Doune The Rabbit Hole Review Pt. 2

After a night in my own bed (I can promise there's no greater feeling than leaving a muddy campsite knowing there's a hot shower waiting on you twenty minutes away) it was back to the Carron Valley. On arrival, we heard some rather interesting noises emanating from the Baino Stage. It turned out this was the cheery pop of Teen Canteen, who are beyond twee but are also fantastic – of all the bands I've heard who are named after Showaddywaddy songs, they're definitely the best. Sadly we only heard a couple of songs (including one cover of Kylie's All The Lovers) but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for them.

Teen Canteen  (Photo by Wullie Crainey) 

Onto the main stage now for Dead Temple, who write doomy, stoner rock. Their songs are constructed with little subtlety and guile, preferring to hit you with a wall of noise for most of it, save for the odd quiet part which they've nicked from Radiohead. They're not terrible actually but the fact that the singer rarely strays from singing one note for most of the songs does grate after a while. Its starts to rain like fuck and we get soaked so back into the Baino tent for shelter and for...

...Duncan Drever, who plays fairly uninspiring folk music and really wants to be King Creosote. He has a really good voice, but then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like 'this song is about vaginas' and proceeding to sing a song about vaginas.

Scran time, and it's up to top of the hill  for some pulled pork on a piece (courtesy of SMOAK). It's great stuff, must make a point of dropping into their place in Glasgow one day. Fed, I traipse back down to the main stage for Withered Hand, who is always impressive live. This is the first I've caught him with a full band though, and the expanded lineup brings so much to the occasion, giving each song a sense of weight and power. Ever a live highlight, Religious Songs brings about a rather triumphant climax, provoking a mass sing-along. One of the most enjoyable sets of the weekend.

Sacred Paws  (Photo by Wullie Crainey) 

Next up we have London/Glasgow duo Sacred Paws, who I've never been convinced by from listening to their recorded material. Their live show is something else though. They play ramshackle and disorganised post-punk with some rhythmic African influences chucked in at times. The dual vocal lines may not be in tune, nor are they the tightest band around but the shambolic nature of their show is pretty endearing and they're obviously passionate about what they do. Definitely worth seeing them live if you get the chance.

King Creosote  (Photo by Wullie Crainey) 

Rounding off our day is King Creosote who is, well, okay. He's just too happy these days. He and his band are in full-on summer mode, Hammond organ and all. I just couldn't enjoy it. Stop being so happy, Kenny! I preferred you when you were utterly miserable! Actually, I'm doing the band a real disservice because they're fantastic performers. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more on any other day but my companions and I had reached that point where we were soaked through and dying to get home. Any other day I'd have loved it but I think by then I just wasn't in the mood. Ach, another time, eh?

Sunday

The Second Hand Marching Band  (Photo by Wullie Crainey) 

We arrive in time to see Olympic Swimmers, although it turns out they're not onstage when the programme says they'll be (it later transpires that they've been moved to a slot later on the bill on another stage). To console ourselves we head up to the Tenement TV stage for Pronto Mama but...well, they've had to pull out unfortunately. So the first band we see are The Second Hand Marching Band, whose heartfelt folksyness are the perfect start to our Sunday. I've caught them live them a few times and they're always good fun and today was no different. “We have a song about a love triangle in a mortuary and one with a mad drum beat: which one do you want to hear?” Mad Drum Beat song it is. Or, to call it by its real name, Don't. It's one of the standout tracks but special mention should also be given to A Dance To Half Death, another highlight.

It's North American War next in the Baino, who sound like XTC crossed with the second coming of Be Your Own Pet. I reviewed their excellent Ivory and Geraniums split 7” a few months back and it took me by surprise because I loved it, even though it's not normally the type of thing I'd listen to.We enjoy listening to them from outside the tent as we get some food. They wrap up some pretty catchy choruses in repetitive rhythms and discordant noise and the result is thoroughly enjoyable.

Kid Canaveral  (Photo by Wullie Crainey)

Up to the Tenement TV stage for Kid Canaveral, who are one of my favourite Scottish bands, and certainly one of the most accomplished live bands I've ever seen. I've seen them loads of times but this is my first opportunity to hear their new stuff. From what I can hear in this set, it's not a massive shift away from the guitar pop of their debut, but it's a touch heavier and bigger. On one song there's even...A GUITAR SOLO! But anyway, the new stuff has got me soaking in anticipation of the new album. There's not a weak song among the new lot, and the best for me was Low Winter Sun. They rounded things off nicely with my favourite from the first album, And Another Thing. Possibly my favourite set of the weekend too.

