, it was something to do and we liked being experimental even early on. We used to have this old Fostex four track thing we'd make loops and things with, great fun.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

Sometimes apart and sometimes together. A lot of trial and error. There can be rows, tears, the occasional fight and inevitable apologies. We're always striving to make something sound as good as it possibly can be. We don't have a set format for writing songs really.

Who are your big musical influences?

Right now: Annie Lennox, Sigur Ros, Radiohead.

There seems to be quite a lot of great bands like yourself who have relocated down from the Highlands to Glasgow, was that a deliberate move on your part to get the band more recognised?

If we'd started a band back home we'd probably get more exposure, as there aren't too many up there. I think the idea of bands moving down to Glasgow from the Highlands to get themselves recognised is a bit of a myth, especially nowadays with the intenet, facebook etc; for us, we all moved down seperately to start jobs, uni, college etc long before we ever thought about doing something with music. We do still see ourselves as northeners though, certainly.

Are there any plans to play gigs outside of Scotland or possibly even the UK?

We've been down to London, Manchester and Liverpool for gigs and things, but we only really go down there if it's worthwhile (e.g can we cover our petrol!). We had an invite for SXSW last year, but were unable to secure funding. It was a shame at the time, but I think as an event it's probably a bit saturated now and geared towards bigger, more establish bands with a bit of label backing behind them. We've played abroad once before, at the Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik. As enjoyable as that was, we'll porbably focus on the home front for now.


If you could support any band you liked in a venue of your choice, who and where would it be?

We saw Bon Iver at ATP last year, blew us away. Venue... Probably the Barrowlands please!


What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond? Do you have any new releases planned for any time soon?

We recently released our first EP and had a few dates around Scotland (including launch nights in Glasgow and Inverness). For a lot of people who haven't heard of us before, it's been a well received taster of what's to come. The Belly of the Mountain label was something we set up this year to be an outlet for the band; there's an idea to put out a 7" single before the year is out, with the song Breathe being the likely A-side.

We've started writing our album, which we hope begin recording later this year to have out early 2011.

Call To Mind - All the Happiness In My Head


Call To Mind's debut EP is available to download via iTunes or through Amazon, it comes highly recommended. As of the moment the band don't have any gigs lined up, if and when they do I will make sure that I'll let you know.

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Call To Mind - Vic Galloway Session (19/04/10)

photo by Steven Gallagher

Track Listing
1. Lost and Found
2. Running With Scissors
3. Cherry Coloured Funk (Cocteau Twins Cover)

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