Friday Freebies

Apologies for the lateness of this weeks freebies, I have up north all week visiting my folks and I didn't get back until late this evening. Rather than relax and put my feet up I am going to batter through a very full inbox, but before I do that I managed to knock together this weeks Friday Freebies. Don't say I am not good to you!

Pensioner
Have I mentioned that our label Olive Grove have another album coming out very soon and that it's completely different to anything we've done before? If not, then we have a new album coming out very soon and it's with Dundee's finest Pensioner. The album genuinely took me by surprise, I fully expect it do the same to a lot of you. In anticipation of their album, Yearlings, the band have posted a free download of their song Gadgie Weddin' on their Bandcamp page. Get stuck in kids.

Martin John Henry
After a barn storming set at the recent Kid Canaveral SXSW fund raiser gig, the former De Rosa front man announced this week that he will be playing at this years Home Game festival in May. To celebrate this, he's made all of the songs on his Bandcamp free to download, I would suggest you check out 'I Love Map' which has been a personal favourite of mine for a while now.

The Head and the Heart
Mind I was banging on about this lot at the start of the year, possibly not, but you really should check this Seattle band out as they're a cracking band. You can download yourself some tunes here in exchange for your email address.

Verse Metrics
Edinburgh outfit, Verse Metrics have posted their song 'Horoscopes' from the E.P 'VM1' for free download on their homepage in exchange for a tweet/facebook post or you can get it direct on their Soundcloud page.

Panda Bear
Noah Lennox, he of Animal Collective fame is back with a new album, Tomboy. Following on form the success of Person Pitch, you can download new track Last At The Jetty here.

Silver Caves
On the 30th of April the good folk from the Glad Cafe will be putting on another gig in the southside, this time round they're returning to the Pandora Bar on Victoria Road for another evening of quality music. This time round they've got Fox Gut Daata, Silver Caves (formely Barn Owl) and Field Mouse providing the entertainment for the evening. You can check out Silver Caves by downloading a couple of free tunes from their Bandcamp page.

My Morning Jacket
I can't say that I have been a massive fan of My Morning Jacket, I did try and buy into the hype when everyone was creaming their pants over It Still Moves, way back in 2003 (fuck, that makes me feel very old). Since then I haven't really bothered with them, some of you might still like them though, so you'll be interested to know that new song "Circuital" is free here.

And So I Watch You From Afar
Belfast pot-rockers return with new album, 'Gangs' at the end of this month. You can download new song 'BeautifulUniverseMasterChampion' from it, for free on Soundcloud.

Sputniks Down
Ever wondered what RM Hubbert's singing voice sounds like, well wonder no more by downloading this free tune from Sputniks Down here.

Mitchell Museum
Ever wanted to hear Raindeer from Mitchell Museum covering Roy Orbison's 'Crying'? No me neither, but you can download it for nowt here, there is also a video to go with it too. He's also promised to post a cover version every two weeks, so prepare yourself for more of this nonsense in the weeks to come.

Fresh Meat Monday - Verse Metrics

Photo by Luke Joyce

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Bob: Vocals and Guitar. Al: The other guitar Martin: Drums

Dave - Bass


How would you describe the music you make?

Bob: If we're labelling, I would say we're alternative/independent. If we're trying to describe our sound I'd say we like to have depth to our songs, whether we're playing quiet or loud, and like our songs to be atmospheric. Al: I think it's original. That's the main thing. There are a lot of influences on our writing from different bands and themes, but I class it as alternative. Martin: Pretty words, interesting floaty vocal melodies, powerful bits. The odd disjointed/unpredictable section. Dave: I'd say it's varied. There's an effort to avoid writing the same song twice.


How did you start out making music?

Bob: I joined a band four years ago, and over that time the line-up slowly changed until it was just myself and Dave (bass) left from the original band. Al and Martin joined us last year and we started from scratch as a 4-piece. Martin: I knew Bob from my youth, he introduced me to the other guys. It was a case of writing songs from the first practice. It's always been a creative process.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

Bob: I bring in initial ideas and then we expand on them as a band. I try not to over-write anything before presenting ideas, I'll usually bring in a collection of riffs and/or vocal melodies, then we go from there. We take our time and analyse the songs a lot over weeks or months: basically until we're happy. We all write parts for the songs and I love working that way. It leads to an end product with quite a few layers. Al: There's definitely a fair bit of evolution goes on. It's a collaborative effort where everyone is responsible for their own parts and the end result is 'Verse Metrics'. The whole band get the writing credit as it comes together from Bob's initial concepts.


What can people expect from your live shows?

Bob: We try to be as honest as possible when we're playing live, none of us ever really think about doing scissor kicks or sex faces. If it looks like we're having a good time/concentrating/worried it's because we are! If we've got good sound we'll put on a good show. Dave: I must admit that I'm guilty of the odd sex face. Definitely unintentional.


What are you all listening to at the moment?

Bob: Happy Particles, United Fruit, Pensioner and Trapped In Kansas. Al: Black International, Lightguides, a few old Seafood albums and I Build Collapsible Mountains. There's not much need to look further than Scotland's unsigned scene at the minute. There's about 20 other bands I could've mentioned. Martin: Just now I'm listening to Deftones: Diamond Eyes, which I think is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time. Other than that I'm listening to a lot of Stapleton and Twin Atlantic at the moment. I like originality in music as well as melody and passion, and I think all those bands offer that. Dave: A playlist on my phone which is home to tracks from Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Metallica and Korn


What can we expect to see/hear from you in the near future?

Bob: We have our debut EP release and our first ever tour, which is taking shape quite nicely. Looking forward to hitting the road and playing people our music... as well as enjoying ourselves along the way Martin: We've got an epic new stage routine, which involves us fencing with our cocks. Dave's been working on his light sabre noises. I can't really say much more.

Tired Lights by Verse Metrics

Home
Facebook
Bandcamp