Human Don't Be Angry  (Photo by Wullie Crainey) 

I'd already missed a good chunk of Three Blind Wolves by the time I made my way back to the main stage but they were sounding pretty good from what I heard. I'm not a huge fan of their music (it's just not my kind of thing) but they're always good to see live as they're as tight as a gnat's chuff. Nae different here either, and the addition of a third guitarist means that they're sounding massive. And heavy. Really heavy. Heavier than you could ever really expect a country rock band to sound. But, oddly, it works very well.

We finished our weekend in the Baino tent to see Human Don't Be Angry. I have to admit I was in the minority wasn't taken on self-titled album when it came out earlier this year so I feared I wouldn't enjoy them live. I needn't have feared anything because they sounded far better live than they did on record. It was a strong set but special mention must go to NDBA Theme, a real highlight of the set.

So, my first Doune The Rabbit Hole experience was over. It wasn't a bad experience at all, although there are definitely a number of areas that could be improved upon. First of all, they have to make sure their volunteers are up to scratch on the basics, such as what constitutes a press wristband etc. As I said in the first part of this review, we were sent to a number of different places for our press passes only to discover the wristbands we already had on were the passes themselves. It didn't waste a lot of our time or anything but it was just a wee bit annoying. Basic stuff.

As I also touched on in the first part of the review, the lack of times on the timetable was just sheer laziness. I suppose it was supposed to be part of the carefree 'hippy' ethic but I'm one of these types who like to know what's on and when. I don't think that's an unreasonable request. At least if you have a list of times alongside the bands and things start to run a wee bit late on some stages you can put up a message on the sign next to the stage with updated times or whatever. The problem with that being that there weren't any signs telling you about set times, presumably to encourage people to buy a programme. And the problem with that is that there didn't seem to be anyone selling programmes. I managed to blag one at the gate and seemed to be one of the only people at the whole festival who'd managed to get a one, going by the number of people who came over to get a look at it or take a photo of it when they saw it in my hand. They only decided to put up signs with set times on the Sunday at 3 o'clock. And I imagine this was only because there were some major lineup changes on the various stages that day. Again, it's not really a major thing but it's something to think about getting sorted for next time.

One other thing that isn't all that pertinent to the normal punter but definitely is to the organisers was the number of times my wristband was looked at all weekend. Once. One single time. And that was when the guy actually put it on my wrist at the gate. I know the festival provides itself on being a bit of a 'free-spirit' but it shouldn't get the reputation for being easy to get into for free, particularly when they've had serious problems with paying bands in the past. Just something for the organisers to think about...

All of these things contributed to a general lax and disorganised feeling about the festival. But that doesn't mean I didn't have a good time. There were so many positives. The majority of the music I saw was cracking and, from what I've heard from other sources I missed a lot of excellent stuff too. The only small criticism I'd have here is that maybe there's actually too much of it...there's genuinely no need for so many bands to be on the bill at a festival this small when you could really maximise crowds at three or four stages rather than spread them out over 5.

The general vibe of the festival is lovely, a real friendly atmosphere that I found comparable to the few hours I spent at Wickerman in July this year. It's definitely one to consider for next year if you're looking for a more relaxing festival experience with some big names but without the big crowds. I know I've given it a bit of criticism here but these are just wee things that can be improved on with a bit of attention. Hopefully, if the organisers see this, they'll give it a wee bit of thought. As things stand, I'll probably be going along next year. Provided it's still being held within commutable distance, right enough. I hate camping. I fucking hate it.

Fin.

