Help Ma Boab, It's The 62 Word Reivew

 

Mondegreen – Aberdoom! EP

Mondegreen's brand of off-kilter progressive pop music is not unlike the amazing Spinto Band at times - particularly on final track Jammy Ceiling. The noisier Iffy Clone's punky guitar lines chop away through forever-changing time signatures, whereas Aberdoom! is a simpler affair, like Boy With The Arab Strap-era Belle & Sebastian crossed, strangely, with Blur. Enjoyable stuff, well worth a listen.

EP available now from Bandcamp.

Miniature Dinosaurs – Lemonade.

Nut. No feeling this at all. It's a bit like The Killers but without the genius pop-hooks. The singer has that throaty Brandon Flowers vocal thing going on, and they also have that softer breakdown section The Killers have in pretty much every single. Oh, and the guy from The Automatic comes in every so often to shout and that's just annoying. 

Available from iTunes.

The New Fabian Society – Exhibition Of Hate EP

Ahh yes, I love this. Noisy bastards, like Jesus And Mary Chain but a tad more controlled and musical. The EP is consistently excellent throughout though I'd say the pick of the bunch is I No Longer Remain. Getting off to a fairly tame start, it doesn't take long for it to become an unleashed, sprawling beast. They deserve to be huge.

Available now from Bandcamp.

Fin.

Scots Way-Hay - The Artists Albums of the Year 2011 (Part 3)

What with all of the excitement of yesterdays BAMS post, I forgot I hadn't scheuled this post to go up. Better late than never eh?! This weeks chosen albums of the year come from Adam Stafford, A Band Called Quinn, St. Deluxe, Mondegreen, The Son(s), Bear Bones and Sparrow & The Workshop...

Micachu & The Shapes - Chopped & Skrewed chosen by Adam Stafford

Most of the albums that I've admired in 2011 have come from female perspectives - PJ Harvey, Tune-Yards, Sleigh Bells, St Vincent - but Micachu & The Shape's Chopped & Skrewed really comes out on top because it sounds like nothing else anyone released during the year. Virtually ignored by the public and lukewarmly reviewed by the critics (isn't all great music!) on its release, the LP is a live album, of sorts, performed only once and recorded at the time with the London Sinfonietta - a very bold way of recording an album. The musical content can be described as "Wonk-Step", a hybrid of avant-garde Classical, Dub-step and Pop with most of the music played on odd home-made musical instruments such as clanging percussion which sounds like pots and pan lids being smacked off of pipes and a Cello made out of an old CD rack. If that sounds like shite, it's anything but; the innovative Harry Partch-esque approach is offset by lead-singer (and composer) Micachu's sudden burst of gravely Pop choruses which leap out unexpectedly through the woozy milieu of discordant string screeches and trippy-as-fuck hip-hop beats. Then we'll descend into bonkers free-jazz which sounds like it's improvised but is actually scored to the letter, before blooming gorgeously into some sort of backwards melody that plays like a segue from a lost Technicolor Musical. At once nightmarish and beautiful, the LP ends with the worrying refrain "We've swam too far/We've lost our way" before the music fades and the audience are heard rapturously applauding, only for them to be chopped half way through the thunderous reception suddenly, without warning. A strange end to totally bizarre record. If, like me, you prefer your music to sound like a nauseating haunted house lost at sea then please give Chopped & Skrewed a spin.


Mazes by Moon Duo chosen by Brian McEwan (St Deluxe)

My favourite album of the year is Mazes by Moon Duo, who are the other project from Ripley Johnson (the guitarist in Wooden Shjips) along with his partner Sanae Yamada on synth/keyboards. It keeps a lot of the elements of that band - drones, repeated riffs, meandering guitar solos, lots of phase and delay. The songs are a bit more hooky and accessible though - some of it is relatively ‘pop’ if Wooden Shjips is ‘rock‘ - and it’s more stripped back in terns of instrumentation: drum machine, synth, fuzz guitar and vocals mainly.
You can hear lots of influences in there - Suicide, Neu!, Spacemen3 etc are some of the obvious ones - but it has a character of its own I think - great drone/psych/space-rock in its own right. The new Wooden Shjips record is really good too, but this edges it for me.


