Peenko's Albums of 2011

It's the moment you've really not been waiting for, yes folks, it's time for me to share with you all my favourite albums of the past twelve months. I fully appreciate that what I say doesn't really matter all that much and nor should it, but hey indulge me a little. This is now the fourth year that I have found myself compiling these lists. Back in 2008 and 2009 I came up with a Top 50 for each year which just seems insane to me these days. This year I have stuck with a top ten, mainly because I didn't want to bore you all to death. This of course means that I have missed out a lot of stuff, including King Creosote & John Hopkins, Come on Gang!, Metronomy, Indian Red Lopez and The Black Keys (which came in that bit too late). Also, I didn't really think it would be fair to include any Olive Grove releases in my choices, I wouldn't want any of them to think that they're not my favourite baby. Anyway without further a do, here's my top ten albums of 2011...

10. The Shivers - More

When it comes to releases from the Fence stable, it's usually a straight bet that you're going to be getting something fairly folky. However, with this release from New York duo, The Shivers, we got something quite different from the norm. What with the majority of Fence's back catalogue being made up of folk based music, The Shivers sixth album, but first for Fence, is a no holds barred rock n roll record. One minute you feel that you're listening to The Strokes, then The Velvet Underground and then Tom Waits. Every time I listen to this album it grows on me more and more. Full of vitality and raw emotion, I can see why Fence were so keen to add them to their ranks.

The Shivers - Love Is In The Air

9. John Knox Sex Club - Raise Ravens

Being a man who loves his catchy tunes, The John Knox Sex Club wouldn't usually be the kind of band that I would find myself listening to much, but listen I did. Raise Ravens is a dark unsettling album full of raw Scottish emotion, at no point does it ever let you settle into any kind of comfort zone. It's a record that will continue to challenge your emotions and I fucking love it.

John Knox Sex Club - Above Us The Waves

8. King Post Kitsch - The Party's Over

So how do you critique the work of someone you now consider to be a friend, well in King Post Kitsch's case I don't feel I have to as I loved his music well before we ever met. Much of his debut album, 'The Party's Over', is made up of older songs that featured in his earlier EPs, which I guess makes me love them even more as they're songs that I have treasured as my own (I am still taking unjustified credit rights for being the one to 'discover' his music). With the possibility of live shows in the new year, plus some other potential projects on the go, keep your eye on King Post Kitsch as he's got plenty more tricks up his sleeve.

King Post Kitsch - Fante's Last Stand

7. Martin John Henry - The Other Half Of Everything

Out of all of the albums that came out this year, this was the one that I had been most looking forward to, and it didn't disappoint. The demise of Martin's old band De Rosa was a real kick in the teeth, their two albums Mend and Prevention rank in my eyes as being some of the finest records to have ever come out of Scotland. So with the release of The Other Half Of Everything, Martin had some pretty massive expectations to live up. Thankfully though he delivers the goods and then some. Scotland may well have lost one their greatest bands, but in turn we have gained one hell of a songwriter.

Martin John Henry - Span

6. Sparrow & The Workshop - Spitting Daggers

I remember reading a review in Uncut of Spitting Daggers shortly after it came out, in which the reviewer pretty much slated the whole album. Having just bought the album that day I knew what a load of old pish they were talking, as this is one hell of an amazing album. Their debut album Crystal Falls was impressive, but this really feels like a massive step up in them progressing as a band. Snakes In The Grass, the lead single from the album is by far and away the greatest song I have heard in 2011. If you don't believe me then check out this video then come back and apologise. Also, for the record I cancelled my Uncut subscription very shortly after that review.

Sparrow & The Workshop - Our Lady Of The Potatoes

5. The Antlers - Burst Apart

I bet you were starting to think that this list would completely taken over by Scottish bands, which kind of makes sense as I so rarely find the time to listen to anything that doesn't have a touch of 'Scot' about it. For The Antlers though I am always willing to make an exception to this rule. Having first gotten into the band through their last album, Hospice, which I liked a lot, I was genuinely surprised by just how good Burst Apart really is. Having heard them being played countless times on Marc Riley's 6Music show, I now have the album etched into my brain and I feel a lot better for it.

The Antlers - Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out

4. Emily Scott - I Write Letters I Never Send

One of the things that really stood out for me as I looked back over my previous albums of the years lists, was the lack of female singers. With Sparrow & The Workshop and Emily Scott featuring highly this year, hopefully this years choices will go some way to rectifying this oversight on my part. I think I have been pretty vocal about the albums that I felt disappointed by this year, Bon Iver being the main one, the other being St. Vincent's album. Thankfully though I had Emily Scott's 'I Write Letters I Never Send' which more than made up for it. It's an album that I happily find myself getting lost in, it's surprising just how enjoyable one woman and a ukulele can really be.

