The Little Kicks - Radio Clyde Session (04/12/11)

Track Listing

1. Before Today
2. Do Something New
3. The First Place

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Scots Way-Hay #78 - The Little Kicks

I had fully intended to make last weeks Scots Way-Hay post my last of the year, that was until The Little Kicks new album popped through my letter box at the tail end of last week. Having spent the weekend with their album on repeat I decided that I didn't want to wait until the new year to feature them, so I cheekily asked them if they might be up for answering a few questions for me, thankfully they said yes. So to sign us off on a high for 2011 we have the last Scots Way-Hay interview of the year from Aberdeen's finest, The Little Kicks...

Would you care to introduce yourself to the Peenko readers?

My name is Steven Milne and I am part of the band The Little Kicks. I sing and play guitar and keyboards.

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

We are predominantly described as an "indie rock pop" band but as much as thats true we also like to get people dancing so we often throw the word "disco" in there whenever possible. NME described us as having "a nice line in brittle funk" as well as having "pocket epics to be proud of" - I can live with that.

How did the band come together then?

We came together some time ago as a group of guys who had vaguely similar tastes in music and liked hanging out together in the same places and groups of people. Somehow were still a pretty tight gang and even on a recent 12 day tour together nobody killed each other - which is maybe a rarity in band circles.

So where does the band name come from then?

We needed to come up with a name as we had songs ready to record and maybe even had a gig booked. We had literally no ideas between us and I can barely even name songs despite writing them so I had nothing in mind. Our very first drummer (way way back) was a big fan of Seinfeld so he found a font he liked and pasted all the episode names into a word document. The Little Kicks stood out as it looked good written down and the rest of the band liked it. It was the only episode of Seinfeld I had seen at the time so I (initially reluctantly) agreed but then it stuck and I grew to like it. In recent times I have been grimacing when bands like Rizzle Kicks and Little Mix are announced on Radio 1.

Is there a certain process that goes into the way you write songs?

I guess firstly I write and bring it to the band to work on. Sometimes songs and lyrics come quickly out of nowhere and sometimes I have to really work on them for up to 3 months or more. I try not to force it as it then comes out wrong. I write mainly at home or in the practice room on my own ill maybe make a demo for the others. The demos used to be quite detailed but I have found its more fun now for us to work it out together so ill maybe write notes down but not direct in a particular way. The new album has been a big step for us as it is a lot more collectively written than anything previously. Sometimes that means a bit of creative tension but usually more than often that makes us work harder and we turn it into a positive thing. Im lucky that I have such a good group of guys to bring things to as I feel they always make my ideas better or turn in a more interesting way.

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

We all collectively like very different bands but there is the list of things which we all collectively like include Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Foals, LCD Soundsystem, The National, The Strokes, Frightened Rabbit, Radiohead, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Phoenix and more recently Bon Iver and Bombay Bicycle Club were added to the tour bus playlist. When we were making the album or if were in the tour van thats who would be on the stereo.

What would you like someone who’s listening to your music for the first time to take away from your music?

Thats a tough question but a good question. I have always found that music goes hand in hand with a feeling of emotion so one thing I've never understood is when people say "they like everything" or that they just treat music as a background thing. If music is on I find myself listening in to it and bending my ear to it to the point that im being rude to present company so with the new album I guess it would be nice if someone heard it and it made them take a moment to listen properly. I think people are really used to the I-pod attention span now where after a couple of minutes they switch off and losing yourself in an album is a rarity but that is ultimately how I would love people to listen to our new album. Hopefully people will grab a set of headphones and switch off their worries for 35/40 minutes and just enjoy it and get something of an upbeat feeling from it.

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

I think we would write the same music and write in the same way no matter where we were based but on the other hand deep down it probably does influence other aspects. Being based in Aberdeen we probably feel very slightly out of the inner music loop in Scotland and certainly a long way from the hub of London's industry. But all in all we do pretty well up here (otherwise I wouldn't be speaking to yourself!) and we still recently managed to get in the NME and play Death Disco in London so I'm not complaining. Logistically it can be a pain and shapes what gigs are more do-able than others but were more than happy to do the drive back and forth as its our choice to live here. You speak to bands from Canada who do 12 hour journeys as standard so when you hear that you count yourself lucky.

What has been your most memorable gig to date, (be it good or bad)?

We have played better gigs and played better as a band but most memorable gig to date is probably T in the Park T Break tent. It was during our first real year together and we were still finding our feet as a band (we don't even play any of the same songs) but the buzz playing to a full tent is something you cant really forget. We were on onthe Sunday night and up against Kasabian, Interpol and Kings of Leon but flyered the hell out of the festival over the weekend and when it came to our slot we had filled the tent. That certainly gave us a taste for it and a big encouragement to carry on.