Hippy in the mud  (Photo by Wullie Crainey)

We've Got It Covered #104

Apologies for the lack of a cover version post last week, as I am sure you're all aware, last week I was up in Inverness at the goNorth Festival. So I had to take a few days off to recuperate at my folks as they stay up in that neck of the woods. Having had the whole of last week off, it was a bit of a culture shock having to come back to face real life and an over flowing inbox full of emails. Plus on Thursday there we had the State Broadcasters single release at the Captain's Rest, which seemed to go pretty well. What with Jo Mango having to pull out at the last minute, I did fear the worst. But in the end we managed to rope in the legendary Duglas T Stewart from the BMX Bandits in Jo's place at the eleventh hour. So in the end it all turned out pretty damn well I think, although I could have done without all of the stress. Then again I guess that's all part and parcel of putting on gigs, talking of which I am going to be putting on another show next month at my spiritual gig home, the Captain's Rest. This time round I have roped in Mitchell Museum, to play their first headline show since they ended their hiatus. Plus as if that wasn't enough I've also got Jo Schornikow from The Shivers and a fella by the name of Scott Rudd (from NYC) playing too. They're both going to be over in our neck of the woods in July touring the UK, so I am pretty chuffed that I am getting to put on their Glasgow date.

Talking of Glasgow dates, I'll try to stop rambling and get to the point of this post, which is of course to share with you all this weeks cover version, which comes from Human Don’t Be Angry, the most recent guise for Malcolm Middleton. If you haven't already got your hands on his eponymous album, then I'd urge you to hunt it down, as it's fucking ace. Anyway, tonight he's back in Glasgow headlining King Tut's with support from Peenko favourite, Martin John Henry. It should be a corking evening of entertainment, me I'll be at the in-laws feeling sorry for myself that I am not at Tut's. Anyway, here's Human Don't Be Angry's cover of The Beach Boys classic Pet Sounds to get you all in the mood.


Human Don't Be Angry - Pet Sounds (The Beach Boys cover)

Human Don't Be Angry - Vic Galloway Session (23/04/12)

Track Listing

1. H.D.B.A. Theme

2. The Missing Plutonium

3. 1985

Download

Human Don't Be Angry - Human Don't Be Angry: Track by track

Regular visitors of the blog should know all too well that I have tended to avoid writing reviews, firstly because I don't think I am all that great at them and secondly because I'm a bit lazy. It's for that reason that I like these Track By Track features, as I get tell you all about an album that I have been really enjoying, whilst leaving the musicians to do all of the hard work (I'm not as daft as I look!).
Which in a round about way brings me to the latest release from the Chemikal Underground stable, Malcolm Middleton's new pseudonym, Human Don't Be Angry. Taking a step away from his previous self deprecating
past, Malcolm's new venture sees him surprisingly veering towards almost sounding upbeat. With song titles such as 'Getting Better (At Feeling Like Shit)' and 'Jaded', Malcolm jokingly plays homage to his perceived miserableness. There are songs on the album that sound like they could be from the coolest 80's film that never was, he recently described HDBA as being 'a facade, a front so I can have fun again musically'. In allowing himself the freedom to go off and explore new ideas, he's come up with one of the finest albums that you are likely to hear all year. Anyway, that's enough of my inane ramblings, I'll pass you over to Malcky to tell you a bit more about the album...

The Missing Plutonium

Probably my favourite song, it started out (like most here) as just two guitar lines, but the drums, percussion and casios give it a really light and fresh feel. It reminds me of the old arcade game Outrun. There was a leisure centre near my High School so a lot of wasted time was spent there, and I guess I soaked up all the noise and lights. I like making instrumental music where you don’t have to worry about leaving room for a voice. You can spend hours making something and going into detail, and then when you sing over the top of it all the tiny details disappear. The title comes from the bit in Back To The Future where the Iranian terrorists are racing around a car park in a camper van trying to find the said “missing plutonium”. This song is also the first single from the album, released on the 2^nd April.

H.D.B.A. Theme

This was always going to be a theme-song of some kind, the chorus hook is crying out for it. Another simple song that’s been bolstered by layers, not much else to it. The robot vocals were a last minute addition that seemed to give it a sense of identity. All the electronic drums were done by Paul Savage playing drum machines with his fingers. I think I spent a lot of time in the studio shouting “make the snare more 80’s!” or something daft like that. “Mensch argere Dich nicht” is the German name for the Frustration boardgame, which roughly translates as Human Don’t Be Angry.

First Person Singular, Present Tense

Drums again by Paul. We always have this weird thing going on where we have different opinions about the timing of a song, or how long a bar is or where the phrase starts. We’ve learnt over the years it’s better not to discuss it too much otherwise it breaks. This is a good example of that. I’d been doing this song live for about a year and it was originally half the length, but it needed to be extended and made more confusing vocally because of the subject matter, which is a bit of a head-fuck when you start getting into it. I’m not sure if this will make sense to people or whither they’ll just think it’s repetitive, random nonsense. So as a thankyou for listening to the first half you get more 80’s drums at the end and a blazing guitar solo! The title comes from the Douglas Harding book “On Having No Head”.