Emily Scott - I'd Hardly Know

3. Beerjacket - The White Feather Trail

I must admit that in comparison to my fellow Scottish bloggers I was a bit behind the game in getting into Beerjacket. In fact until we got him to record a Peenko session back in March, I'd never actually seen him live. Having witnessed the live experience in such intimate surroundings just added to the experience, which I guess in turn made me love The White Feather Trail all the more. Out of everything he's recorded to date,I think this stands way above it all.

Beerjacket - Eggshells

2. Monoganon - Songs To Swim To

The best things in life are free - try telling that to a ten year old kid who's asked for a new XBox for his Christmas. However, in the case of Monoganon's Songs To Swim To, the best things really are free. The album which is out on super sexy vinyl, is also free to download from Winning Sperm Party's website. I fucking love this record, so much so that I went and bought the bloody thing on vinyl and I still don't own a record player (I'm working on that though).

Monoganon- Eternal See You Soon

1. Adam Stafford - Build a Harbour Immediately

There can be only one, or so the bloke in Highlander said. In 2011 there really is no real debate as to what my favourite of this year would be, Adam Stafford's Build A Harbour Immediately won this race back in January. Since then nobody else has really had any sort of a look in. Putting on Adam's album launch alongside my partner in crime Jim 'Ayetunes' at our last AvP gig, was one of the highlights for me of this year, as I was honoured to be in anyway connected with something so good. It's an album that lures you in with promises of indie pop magic, before descending into full on fucking loop pedal craziness and somehow it all fits together perfectly. If you do one thing with your Christmas money this year, invest yer pennies in a copy. I promise you, it won't disappoint.

Adam Stafford - A Temple of The Holy Ghost

Scots Way-Hay - The Artists Albums of the Year 2011 (Part 1)

And so it begins... I did warn you at the end of last week I did warn you that I would be starting on my numerous end of year polls. Following on from the success of last years series of posts I have decided to run my Artists Albums of the Year, which basically meant that I went back to any of the bands and artists that have featured in my Scots Way-Hay posts over the past couple of years. To kick us off here are the choices of Happy Particles, Discopolis, John Knox Sex Club, Come on Gang! , Trapped in Kansas and Miss The Occupier.

Belong - Common Era chosen by Steven Kane (Happy Particles/Remember Remember)

I had been a fan of Belong for a while before Common Era came out, their previous efforts sitting somewhere between Stars of the Lid and Tim Hecker at his most rusty. I was pretty surprised by the departure i heard on first listen, it's still engulfed in the usual 'tumble dryer' ambience but there is a really strong melodic heart to this record along with some almost subliminal rhythms. One of the reasons i like it so much is that it can be hard to tell where the source of a lot of the cacophony is coming from, although it all sits prettily in harmony. Your brain connects melodies and perhaps makes up some new ghost melodies too. I get that nice nostalgic cozy feeling from it that you do from some Boards of Canada records where melody and memory seem to bind in a beautiful wonkiness. It certainly owes something to some bands from the Shoegaze era but i think they have achieved something distinctly fuzzy and their own. Not just my favorite of 2011 but one of my all time favorite records.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver chosen by Laurie Corlett-Donald (Discopolis)

An incredible follow up that I think captures the simplicity and beauty of his debut ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ butmanages to chart new territory with epic 80’s sounding ballads to fully instrumented rock songs. I cannot wait to spend the winter months listening to this record on repeat in my room while enjoying large glasses of mulled wine.

Sparrow & The Workshop - Spitting Daggers chosen by Rory Anderson (John Knox Sex Club)

Sparrows first album was cracking, this is ten times better. Nick is a complete geek with equipment so all the guitars are a step ahead of the previous album, plus the harmonies perfect. Jills vocals are incredible, she has a delicate quality but also wails (not like zep, I mean in a good way) like fuck which can kick the arse of most singers. As I said, the harmonies are great, Gregor has an amazing voice as well, and the two match so well, never been able to explain why.... I guess everyone talks about the vocals when Sparrows come up in conversation, but the lyrics are lovely too. Jill is a really sincere writer, we played with them up in Aberdeen, and they soundchecked 'Old Habits', everyones jaws dropped in John Knox, we all were really taken by that song, the performance was great, but the lyrics were really beautiful. Anyway, that was pretty much 5 sentences of rambling. The record is really well put together, it's hard just to put on one song from it, but my favourite is 'Against The Grain". If I could drive and put a driving tape together, that song wid be on it.