PJ Harvey - Let England Shake chosen by Matthew Gilliland (Mondegreen)

My surprise album of the year by a mile. I don't really like or dislike anything PJ released before this, so I was caught off-guard when I saw her playing The Words That Maketh Murder on Jools Holland. The songwriting here is on another level to anything else I heard this year - the lyrics read well on their own, all Olde English hindsight, angelic and reflective, but the instrument choices and the echoey church sound give this record an ethereal, otherworldly atmosphere, and I like how that sound haunts from start to finish.



Tamer Animals by Other Lives chosen by The Son(s)

The album of 2011 is Tamer Animals by Other Lives. They were the best act at EOTR too. However I'd punch you in the face if you told me that I can't also have Aiden Moffat/Bill Wells - Everything's Getting Older. That's a beautiful set of songs, one I suspect I will continue to listen to longer than anything else this year. Oh and I'm going to kick you square in the balls if you won't let me mention that anyone who professes to like music should buy The Ship's Piano by Darren Hayman, The Party's Over by KPK and Office Doodles by The Weary Band. Oh and the single of the year was Snakes in the Grass by Sparrow & the Workshop. Don't you dare cut this before I say how good factorycraft is.... still here? You'd better not have cut this.... Or else when I meet you I'm going to...

Mine is Yours by Cold War Kids chosen by Ben (Bear Bones)

I first heard this album shortly after its release in late January. I didn't love it at first at first and only listened to it two or three times. A couple of months later I was in a hip, independent boutique when the bongo and bass intro of Royal Blue started plodding over the speakers with all the warmth and familiarity of a Mr. Matey bubble bath. Frustratingly, I couldn't remember what it was and I was far too proud to get on my tiptoes to Shazam the Topman (the illusion is shattered) speakers. I rushed home to trawl the whole of Spotify and soon realised my new favourite song was one that I'd discarded months before. I hated myself. Mine is Yours is far and away the best thing Cold War Kids have ever done and with the possible exception of Cold Toes on the Cold Floor, it is one of my favourite records ever. It is melodytastic from beginning to end and if you are patient and forgiving of it from the outset, I promise you will love it forever.


Within & Without by Washed Out chosen by Louise (A Band Called Quinn)

My album of the year is Within & Without by Washed Out. I'm sad I missed him live when they played Edinburgh but this is an absolutely gorgeous record with amazing synth sounds & production. It sounds so effortless & the lyrics are great too, although you can't really make them out (look them up!). Amor Fati is probably the stand out track for me & around half a million other people but it's just such an uplifting, euphoric sunny sounding record but still manages to be melancholic & tap into all the right dark places too. I did greatly admire PJ Harvey's Let England Shake too but from a sheer sensory enjoyment perspective Within & Without gets my vote. On the home front great music from Remember Remember, Star Wheel Press, Hektor Berzerk & a lot of the acts playing the Hear Glasgow Thursday nights at George Square (plug plug). Emile Sandee too - she is the real deal.



Miracle Fortress by Was I the Wave chosen by Gregor (Sparrow and the Workshop)

Have to say that most of the new music I am exposed to these days, certainly in album format, comes from meeting and playing with different bands on the road and trading albums with them. In Munich we shared a bill with a Canadian band called Miracle Fortess. Their new album 'Was I the Wave' was my stand out favourite of all the records we stacked up in the front of the van this year. It's a fantastic mix of dreamy melancholic electronica, well-crafted vocal melodies and intricate drum patterns. I love the way it's been put together, the layers are superbly mixed and listening to it in a different way (like headphones as opposed to a noisy van) revealed another side of complexity that made me smile as I'd enjoyed it so much already I was glad they'd gone to that effort with the detail but not let it distract from the core of the music. First class!