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

In the near future we will be picking and filming a single from the new album for release asap. In December we are doing some dates as tour support to Broken Records which we are really looking forward to. Following those we will be playing the AECC in Aberdeen at Hogmanay with The View, White Lies and Twin Atlantic which will be a big show to end the year! In the new year we will be releasing a remix EP and touring in the spring across the UK and hopefully keeping ourselves on the radar enough to get booked for the summer festivals. We've also set January and February aside to work on some new songs but the main aim is to spread the word of the new album as we are really proud of it and its great to finally let people hear it!

The Litttle Kicks - Call Of Youth

The Little Kicks new self-titled album is available on CD Format from One Up Records, HMV (Aberdeen), plus it's also available to buy on CD along with other stuff directly from the bands Big Cartel page. It's also available to download from Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon and all other major online retailers.

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Friday Freebies

PAWS
Ah PAWS, I fucking love PAWS. They're noisy as fuck, they do what they want and they have great tunes to boot. They have a demo called 'How Can I Depend On You?', it's on SoundCloud, it's free and you should download it.

The Little Kicks
Aberdeen's finest, The Little Kicks are all set release their self-titled, second album this coming Monday. As a wee teaser of what to expect they've posted up their song 'Call Of Youth' for free download on Bandcamp.

Hear Glasgow
Glasgow Youth Music Forum, Hear Glasgow are hosting a series of gigs on Thursday nights at George Square during December between 6 to 9pm featuring and array of local talent including Open Swimmer, Bear Bones, Miaoux Miaoux, A Band Called Quinn, Shambles Miller andThe Seventeenth Century. To celebrate the gigs they're giving away a free sampler on SoundCloud of some festive tunes from some of the bands playing at the events. Further information on the gigs can be found here.

Armbands For Eskimos
I have done some hunting online, but I really can't tell you much about Armbands For Eskimos, I think they might have something to do with the band Ambulances, but I am really just basing that on the fact that they sound a wee bit similar and that they follow them on Twitter. What I do know for sure is that they have a song called 'Prayer For The Lost' up for free download on Bandcamp and that it's also rather good.

Pulco
Again I don't know too much about this band, aside from the fact that I like the tunes. Bandcamp tells me they're a Welsh lo-fi outfit and that their Sketchbook Season EP is free to download. If they were Scottish I'd be all over this like a rash, which I guess just goes to show what a blinkered twat I really am.

Hipster Death Squad
Now how could I not post something by a band with a name that good. Seriously even if the songs were shit I would have to have posted something. Thankfully the songs aren't shit, they're pretty fucking awesome actually. They're also free to download. Nice.

Matt Norris & the Moon
One of the problems that I find with doing this post every week is that sometimes I forget whether or not I have posted some of these links before. Then again I guess somethings are worth repeating. Edinburgh outfit, Matt Norris & the Moon are one such band, they have a song called 'Volume Original First Light Of Day' which sounds a bit Mumford & Sons-ish, so if that's yer bag, then you'll probably dig this.

Shambles Miller
Glagsow's favourite lo-fi a folky-punkster, Shambles Miller has posted another one of his tunes up for free download. This new effort has been describes as being "a protest song about the protest song, in support of the occupy movement", whatever that might mean. Download 'For the Would-be Woody Guthrie' for free here.

monster island.
In terms of listening to non-Scottish music, 6Music aside, I really only hear new music from two other sources, The Waiting Room and Cloud Sounds. If you haven't checked these shows out get on it kids, they're braw. Ted from Cloud Sounds always amuses the fuck out of me, he knows he's funny and he even makes himself laugh, which I dig. He's also got a shit hot taste in music, and no I am not just saying that as he plays our stuff. He's introduced me to a lot of great stuff, which would include monster island. They have an album called 'cathedral steps' which is free to download on Bandcamp.

The Dodos
There was a time when I was very much down with the kids, almost hipster-ish (without the dress sense), I was very much on the pulse. Nowadays I have no fucking clue what's cool and what's not and I kind of like it that way. I guess that's just part of getting older. Back when I was 'with it', The Dodos were one of those kind of bands, I doubt that I'd ever find myself going back to listen to their older albums, but hey there was a time when they meant something to me. I guess that there must be some folk out there who still like them, so they might be interested to learn that the duo are offering up their new song "So Cold," in exchange for your email address.

The Spook School
Edinburgh four piece, The Spook School, have just posted up a new home recorded demo called 'Are You Who You Think You Are?' for free download on their Bandcamp page.

Laura Marling
From the bits and bobs that I have hear from the new Laura Marling album, it sounds pretty good. It's one of these albums that I keep meaning to check out, but never do. My loss I guess. If you haven't already heard it and want a taster, Amazon are giving away a free download of her song 'I Was Just A Card' here.