P.S. The intro of Soft Sound Of Your Voice sounds like Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson, which is bawzoot.

FOUND - factorycraft chosen by Michael Morrison (Come on Gang!)

My album of 2011 is factorycraft by FOUND. Since it was released in March, nothing else has got much of a look-in on the annual roundup stakes, and I’ve subsequently played it dozens and dozens of times.

As perennial overachievers, it was great to finally see FOUND get snapped up by Chemikal for this record and, thankfully for both parties, everyone seems in agreeance that factorycraft is a solid step-up from their first two albums proper. Anyway…

It’s dark, funny, very very smart and instantly arresting. It also plays as a record – with two distinct sides – which is a rare treat these days. Though it’s experimental in approach, factorycraft is a solid pop record which is never ‘out there’ for the sake of artiness, and instead just occasionally trips the listener up a little along the way. I always think it’s pretty easy to create something unique, but to make something unique and good is nigh on impossible, and that’s what FOUND seem to do on an almost bi-annual basis these days.

Each song is killer, with Blendbetter’s epic drop being a stand out for me, but it’s the obvious range of influence on offer that keeps the record leap years ahead of the crowd. Part The Cure and part Arab Strap, but with really weird bits thrown in, factorycraft is impossible to date – if I was an idiot, I would absolutely believe that this record was a vintage relic sent back through time from the future. If I lived in Hoxton I would call it 'small-town- industrial-hawick-soul-pop'.

Colin Stetson- New history of warfare volume 2-judges chosen by Sean (John Knox Sex Club)

A record that I struggle to compare to anything else I have ever heard. In fact to go on about it and attempt to 'review' it would be pointless so I won't other than to say it is beautiful, apocalyptic, baffling, furious and desperate.



The Cosmic Birth & Jounrey of Shinju TNT by Akron/Family chosen by Chris Ward (Trapped in Kansas)

I stumbled across Akron/Family one late night trawling the recommended artists on iTunes and since I heard the first minute of opening track 'Silly Bears', I was hooked. This album opens up a world of epic and cosmic proportions, every song invites you into a radiant phantasmagorical soundscape. For me it's like listening to the best elements of Grizzly Bear, Maps & Atlases, Animal Collective and Beach Boys all rolled into one!

Like most albums you've never heard before the first port of call was the incredible artwork on the cover, which is a volcano spewing out lava into the night sky. It's a beautiful wash of deep colours and it defiantly added a peacock moment which lured me in and I'm glad to say I was not disappointed. Wanting to know a bit more about the band I read a few articles which led me to find out the album was written in a cabin built into the side of an active volcano in Japan and then recorded in an abandoned train station in Detroit and that they lost one of their founding members when he went off to become a Buddhist monk!

These guys are special, their music is special and I think more people should be listening to Akron/Family and the cosmic birth & journey of Shinju TNT.



Simon Werner a Disparu by Sonic Youth chosen by Magnus (Miss The Occupier)

Simon Werner a Disparu is a film soundtrack released this January on Sonic Youth's SYR label, an outlet for occassional albums and EPs highlighting the band's more experimental extremes. These haven't exactly been radio friendly unit shifters (1999's double disc Goodbye 20th Century is hard going by most people's standards) but this new release is probably the most accessible of the SYRs, more reminiscent of, say, Tortoise or the Dirty Three. Simon Werner a Disparu is entirely instrumental and is heavy on atmospherics and white noise, but there are plenty of Providence-esque pianos and jangly guitar melodies. The closing track Theme d'Alice is ace and politely rocks out in a similar way to Pink Steam from Rather Ripped.

The recent speculation about Sonic Youth's future has given the band headlines in 2011 for all the wrong reasons. Certainly more focus will be on Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore's respective solo projects in the near future, so it's only right to give credit to the actual music Sonic Youth have put out this year rather than the very un-Sonic Youth celebrity gossip that's been doing the rounds.

Friday Freebies

John Knox Sex Club
For fear of repeating myself, I will say this just once more. You need John Knox Sex Club in your life, no really you do. If you don't believe me then you can see for yourself by downloading some free tracks using this link, once you've had a listen then you can invest yer pennies in their latest album 'Raise Ravens' as its awfy good. You can catch the band in the flesh alongside Olympic Swimmers on the 19th of November at Nice n Sleazy in Glasgow, which is also one of their 20 Years of Sleaze gigs. They're also supporting Three Blind Wolves at a very intimate show at Brel this coming Sunday.