Ayetunes vs Peenko 4: The Revenge

Yes, I know we said we weren't going to be doing any more Ayetunes vs Peenko gigs, but as everyone seems to think that Jim and I have fallen out, it felt right to prove that we do still love each other. What better way to do it than by reviving our series of AvP gigs, so on August the 20th, 2011 we will be taking over Stereo in Glasgow for our fourth Vs gig. This time round we've upped the anti somewhat, we've gone for our biggest venue to date, plus this time round we have a four band bill. So I am very pleased to announce that joining us in August we have former 'y'all is fantasy island' frontman, Adam Stafford, PAWS, Miaoux Miaoux and Mondegreen. Stick that in your pipe! In a bit of a twist to our previous outings, this will also be Adam Stafford's launch night for his stunning forthcoming LP "Build a Harbour Immediately". Although the pair of us know these artists really well, I am pretty sure that some of the names might be new to you so here's a wee introduction to all of the artists who will be playing at AvP4:

Adam Stafford - A Temple of The Holy Ghost

Adam Stafford - formerly the frontman of Falkirk's y'all is fantasy island, is set to release his forthcoming album, Build a Harbour Immediately, in August. I'll shit you not, it's one of the finest records that you'll hear all year. Both myself and Jim feel pretty honoured to be involved in the launch night for the album.

Scots Way-Hay

PAWS - Kim Deal

PAWS are arguable the best live band in Scotland at the moment, bold words you might argue. But they weren't mine, they in fact uttered by the manager of We Were Promised Jetpacks, so I think she might know a little about what a good live band sounds like. Personally I couldn't agree with her more as they blew me away in Edinburgh last month. Also, they just got announced that they'll be gracing the T Break stage at this years T in the Park, which I guess they'll be using as their warm up gig before AvP4.

Scots Way-Hay

Miaoux Miaoux - Knitted

Miaoux Miaoux - on Fridaay night I declared Miaous Miaoux's new single, 'Hey Sound' as one of my singles of the year so far. Even once I'd sobered up I stick by those words, not that he's a one trick pony as I have seen him play a few times now and each time he's been fucking amazing. I guess as he's more dance/electronica orientated, he might be deemed to be the surprise act on a more indie-rock bill, but we wouldn't have asked him if we didn't think he was up to the task.

Scots Way-Hay

Mondegreen -Speaking Clock Lighthouse

Mondegreen - On record they're sublime. Live, they're tighter than a nun's chuff. Completing the bill for AvP4 are Mondegreen, a cracking band from Glasgow, who have in the past been compared to Glasgow's answer to Pavement. Their cover of the Super Mario Bros soundtrack is worth the admission fee alone!

Scots Way-Hay

So there you have it, AvP4, we're back and we're surprisingly organised for once. Hand on heart I am really excited about the bands that we have lined up for you all. Tickets for the gig are on sale now from Tickets Scotland or via our BigCartel page for just £6. Myself and Jim will also be selling tickets in person for the discounted price of £5, so look out for us at gigs, in the pub or just out and about. Hopefully we'll see a few of you coming along for a night of awesome music.

Scots Way-Hay #48 - Mondegreen

I know I have said this plenty of time before, but I often find that the best way to discover new music is often by listening to the bands that you like have been tipping. Mondegreen first came to my attention after we're only afraid of NYC started raving about them. I actually saw them live for the first time supporting NYC back in the summer of last year at King Tuts. That night I am pretty sure they won over a number of new fans, or at the very least they converted me to the ways of the 'green. I think it's safe to say that the boys have got a few Pavement albums in their record collection, there are even touches of Deerhunter or perhaps even the Fall in their. Yes, they might well wear their influences on their sleeves, but at the moment they sound pretty much like nothing else that's going on in Scotland at the moment and for that I salute them.