After The Pleasuredome

Yes, obviously a reference to one of my favourite albums of all time by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Just a nice wee “mood” piece, again not much too it. I often wondered what "the lads" got up to after "relaxing" in "the Pleasuredome", so I guess this is my interpretation of that. 

Monologue: River

This was the first HDBA song I wrote. Back in the summer of 2010 Johnny from Fence Records asked me to play their Away Game festival on the Isle Of Eigg. I said only if I can do it under a different name, he said yes, so I went away and thought up a name and wrote some songs and that’s how this whole thing came about. It gave me a good creative burst for a few weeks and much of the album was written then for a small gig on an island. Most of the songs were instrumental but this one and First Person seemed to have space for words. Part of me wishes I’d left the album entirely instrumental as my words tend to detract from the lightness of the overall feel, but maybe it was a good thing, I don’t know. It’s nice to have some personality on the record, even if it is too similar to my previous output lyrically. Although the words here are a bit more random I suppose. I haven’t rowed down any river recently…. The “ohs” at the end are blatantly ripping off Iron Maiden, and the main guitar hook is a wee bit of an homage to Jackson C. Frank. I was initially worried about Aidan’s drums on the end section because it reminded me of the tribal dance scene from The Matrix part 2. I believe my final say on the matter was “ah, fuck it”.

Jaded

A good example of a slow, tender piece of guitar music ripped apart with indifference by Paul Savage’s latent urban beat tendencies. It makes perfect sense though. Aidan Moffat did the live drums here too. And I am very Jaded, so this song is autobiographical.

1985

What a year! The summer was hot, we had Live Aid, great music, I was heavily in love with Madonna and about to start High School, where my childhood would be destroyed and Reality would make its first unwanted appearance on the stage that is "my life". Eh, what? Anyway. I love this song. Arab Strap v’s The Bee Gees.

Asklipiio

Aww… a song about proposing to my wife while on holiday in Rhodes. Yuck. Enrique Iglesias meets Mogwai via Manchester. I’m not sure what that means.

Getting Better (At Feeling Like Shit)

Well I had to ruin it didn’t I? There goes my positive new direction and trying not to have the word “shit” anywhere near my music. Stewart at Chemikal Underground swears that if he’d seen the artwork before it was completed he would’ve forced me to change the song title to just “Getting Better”, and thereby avoid any lazy tags being associated with the album. Ach well. 


  "H.D.B.A. Theme" by Human Don't Be Angry by Chemikal Underground


Human Don't Be Angry is out now on Chemikal Underground Records, on download and CD. Also, if you're quick off the mark you might till be able to pick up a copy of the album on vinyl from your local record store, as it was released on Saturday as part of the Record Store Day celebrations.

You can catch Malcolm playing live on Saturday the 16th of June at King Tut's in Glasgow with support from Martin John Henry.

Friday Freebies

Due to me being out last week catching the Twilight Sad, I didn't get a chance to draft up a Friday Freebies, boo me. The good news is that this week is double roll over, yay me!


Randolph's Leap
You might have noticed that I have been talking a lot about the forthcoming Randolph's Leap cassette album 'The Curse of the Haunted Headphones', and seeing as it comes out on Monday I will warn you that I am going to continue to bang on about it for the foreseeable future. The album launch night is this coming Saturday at the Captain's Rest, with support from Kith & Kin, Donna Maciocia and a very special guest (ooo who could it be!). As a wee teaser the band have made the track Dying In My Sleep free to download. A catchy wee bugger it is too, then again most of the album will ingrain itself on your brain.


Human Don't Be Angry
As I am sure that most of you are already aware, Malcolm Middleton has been busy recording an album under the guise of Human Don’t Be Angry.. It's just been announced that the album will come out on the legendary Glasgow label, Chemikal Underground on the 23rd of April. The project sees Malcie taking a new direction to his previous solo material, with this mainly instrumental album, as a prelude to the album you can now download the title track from the album, 'H.D.B.A Theme' for nowt here.