We Were Promised Jetpacks
Stereogum had a wee exclusive this week from We Were Promised Jetpacks, they posted up the video for the bands new song 'Human Error'. The song which is taken from their new album, 'In The Pit Of The Stomach' is also free to download too.

PET
You might recall me getting a bit over excited about Edinburgh outfit PET back in the summer, their debut EP, 'What you building?' has been one my surprise finds of the year. With an equally good if not better EP coming out in a few weeks time, they've just posted up a remix of one of their new songs 'Middle Child Syndrome' by another new favourite of mine Age Of Consent. You can download this awesome wee number for nowt on SoundCloud.

Uniform Motion
If you are on the look out for new music and you haven't already check out the Edinburgh Man podcast, then I would urge you to check it out. In the past few months he's turned me on (ooer missus) to an array of new stuff that I would never have come across. Most recently he's introduced me to an indie-folk outfit by the name of Uniform Motion. You can check them out for yourself by downloading this free sampler.

Hercules Moments
I posted a link up to this compilation in Friday Freebies a few months back, the one thing that I hadn't noticed at the time was that it wasn't actually out yet. Now that it is, it's time for it to make another appearance. The compilation which features an array of acts including The Xcerts, The Little Kicks, Min Diesel, The Deportees and Seas, Starry, can be downloaded for free here.

The Machine Room
Ahead of their appearance on this coming Sunday's Ally McCrae show, The Machine Room have made their cover of New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle free to download on SoundCloud.

The Mirror Trap
Dundee four piece, The Mirror Trap have made the lead track from their new White Rabbits EP free to download on their Bandcamp.

coma emilio
Bloody hell, Glasweigan lo-fi soloist coma emilio isn't one for keeping things to a minimum. If you check out his Bandcamp then you'll find a shit load of free tunes up grabs, including a 69 track album.

Drunk Mule
I can barely keep up with Drunk Mule's free tracks, his new album is now up to a whopping 28 tracks, all of which are free. If you want a starting point I'd suggest checking out new tune 'As One' which you'll find here.

Scots Way-Hay #67 - The John Knox Sex Club

photo by Claire Thomson

After taking a wee bit of hiatus for a couple of months to recharge my batteries, it's time to get back into the swing of things with my Scots Way-Hay posts. To start the ball rolling again we have the Glasgow quintet, The John Knox Sex Club. Having just released their second album 'Raise Ravens', I thought it was about time that I posed some questions to this normally quite mysterious band. So here's Rory from the band to tell us a bit more about the band, they're influences and the joys of playing 2p slot machines...

Would you care to introduce yourself to the Peenko readers?

Rory from the John Knox Sex Club, the others (Sean, Liam, Emer, Chris, & Iain) have lives and are doing something on this Friday eve.


It’s that question that all bands seem to hate answering, but how would you describe the music you make?

I wouldn't know how to accurately to be honest. Some folk have said Lift to Experience which, I will humbly take, I've heard And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Mogwai-eqsue music and few others. I get why people have made those comparisons but again I wouldn't know how to describe it, aren't you lucky I answered this email!

In my eyes we have a strong element of folk arrangements added with much noise and dynamics, which I suppose give it that post-rock sound. The closet comparison I would say is in between Lift To Experience and Birthday Party....maybe, next question. Two questions in and you've stumped me!


How did you come together as a band?

The original incarnation consisted of myself, Sean, Liam, Chris, and our friend Bob on bass. We all lived in a small mining, fishing village near Stirling called Glen Curney. There is nothing to do there apart from mine and fish, or go to the Hollywood which, is a arcade place that had games from generations gone past (my favourite was still the slot machine that you put 2p's into it where, they would be pushed forward by a metal step going back and forth and sometimes you would win loads of 2p's....aye grim). Anyway, we have known each other for many years, although there is a wee age gap between us (Sean 22, Chris 25, Liam 26 and myself 28) we ended up hanging out cause there is like 30 family or something there.

We drafted in Iain and Emer to the band last year who have added so much to us, we have changed dramatically since they have join and we're infinitely better for it.


How did you start out making music?

I don't if you mean me or the band?!

None of us were playing gigs much and we had all been working in the ABC, listening to the MC5 live record a lot, Sean and I thought it would be fun to start a band that didn't record or do press or Myspace, but just play live. We decided to the GCYT on the go again and start a fucking rock'n'roll band!