Would you care to introduce yourself?

I'm Matthew and I play guitar and sing with Mondegreen. Fraser (drums) and Allan (bass) are my bandmates and we've been kicking around for a while now, you just haven't heard of us because it's all a big secret and nobody let you in on it.

How would you describe the music you make?

We like to mess around with the standards a little. It seems more natural to us to chop a few beats off our bars and add a few extra notes to our chords; that's just part of musical experimentation, but cut-and-paste pop became our thing after a while. We could never write a perfect pop song, so we throw a hissy fit and question what a perfect pop song is anyway.

How did you come together as a band?

Mondegreen is a test-tube band brought together through the power of wanted ads. I think we should all meet our friends this way, I only met one psychotic serial killer and he didn't even try to kill me.

How did you start out making music?

My neighbour gave me a short-scale acoustic guitar when I was six, but I never learned how to play till my parents bought me my first cruddy wee electric guitar when I was twelve. I stayed in and jammed along with The Bluetones and The Beatles and Nirvana until I could find a band of my own. I played in a few school bands playing Radiohead covers and started a few bands that failed - the best one was called Satanic Beate Troupe and I swear the world is a worse place without it. Mondegreen is a continuation of the first gigging band I was ever in, The Covergirls.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

The songs tend to be written around guitar parts - I'm only singer by default! If I come up with something useful I keep at it until there's enough there to jam with the band. I sometimes record demos and send them to the guys, and we show up at rehearsals and it usually just comes together. I suppose it's actually quite controlled, as there isn't really a great deal of improv other than the odd noisy guitar solo where we can let our hair down a bit. We like the songs to be short and eventful.

Who are your big musical influences?

Ennio Morricone was a big influence on the style of the band. He helped bridge a gap for me between popular and classical music. If you apply classical ideas to pop you can break the verse/chorus/verse monotony, and that was the idea I wanted to explore when writing. I like The Beach Boys, Scott Walker, Tom Waits, Jacques Brel, Evil Superstars, Brainiac, Cardiacs, Trencher, King Crimson, and I hear little bits of all of them in our recordings.

What kind of influence do you feel that where you come from has had on the music you create?

Scotland is a great wee place, don't get me wrong, but it is cold, dark, wet and miserable for long periods of the year. So unless you're able to poke fun at your situation you'll end up a pure miserablist. Our songs are pretty downbeat if you take the lyrics on their own, but the goofy music puts a positive spin on it and nobody's any the wiser. But we're crying inside :(

What can people expect to see/hear from your live shows?

You'll hear no sound checks (they are for wimps), zero chat in between songs, kazoos and 15% more cowbell for your money. And you'll see the drumsticks flying all over the place, high levels of concentration, higher levels of mistakes, and the lowest slung bass guitar in history.

Has there been a particular gig that has stood out for you so far (good or bad)?

We had a great time in the summer up in Aberdeen playing with Min Diesel and Pensioner, two great bands we highly recommend. That stands out as the most fun we've had at a gig, and the music was brilliant too. Even the drive there and back was a hoot.

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

We're recording our LP with Ross at Chime Studio now, that's our big target for this year. It'll be great to have it finished but we're having a great time messing around at Chime and seeing where the record takes us. Beyond that, world domination obviously, a duet with Dolly Parton and our own line of Mondegreen curtain/bed spread sets. That would be awesome.


Mondegreen - Making Cookies


You can catch Mondegreen playing live at the Captains Rest on Friday the 4th of March supporting last weeks Scots Way-Hay starlets PAWS. Their 'Headless' EP is also available to download on their Bandcamp, it's free, it's awesome and you really should check it out.

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Friday Freebies

Sufjan Stevens
Mr Stevens certainly likes to catch us off guard, first off he releases a surprise new EP, then the next thing you know he was giving away free track, 'I Walked', from his forthcoming album 'The Age of Adz'. Well now he's at it again, posting up another free download, 'Too Much', which you can find on his Bandcamp.