Friday Freebies

Y’all is Fantasy Island
Under appreciated, is the phrase that springs to mind when anyone mentions now defunct Falkirk outfit, Y’all is Fantasy Island. I am not going to start kidding myself that I wasn't one of the folk that didn't fully appreciate what we had until they were gone. Thanks to Wiseblood Industries we can all do some much needed catching up as they've re-issued the whole of Y’all is Fantasy Island’s entire back catalogue digitally for free. This includes five LPs, totalling 55 tracks all in. So if you're not Home Game-ing this weekend, then this should pretty much be your weekend sorted.

State Broadcasters
It feels like ages ago since we last heard anything from the Glasgow's finest twee-Americana band. In fact it's been that long that I actually thought they'd called it a day, so it was good to hear that not only were they still going, but they've also been busy recording new material. They've just made new song 'Kittiwake', which comes from their forthcoming album due out in the summer, available for free download.

Steven Milne
At the tail end of last year I got sent a copy of Aberdeenshire singer songrwiter, Steven Milne's album Chasing Phantoms. Really good it was too, somehow I seem to have misplaced my copy of the album so it slipped out of my mind. Admittedly I do feel kind of guilty about that now, I am going to have to do some much needed hunting to find it. Anyway, what reminded me of all of this was that his label Bedford Records have made a remix of his song Best Of Times available for free download.

The Little Kicks
It's funny that I just mentioned Steven Milne, as he crops up twice in this weeks Friday Freebies. This little freebie comes courtesy of his other project, The Little Kicks, who are going to be out touring for a lot of this month. They've made their new single 'Call of Youth' available to download for free on their Bandcamp.

Fucked Up
I had forgotten quite how much I liked the last Fucked Up album, I must go and give my copy a a good airing. If you're already a fan then you might be chuffed to hear that Stereogum have a free download of their new song “Queen Of Hearts” for free.

Dropkick
One of the reasons I reckon a lot of folk like to search out new music is because it can be quite daunting when you find a band with a back ground as it requires a lot more effort to try and sift through a more established artists back catalogue. Knowing where to start can be pretty off putting when you have so much stuff to listen to. Which in a roundabout way brings me to Dropkick, as East Coast outfit whose music flirts between alt country and power pop. They've recently made 59 of their previously unreleased songs available to download for free on their website. Some of which I am assured are "reasonably good". Having already built up a bit of a cult following in Spain, the band are set to release their new album 'Time Cuts The Ties' on the 14th of May. If that sounds like your cup of tea then you can download a tonne of free songs from their website.

The Spinto Band
Mind the Spinto Band, whatever happened to them then? One great album, one stinker, then I never heard of them again until now. They've apparently been away recording a cover of theme music for Arthur. I am sure that makes perfect sense in Spinto-land, if you fancy hearing what it sounds like then you can by downloading the track for free in exchange for your email address.

Smack Wizards
The up and coming new Glasgow 3-piece , featuring members of Plaaydoh/Mr Peppermint, have made their debut album available for free download through Winning Sperm Party.

The Son(s)
In the midst of everything going on at Olive Grove HQ, it might seem as if we have overlooked some of our artists. I hope that isn't the case, as we love each and every one of our 'children' equally. It's been a while since we talked about the Son(s), so this feels like as good a time as any to be mentioning that they're giving away a free track in exchange for a tweet. So if you were wondering what all the fuss was about then you can find out for yourself here.

Jonathan Sebastian Knight
He of My Cousin I Bid You Farewell fame, has made a whole host of tracks available for free download on his Soundcloud page.

RM Hubbert
I am afraid that this freebie is only open to folk in the US, so if you're not from across the pond then you might want to look away now. He might well be currently be holed up in a studio with Alex Kapranos recording his new album, but we've not forgotten about wur pal Hubby. If you haven't already checked out his album 'First & Last', then you're missing a trick. Chemikal Underground were smart enough to reissue the album, so if you don't trust me, trust them. Our American friends are also in luck as they can download my personal favourite track 'For Maria' for nowt on Amazon. Everyone else, well you've been told enough times, by now you should've already bought the album.

The Dawn Fanfare
This freebie comes courtesy of our radio pal, Pop Goes The Revolution, who are planning on posting a free download every Monday for the next few weeks. So if you fancy a freebie on a Monday get following their Facebook page. This week they came up with The Dawn Fanfare, who are new to me, possibly because they're not Scottish.

Rock The Fort
The mini festival held up in Fort William, finishes up tonight with Bronto Skylift, Homework and James MacKenzie & the Aquscene. From what I have heard from folk who have played it at it, it's been a rather successful start to the festival. What does that have to do with free downloads you might be wondering, well there's a free mini album featuring Bronto, Mitchell Museum and Pareto among others. Get it here.

Bear Driver
Mind we like this lot, they make me smile. Their new demo Colours Run, works for me, see if it does for you by downloading it for free here.