I presume that is the answer you're looking for, but I started guitar when I was 14. Sean used to sing in a choir, Chris was raised by a folk band, Iain used to (possibly still does) make hip hop beats and Liam used to be in a metal band. Emers a different story, not only being a protege violinist who ended up in Vienna playing in a orchestra for a summer, she is an incredible artist.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

Usually someone will have a riff or some chords and will either play about in the flat with them then take it to practice or someone will just play something in practice and we'll see where it goes, usually somewhere pretty obscene before we arrange the whole thing. The traditional songs (John The Rev & Katie Cruel) we have rearranged, Sean brought in the idea to do so. We've also done a cover of the Jute Mill Song, which I would like to record again.

No so long ago I got some recording stuff so have been able to 'put some stuff down' in the flat and make some demos. We have few numbers that sound pretty good already.


What artists would you say have had the biggest influence on the band?

Christ, there are too many. Everyone has a mass of different influences, but I'd say that there are a few records that we go back to; 'Astral Weeks' by Van Morrison, there's a few Tom Waits records, '3' and 'Tilt' by Scott Walker, all of the Silver Mt Zion records, 'Texas Jerusalem Crossroads' by Lift To Experience, 'Spiderland' by Slint, 'Radioactivity' by Kraftwerk, 'We Insist' by Max Power recently, 'In On The Kill Taker' by Fugazi. There are loads they're the ones that come to mind at the moment though, I'm trying to answer for everyone so I'll stop. I think different bands we have became friends with have influenced us in a way, maybe not musically, but spiritually. Mad props tae TBW, WI, SATW, OVTW, FR, Le Marder.

Personally, I am big Sonic Youth fan, the period from Confusion is Sex to Dirty are amazing records. Various bands from that came out in the Krautrock era, Tago Mago by Can is one of my favourite records, the best album for drums. Been listening to a lot of Crass 'Feeding of the 5000' recently, the guitars sounds horrendous but lovely, the track Women & Securicor are particularly special. Really into hip hop actually, most of the Def Jux stuff; Aesop Rock, Mr Lif, Cannibal Ox especially. Nas's 'Illmatic' has been pretty instrumental in my daily routine for many years, na'mean. (I'm watching the Notorious B.I.G biopic as I write this)


Do you feel that where you come from has had much of an impact on the music that you create?

In The Ditch is direct reference to the village actually. There is a massive ditch on the road out of Glen Curney which people keep driving into, don't know if it's still there. In fact, I'm pretty sure that a punk band wrote a song about it as well. There is a definite sense of community in our music, particularly live, that's pretty evident, but in Sean's lyrics too. They have a unique familiarity to them, not as in plagiarism, more of a relation to colloquial life.


Your live shows are now something of legend, do you enjoy playing live or are you happier being in the studio?

It's two different things to me. In the studio you get to try loads of things, adding layers of guitars, violins and harmonies, so it's a different experience. Playing live is more fun definitely, and people can tell we really enjoy it. We probably could be a pretty static and moody on stage but we are fairly animated, and again the interaction between Sean and the crowd is pretty good to watch. It's incomparable, on one hand you get to mess about and embellish areas, on the other hand, you get to pull off some face meltin'!


Carrying on a similar theme, what has been your most memorable gig to date, (be it good or bad)?

Bad gig would definitely a gig where everyone ended up pretty drunk at Sleazy's, it was all over the place and I was jazzin' up bits for some reason. We've had loads of amazing shows, it would be hard to pick out certain ones. A Wee Tasty was a great gig, Barras for obvious reasons, got to play in front of a massive graffiti Jesus with stigmata at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh for Rough Cut Nation exhibition. Loads of fun gigs.


Your first album came in a pretty special handmade packaging, do you have something similar lined up for your new album?

Yeah Liam and Emer have made some amazing art work and packaging. It takes a while to make but its worth it in the end, it looks brilliant. I would like to add that the main utensils for making the albums were a tiny spoon, a chopping board, a bit of wood with some skirting board attached and a cheap home printer. We have some hand printed T-shirts as well that Emer has put together, again look brilliant.


Aside from world domination, what are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond?

Don't have any, don't plan to have any, obviously we'd love to go on tour and hit Europe but it's not really in our hands, all we can do is send out emails. People have said we should be pushing to get a record deal, but we're pretty happy at the moment. Probably do another album next year and do more shows down south, would love to get back to Sowerby Bridge.

The John Knox Sex Club -Katie Cruel

Raise Ravens the second album from The John Knox Sex Club is available to buy now as a limited edition CD or as download via their Bandcamp page. You can catch the band live at Oran Mor in Glasgow on the 21st of September, followed be an appearance at Henry's Cellar Bar in Edinburgh on the 1st of October.

