Velcro Quartet

GLAM POP

Many fine young Scots bands are already lined-up to play The Mill, Miller beer’s new branding doohickey come weekly live gig in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and The List can report it’s actually a pretty good night out. The bands are well-chosen and reflective of what’s happening on the scene, while the brand in question isn’t shoved down your throat. Oh hold on, yes it is – even better.

One less well-known name on Edinburgh’s opening bill though, is the Velcro Quartet, here taking top billing from the capital’s atmospherically shoegazey Action Group. You’ll know Glasgow’s Velcro before you hear them – they’re the ones in the Adam and the Ants tartan chaps and ruffled shirts; the guys wearing more make-up than Russell Brand. They’re pretty good fun as well, their cheery Anglo-pop sound really set off by singer Joe Rodger’s flouncy vocal, which lies somewhere between the styles of Jarvis Cocker and Johnny Borrell. Just distinctive and NME-friendly enough to stand a real chance of success, the affectations – which lead to them calling songs things like ‘Can We Go Yet Mummy?’ and ‘Johnny Cashback’ – are a tiny bit overdone however.