The 2 Bears
First up we have a Joe Goddard of Hot Chip fame's new side project,  The 2 Bears, who's new album 'Be Strong' has been keeping me in a positive frame of mind this week. You never know it might do the same for you too, find out for yourself by downloading their track 'Work' for free from DFA Records SoundCloud page.

we're only afraid of NYC  
If you haven't already downloaded we're only afraid of NYC's latest EP, 'zero​.​four' then you really should get that rectified now. If you have already checked it out then you'll appreciate just how good it is, what you might not know is that they've just added bonus track 'Hoppa Inte' to download for free (as is the whole EP). The boys have also just announced that they'll be playing at Never Make Friends presents, alongside This Silent Forest and Mike Nisbet at the Captain's Rest on Saturday the 24th of March.

We Are Augustines
What with this obsession with Scottish music, nowadays I often find that I am nowhere near as clued up on what's going on in the world as I used to be. Most of my new discoveries either come from recommendations from friends or by catching support bands, We Are Augustines fall into this category as I caught them supporting Frightened Rabbit in Edinburgh last Friday and boy did they impress. I guess it's safe to say that We Are Augustines own a few Springsteen records, not something that would normally be my cup of tea, but the three piece were mightily impressive. Find out for yourself by 'liking' them on Facebook and they'll give you a free tune as your reward.

Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP
Another month and once again Mr Kowalskiy's has pulled together another cracking free EP full of Scottish goodness. This month we have free tunes from Ayrshire singer-songwriter, Little Fire, buzz band, Brown Bear & The Bandits, Glasgow folksters, New Town Triptych, Edinburgh starlets The Last September and the rather awesome, Ajimal. Five great tunes in exchange for no pennies, the boy's excelled himself once again.

Andrew Bird
It's been an age since I last listened to anything by Andrew Bird, having been a bit over obsessed with his track 'Fake Palindromes' a few years ago, I now find myself realising that I haven't gone back and listened to his records in ages. So what made me start listening to Mr Bird again, well as you've already guessed it was of course a new free song that I stumbled across. You can download his new track 'The Crown Salesman' for nowt over on his Facebook page, for me it just reminds me why I liked him so much the first time round.

Pareto
In case you haven't already heard, Glasgow alt-rock outfit, Pareto have called it a day, as a parting gift they've made their final single 'These Men Can’t Dance' free to download on Bandcamp.

Seas, Starry
Aberdonian instrumentalists 'Seas, Starry' have just released their new single Faint Praise for free download on Bandcamp, rather lush it is too. With their debut album due out later in the year, just now would be a good time to get yourself acquainted with the ambient/shoegaze five piece.

In Session
 Over the past year or so In Session, a show on Edinburgh Student station, Fresh Air have recorded a number of acoustic sessions, which they've now decided to share with the world. If you fancy some free tracks from the likes of The Twilight Sad, Broken Records, Endor, I Build Collapsible Mountains and Loch Awe, then just follow this link.

Blue Rose Code
I can't quit recall as to whether or not I have ever posted anything about Blue Rose Code before, if I haven't I meant to and at least I'm trying to make up for it now. If you fancy something nice and laid back to ease you into the weekend, then this celtic tinged folk song is a blissful wee number that should soothe the pains of a weeks work away. The song is called Where The Westlin' Winds and it's free to download on SoundCloud.


Drunk Mule
Another week and yet another free tune from those fabulous Drunk Mule boys, this weeks offering is called 'Shoot The Fingers, Kill The Hand' and you can get your grubby mitts on it here.

i like ceareal, my friend
What the world needs now is a new a douglas firs side project and thankfully such a thing now exists in the form of "i like ceareal, my friend", who have just has released an ep by the name of 'season's greetings' (bit late?) which is one of those Buy Now/name your price deals on Bandcamp.

Moonface
Spencer Krug he of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown fame has just announced that he's going to be releasing a new album for his Moonface project. The record which is due out in April is called With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery, and as a wee taster you can download the track "Teary Eyes And Bloody Lips" for free on Pitchfork.

In Sound Mixtape
Uber cool online indie record store, In Sound have just posted up their monthly mixtape. This latest release has tracks from the likes of Bowerbirds, Damien Jurado, of Montreal and Sharon van Etten and it's free to download here.

Bear In Heaven
To finish up here's one for all you hipsters out there, it's a free download from Brooklyn trio Bear In Heaven. The track is called The Reflection of You and I am pretty sure you can expect to see Pitchfork/Stereogum/Gorilla vs Bear... creaming their tight hipster pants over this wee number.