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The John Knox Sex Club - Raise Ravens: Track by track

Every so often I get something that pops into my inbox that pricks up my attention and almost demands my attention. So last week when I got sent a copy of the new The John Knox Sex Club album, 'Raise Ravens'. Their last album 'Blud Rins Cauld' was a bit of a revelation to me as it was so different to anything going on in the Scottish music scene at that time. Even now they stand alone as truly unique band that could only hail from our wee nation.
If you're looking for a comfortable sing along pop record, then this album is not for you. 'Raise Ravens' had the feeling of being the kind of intensive folk-rock record that Roddy Woomble still aspires to write. Shit, this is starting to sound like a review and as you should already know, I don't do reviews. I think it's one of the best things I have heard this year, but you don't need to take my word for it, just listen to the tunes below. Anyway, here's some of the band to tell you a bit more about their new album, get reading then check out the tunes...

We decided to go record some songs we had because we weren’t doing much over summer gig wise and thought we could make an EP out of it. Iain and Emer had become full time members of Knox after the first record, so we had changed pretty dramatically writing wise and wanted to record them while they were still pretty fresh and weren’t over played. The dates we had with Gall at the studio ended getting pushed back due to university and other commitments, so there was a fair gap in between which got filled with more ideas. Both Knox and Gall had thought about recording live, and it suited how thing were sounding. The set up at the studio is pretty amazing; Gall had recorded a couple of tracks on ‘Blud Rins Cauld’, which turned out great, so it was a relaxed environment and he was an obvious choice. Recording live and quickly was good for us; it kept the immediacy of the songs without adding loads of layers that probably would have over complicated them.

Kiss the Dirt

As with all the tracks on the record this was a live take with each of us playing in a separate room. The vocals were added later, in a quite ludicrous midnight to 5am recording session. Jill from Sparrow and the Workshop came in and did her part in one or two takes at about 3 in the morning; we were all pretty blown away by it. The genesis of the song was, unusually for us, an evening of writing and drinking wine at casa de Knox (where we make the boxes for the records). It started quite differently, with the riff that comes in about half way through and I had a slew of lyrics that didn’t make the final version. The big change in its construction came about thanks to the bass line Iain brings in just after the riff breaks down to bass, violin, drums and vocals. It’s my favourite bit of the song and from there on we knew where to take it. Chris said at the time he thought it was probably one of the best drum takes he had done in his life. The lyric I kiss the dirt beneath your feet comes from an Arabic saying usually made in deference to a superior. Around about the time of the Tunisian revolution and at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution I heard someone use in deference to all of those risking their lives by protesting in Cairo and Tunis. That is the way I use it here.


Above Us the Waves

This is a song we have been playing for a long time, there is an old live version of it kicking about on the interwebs somewhere. This is a newer arrangement. I really love Astral Weeks by Van Morrison and originally I referenced it on the end of the song but I dropped it cause it was a bit wank. The vocals were recorded while everyone was making dinfast( dinner breakfast) at 4 am and I really pushed it. I wasn’t so sure that the vocal was any good due to my sleep addled mind but Gal insisted that it was so it stayed. Dave Flood from where we lay our heads did some backing vocals after the fact.


Sweet sing the rails go leaving go leave

This began as an extended introduction to Katie Cruel. I was messing about in practice, not paying attention and Emer did this beautiful extended intro. When we came to record Katie Cruel we decided to try it again. The take you hear was recorded without the knowledge of those playing who thought they were doing a dry run. The name of the track came after and so any association with trains or leaving you have when listening to it is all in your mind.
The Neighbours originated from “the best day ever” that consisted of soup, kitchen table tennis, the pub, Chris’s birthday, dinner, wine and singing.

An apocryphal story to go with this song:

In Glen Curnie, where we grew up, we had a friend called Robert Bruce. Robert went out with a girl, who I won’t name in case she reads this, for about 2 years (he was 19 when they started going out). She was profoundly deaf in one ear and used to say she could hear the sea in it when things were really quiet. We all used to play pool at a dodgy amusement arcade called Hollywoods (it’s not there now. I think it’s a McDonald’s). Robert would come down when he wasn’t with this girl and tell us about her family. I’m not sure how much of it was true, she certainly lied about other things and he wasn’t the most honest person I have ever met. The stories were wild though and we were really bored. He told us that the father of the family had to remove all the doors in the house except the front door to stop the eldest son from kicking them in. No one knew about this of course because according to Robert, they kept it in the family.