Summer Camp
My hipsters senses aren't what they used to be, until now Summer Camp completely passed me by, it wasn't until I was reading an article about them the other day that I realised that the duo actually comprised of one my favourite artists, Jeremy Warmsley. Their new 'Young EP', seems to be all over the place at the moment, which is fully deserved in my eyes, no it's not Scottish, but I'd urge you to check it out. If you need a bit more convincing then you can get a free download of their song 'I Only Have Eyes For You' by signing up to their mailing list (it's about half way down the page on the right hand side).

Esperi
Lo-fi experimentalist, Chris lee-Marr aka Esperi, makes some of the most delicate music in Scotland at the moment, and if Halina from the Glasgow Podcart is to be believed, then his forthcoming debut album is going to blow you away. Fine praise indeed, if you want to get in on the act before it all kicks off, then head on over to his Bandcamp, where you can download his track 'Proverb' , taken from his '21:21' EP for free.

Aspen Tide
The Glasgow indie pop quartet, have posted up their track 'Bittersweet' for free download on their Music Glue page. Simply give them your email address and they'll give you the tune, if that sounds like a fair deal to you, then get downloading here. Fans of bands like the Xcerts, Twin Atlantic and LightGuides should lap this up.

Randolph's Leap
Yes I know that I messed up their freebie the other week (thanks Jim), it was only up for a week, which I didn't know when I had found it, sorry. To make up for it, I have found this wee gem of a freebie from last year, it's their single 'A​-​side, B​-​side, Seaside' from last year, which you can get for free. The band have a new in the pipe line, which is sounding rather nifty, don't worry I'll remind you when it comes out.

Fiona Soe Paing
The Aberdonian electro-experimentalist, and also a favourite round these parts, has posted up 'Deep Song' from her excellent 'No Man's Land' release, for free download on her Bandcamp. Get it downloaded kids.

Mondegreen
The Glasweigan indie-pop experimentalists impressed me a lot when I caught them supporting 'we're only afraid of NYC' last month, you might remember that I posted a link to download their EP in Freebies a few weeks back. Now, being the generous folk that they are, they have posted up a rough demo called 'Casting Error', which you can download for here.

Walnut Tree Records
The Watford based label have posted up a cracking wee free download of a compilation album that they have compiled. There are a couple of Scottish acts on it, Pareto and The Barent Sea, you can get yourself a copy here.

Ace City Racers
Unashamedly taking their influences from Blur's Britpop days, the Glasgow indie trio have posted up their catchy as fuck tune, 'Scenester' up for free on their Bandcamp, if you like what you hear, then you'll be chuffed to learn that they have a residency at Pivo Pivo in Glasgow during October.

Lek Fonq
The Australian outfit have been described as being 'pop-funk meets electronica with a sunshine vibe', how could you resist something that sounds like so much fun. The band have given me an MP3 of a remix of their track 'Inner Rhthym', download it here.

Captain Polaroid
The Brummie lo-fi artist is back with another new freebie, his Beat Nostalgia EP3 is up for download over on his blog.

Lonesome Mercury
I don't think I have ever featured a band from the Isle of Man on Peenko before, so it's about time that I got that rectified with a dirty garage band by the name of Lonesome Mercury. They have a free EP called 'Dirty Northern Garage' up for free download on their Bandcamp.

!!! (chkchkchk)
The Californian dance punks have a new album out, 'Strange Weather Isn't It?', they're giving a wee tatster of it on their website, you can download 'AM/FM' here.

Sun Hotel
The New Orleans indie outfit are giving away a free download of their track 'Suburb', taken from their forthcoming album 'Coast', you can get a copy in exchange for a tweet or Facebook post.

Napoleon IIIrd
The band are giving away their track 'The Unknown Unknown' for free in exchange for a tweet.


Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner

Kowalskiy's Kontribution for today is a wee cracker, once again he's raised the bar just that little bit higher, how he'll manage to keep the standards this high I'll never know. This is the third in the series of his EP's, check this out for a track listing;

1. Over The Wall - track from the upcoming debut album
2. Penguins Kill Polar Bears - unreleased track
3. How To Swim - track from their upcoming album
4. Come On Gang! - Wolfjazz remix of 'Fortune Favours The Brave'
5. Shambles Miller - unreleased demo

Just click the pretty picture below and get downloading............

Friday Freebies

Mondegreen
I caught this three piece supporting we're only afraid of NYC last Friday, bloody great they were too. You can have a listen for yourself by downloading their 'Headless' EP for free on their Bandcamp page.


Marthas & Arthurs
The first band to take me up on my newly embeded link to email me any Freebie suggestions, and a wee cracker it is too. They're partly Scottish and they make some gorgeous wee tunes, a fine start if ever I had one. You can download their new EP, 'Apes in Aeroplanes' for free on their Bandcamp page.

Broken Records
The Edinburgh outift have been hidden away writing their second album, 'Let Me Come Home' which is due out on the 25th of October. Recorded in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan, plus guest vocals by Jill O'Sullivan from Sparrow and the Workshop, the album is highly anticipated by many of us Scottish bloggers, as a taster of what to expect you can download, 'A Leaving Song' by signing up to their mailing list.

Conquering Animal Sound
The good folk over at Gerry Loves have just posted up Meaursault's remix of 'Giant' by Conquering Animal Sound up for free download. I'm not normally a fan of remixes, but I think this is rather nifty, get downloading here.

Gold Panda
The experimental instrumental hip hop type has announced that he will release his debut album, 'Lucky Shiner', in October, preceded by a single, 'Snow & Taxis'. However you can already download 'Snow & Taxis' from www.luckyshiner.com just now, which makes feck all sense to me, but what do I know.

Sub Pop
I'm not sure if I have posted this before, mainly because there are so many free compilations up on Amazon these days, even if I have this is worth repeating. There are a load of free tracks up fro grabs from the likes of Wolf Parade, Avi Buffalo, Nirvana and The Shins. Download it here.

Departures
The Detour boys described this band as 'one the best bands in the whole country right now', high compliments indeed. See if you agree by downloading their EP for free here.

Epic26
Give them your details and they will send you a link to download their track “Sorry It Hurts”.

Jim Noir
Mind this guy, he did that 'Eanie Meany' tune a few years back, well he's got a new EP out, it's called 'Melody Junction' and it's free to download here.

Abunai
There is a whole host of free stuff to download from the psychedelic outift, get it over on their Bandcamp page.

The Concretes
A new album is due in November, it's apparently going to be a disco album. Fuck knows what that'll sound like then, This is Fake DIY have a free download of 'Good Evening' taken from said album, if you fancy checking out this new direction they're taking, then you can download it here.

Fight Like Apes
The Irish outfit have posted their track, 'Poached Eggs' taken from their forthcoming album, 'Body of Christ and The Legs of Tina Turner'. All you have to is hit the 'Pay With A Tweet' button and with one tweet or facebook post you get a copy of the song.

Gay Blades
You can get a free download of 'Try To Understand' from The Gay Blades new album 'Savages' for free here.


Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner

5-track Scottish EP #2
Continuing on with his series of rarities, Mr Kowalskiy has pulled another rabbit from the proverbial hat this month with a cracking EP featuring rare and unreleased tracks from five Scottish artists. This month he has Beerjacket covering the Xx, The Fusiliers, Evil Hand, The Little Kicks and Washington Irving. The boy continues to outdo himself!

Invisible Elephant

Also featured this week by our good pal the doc featured these guys earlier in the week, he described them as "as easy-listening post-rock, at times like a stripped-back My Bloody Valentine". If that sounds like it'd be up your street, then you can download their album 'The Lights Go Out', up on their Bandcamp page.