Katie Cruel

This is a traditional song with some tweaks here and there. I tried to amalgamate two versions of the folk song and add my own words where appropriate. There is another version of this also kicking about where Chris plays a synth but I prefer this one. The subject matter is obvious but still bloody tragic.

The Thaw

A song about Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, BOOM, que people leaving the site in droves, stay it gets less academic. It’s also a song about snow and how lovely it is and weird it is and how spring is nice too. This is the only take of this song we did. We did it just after Kiss the Dirt so people were a bit fired up. My brother thought the middle section sounded like Flying Lotus but with a whiney Scottish guy on it instead of Gonja Sufi when we did it live recently. Most people would probably prefer Gonja Sufi. He’s got a really good song about sheep, seriously.

Raise Ravens' is available on CD and to download directly from the band via their Bandcamp page. The CDs are all handmade and if their first album is anything to by then they should have crafted something pretty fucking special. So that's great music in handmade covers, what's not to love!

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Blah Blah Blah - News...

This week we welcomed back one of our favourite local bands, we're only afraid of NYC, if you missed this weeks Friday Freebies then make sure you download their new single 'Walls'. The band are playing at King Tuts tonight as part of this years RocknRoll Damnation 2011 along with Lightguides and Pareto.

The ferocious beings that are The John Knox Sex Club return with their second album, Raise Ravens, tomorrow (Monday 29th August). Following up last years excellent, 'Blud Rins Cauld', was never going to be an easy task, but I reckon their latest offering is a marked step forward for one of Scotland's most exciting bands. To celebrate the albums release The John Knox Sex Club are having a launch night in Stereo, tonight (28/8/11) followed by two dates in northern England: Thursday 1st September, Puzzle Inn, Sowerby Bridge, then on Friday 2nd September at Mad Ferret in Preston. The album is available on CD and to download directly from the band through their Bandcamp page. Check back in tomorrow when I'll have a special wee feature about the album.

Bloody hell, it's a busy old night in Glasgow tonight if The John Knox Sex Club or we're only afraid of NYC aren't your cup of tea, then perhaps Duckstock 2"Unplucked" at the Flying Duck might be for you. Our very own Randolph's Leap are on about half ten, alongside The Apples of Energy, Cheer, Conner mcCann, Dave Roy, The Dirt, Dr Mango and the Chickpeas, Grope Town (the quiet set), The Plimptons, The Paraffins and Leap Small Scale Collisions. It's only £3 to get in and it all kicks off at 2pm through until the wee hours of the morning.


I guess every band one day dreams of heading out to Austin to play at SXSW, but fuck me does it take a lot of hard work and is it really all worth it. Well you can find out more about what it takes to play at South By, as the Creative Scotland are hosting a SXSW & MIDEM Training Event at the ABC in Glasgow on Tuesday 30th August. The event will see a number of panellists offering up their tuppence about their experiences of SXSW, to be honest with you the best thing about these kind of events is that it gives you the opportunity to 'network' with folk that you wouldn't normally get access too. In addition to this they've roped in Kid Canaveral to talk about their experiences from last years festival. Seeing as they did all of it off their own back, they should be able to provide any of you unsigned artists with a much greater incite into the barriers that they faced and the benefits they got from going to SXSW. The event kicks off at 7:15, you can find further information on the evening on Creative Scotland's website.

Friday Freebies

Le Reno Amps
This weeks freebies have a bit of Halloween theme to them, our first spooky free download comes from those effervescent pop maestro’s fae the Highlands of Scotland, Le Reno Amps. Just head on over to their homepage for some trick or treat action, if you're lucky then you'll find yourself a wee download of their track ‘Never Be Alone’, which should whet your appetite in anticipation of their forthcoming album which is due out on Armellodie Records in Spring 2011.

Tapes 'n Tapes
I fucking love this band. Their gig at Nice n Sleazys a few years back still rates as one of my all time favourites. It feels like ages since they did anything, so their return is a more than welcome one in my eyes. You can download their new track, 'Freak Out' for free here.

Remember Remember
Next Friday, Mr Ronald celebrates his 30th birthday with a special gig in Glasgow in support of his new EP. Of course none of you will be going since you're all coming to AvsP, right? You can console yourself at missing out on this gig by downloading free track, 'Get Good' taken from the EP here.

Yusuf Azak
I know I go on about my fellow blogger, Song By Toad an awful lot on here, but fuck it, he deserves your attention as he's very good at what he does. He also has a cracking wee label too, jealous? moi? fuck yeah. Anyway, that's enough brown nosing, he's got yet another wee corker up his sleeve in Yusuf Azak. His debut album is due out in a couple of weeks, as a wee taster he's giving away a free single to promote it, download it here.

John Knox Sex Club
I am not sure if I have ever mentioned JKSC on here before, I guess they are just one of those bands that have been on my 'to-do list' for quite a while, but kept getting shunted back. I bought their album ages ago, it is quite possibly the greatest album design ever. So if you like their song, 'John the Revelator, which you can get for free here, then I'd urge you to invest in a copy as it's a beautiful bit of work, and the music's pretty good too.

FOUND
I nearly forgot about this weeks FOUND freebie, I feel kind of bad about that. I am starting to questions myself whether I have become too complacent and just taken them from granted. thankfully though I have managed to reprieve myself by adding it in at the last minute. This weeks freebie is Halloween themed and it's called Something Under The Bed Is Drooling. Go get it here.

Pixies
Mind I posted a link last week that came from the Pixies, but was actually about Interpol, confusing wasn't it. Well at least it was for me. Thanks to Jim Ayetunes, we have the real deal this week, as he very kindly pointed out that they had posted a free download of their set at Coachella 2004.

El Dog
Taken from the soundtrack to Scottish film, 'Wasted' which was on BBC2 last Saturday (it's still on iPlayer if you fancy giving it watch), these three tracks are all pretty damn good. You can download them for free here.

Now Wakes The Sea
It's funny how life works out, sometimes you make friends and then they just drift out of your life, never to be seen again. Or at least that's how it's supposed to work, right?
A month or so ago an old friend got in touch and he mentioned that he was now in a band called Now Wakes The Sea. After a wee catch up, one thing lead to another and I put him in touch with our pals at Elba Session, who asked them to play at their last gig of 2010. Their lo-fi songs did it for me, you can make your own mind up by downloading some free tunes from their Bandcamp.

Girls
Try 'googling' this and not getting shit off your wife, I guess I shouldn't have added the words 'dancing' and 'naked' in there too. Shit. Going off on a ramble. Trying to be amusing and failing and now my wife thinks he less of me, who'd have thought that could be possible. Aye, so there's a band called Girls, they have an EP coming out, Stereogum have a free download from it, blah blah blah porn blah.

Lykke Li
Man that was tough to spell, or at least it was for me in my tired state as I try and work my through this post late on a Thursday night. All you really need to know is that you can download a free copy of single 'Get Some' for free here.

Davies Versus Davies
This freebie came courtesy our friend Drunk Country (if you don't know who this, make sure you go and check out his excellent radio show by clicking the link), who tweeted about it earlier in the week. Apparently it's a side project from John Mouse (being rubbish I have no idea who this is), but seeing as it comes with the DC seal of approval it goes straight into this weeks Freebies.

Crystal Castles
They're not my cup of tea, but I am sure some of you will like this, it's a new version (featuring Robert Smith) of their Platinum Blonde cover, which you can download for free.

Futuristic Retro Champions
Last week I featured these guys in my Fresh Meat Monday post, two days later they announced that they were going to be calling it a day. See the power that I have to destroy a band (NB I am clearly talking bollocks here). The band plan to go out on a high with live dates in December. Until then you can console yourself by downloading their cover of 'Robert De Niro's Waiting' here for free.

The Caretakers
Normally I don't like to just lift bits out folks emails, but I really liked the honesty of the email I got from The Care Takers wondering if I would consider featuring them in Friday Freebies. After I gave them a quick listen and really enjoyed their tunes I couldn't not share this with you... "I’m a PR/marketing professional and college/university instructor by trade, but on the eve of starting my first true musical endeavor I became disillusioned with the corporate world and began feeling contempt for the less-than-ethical mainstream public relations profession. After more than 20 years I decided to give up my day job and devote myself completely to making music; something my body and mind have been screaming at me to do since I was a teen. The album ‘Unfinished Thoughts’ came together with an amazing group of friends, inspired by our working class surroundings, and a call for political insight. We’re not packaged. We’re not young and shiny. We’re not about to be the subject of an 18-year-old’s tweet, but this music is who we are." So there you have it, I was genuinely inspired to listen their songs after reading that, I am glad that I did as it's pretty fucking good. You can make your own mind up though by heading downloading three songs for free from their Bandcamp.

Bullets in Madison
I have no idea where I got this freebie, I must have saved it to my favourites earlier in the week, so I can't credit to anyone as my memory has failed me sadly. There's loads of tracks and you can get them for free here.

CMJ
I know CMJ was last week, but it's worth noting that Insound have a cracking wee compilation up for grabs for free, go get your hands on it here.