Indie Rock

WU LYF - SWG3, Glasgow, Sat 17 Mar

Mancunian 'kings of heavy pop' triumph over piffling technical difficulties

26 Mar 2012

Since they first cropped up in the public consciousness, WU LYF have been intriguing due to the fact that no one really knew very much about them. The name (World Unite! Lucifer Youth Foundation); the image and the mystique surrounding them; was it…

The Stone Roses reform to play dates at Manchester's Heaton Park in summer 2012

19 Oct 2011

As you’ve no doubt heard, yet another cornerstone of the British music establishment has chosen to dust off its bucket hat and have it large with a reunion tour. This is no ordinary by-the-numbers reformation, though. This is The Stone Roses. Capable…

Julian Plenti... is Skyscraper

7 Aug 2009

It’s not always surprising when a guitarist or keyboard player unveils solo desires, but when the frontman of a band steps up, it seems a bit weird. Now, as Julian ‘Strokes’ Casablancas attempts to convince us that he really is the brains behind his…

T in the Park - Saturday

13 Jul 2009

Having utterly failed to 'tweet' from T in the Park, Brendan Miles is given a second chance to voice his thoughts on some of the best acts to grace Scotland's biggest music festival

The Enemy - Music for the People

16 Apr 2009

(Warner Bros) The Enemy so desperately wish they were Oasis. And while We’ll Live & Die in These Towns had a certain Jam-esque swagger and dole-queue poetry Music for the People is a worrying retread. There’s no doubt it will be sung loud and proud…

Tropics

27 Nov 2008

INDIE ROCK In a tiny venue on a cold Tuesday night, sometime after midnight, with a young band who are somewhat unheralded nationally - the odds were stacked against this show from the start. Yet Sneaky’s is cosy rather than characterless, the crowd…

Ten Bears

27 Nov 2008

Named after a Comanche chief, Ten Bears hail from Manchester rather than the wild west and specialise in highly hummable indie rock. Think the Kaiser Chiefs but less annoying or Razorlight without the arrogance, add a bit of spiky Eels quirkyness and…

The Fusiliers

Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 16 Oct

30 Oct 2008

While definitions of what might count as a good local band are varied, there are three broad categories: the ones who fly out from under the radar to astonish with their skill and ingenuity; the ones who perfectly sum up a period of time in their home…

Bloc Party

Barfly, Glasgow, Sun 19 Oct

30 Oct 2008

It’s no way to endear yourself to a crowd when one song in you announce ‘I know it’s a Sunday night and all Glasgow, but this is a Bloc Party show!’ A declaration from Kele Okereke that could easily be taken as a preening popstar sniping because he…

The Creeping Nobodies

Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, Wed 15 Oct

30 Oct 2008

Back in the dark(er) ages, The Creeping Nobodies were an imaginary indie band immortalised on a demo tape which adorned the typically slap-dash front cover of The Fall’s 1980 Grotesque (After The Gramme) album, addressed to ‘A Famous Ape’. Well, praise…

White Lies

2 Oct 2008

INDIE ROCK No money, nights drawing in, a new Kaiser Chiefs record on the way … There’s a lot of stuff to sob about these days, and while you’re at it you’d better add White Lies to the list. When the brooding Bunnymen-esque West London trio…

The Dykeenies

2 Oct 2008

LIVE INDIE ROCK WEBCAST This live webcast with The Dykeenies is a promo for the Red Bull Bedroom Jam website, which invites up and coming bands to post footage of gigs in their own bedrooms online. Except, erm, we’re not in a bedroom, but rather…

Calvin Johnson

7 Aug 2008

When Calvin Johnson plays a booze-free all-ages show in a church hall in Glasgow this week, he won’t be attempting to be cute. Rather, it’s just one more wilfully skewed strategy in this most single-minded of mavericks’ ongoing mission of DIY…

Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual

7 Aug 2008

EXPERIMENTAL INDIE-ROCK (We Are Free Records) Hailing from Baltimore via Pennsylvania and Japan, Ponytail (aka Ken Seena, Dustin Wong, Molly Siegal & Jeremy Hyman) finally gel courtesy of this rather wigged-out sophomore set; their first was the…

Stapleton

3 Jul 2008

INDIE ROCK Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, Glasgow, Tue 8 Jul It must be tiring, constantly being referred to as unsung heroes. Who wouldn’t rather be a sung hero than an unsung one? If Scottish outfit Stapleton feel any of that frustration they hide it well, but…

Yeasayer

28 Feb 2008

After riding a wave of hype stateside and playing to sold-out audience on their first full US tour, Yeasayer are bringing their unique brand of world music-tinged rock to Glasgow. The four-piece combine sprawling, experimental soundscapes with African…

The Dykeenies

28 Feb 2008

Taking their name from Ron Howard’s 80s fantasy epic Willow, Cumbernauld’s Dykeenies have proved their indie credentials, playing NME Rock’n’Roll Riot Tour, alongside The Horrors, The Fratellis and The Maccabees in 2006. Now the band are establishing…

Kula Shaker

Strangefolk

16 Aug 2007

INDIE ROCK Kula Shaker, and in particular lead fop Crispian Mills, come in for a lot of stick. They were pretentious, they were overblown but they also had some great tunes. The media glare, the rise of lad culture and some unfortunate quotes…

Cold War Kids

QMU, Glasgow, Thu 26 Apr

9 Apr 2007

INDIE ROCK While many of us are quite rightly enthralled by the diversity of the current musical climate and all the breathtaking new bands it has to offer, Cold War Kids, despite being very much part of this climate, seemingly couldn’t care less.

Little Doses

Little Doses

27 Mar 2007

INDIE ROCK Cabaret Voltaire sees a good turnout for tonight’s New Found Sound showcase of local talent. Though third down on the bill, Vitamin Flintheart’s swirling atmospheric set sets a solid standard. Switching between flickering melodies to…

The Horrors interview

Smoke & mirrors

30 Jan 2007

The Horrors are in need of a fag. Having had their ch ance for a nicotine fix disrupted by fans who are loitering outside The Caves in Edinburgh hoping for a glimpse of the band, they now find themselves upstairs experiencing first hand the realities of…

Desert Hearts - album review

Desert Hearts

29 Jan 2007

INDIE ROCK Once upon a time indie-bands had ideas and balls. But the current trend for nadger-crushingly tight jeans seems to have put a stop to that. Giving a slap to stage school rockers and banning the keyboards from the rehearsal rooms are…

One Day Speakers, The

The One Day Speakers

20 Dec 2006

INDIE ROCK Whistlebinkies might not be the most lauded music venue in the capital, but as a jump off for new local bands it serves a useful function. A regular stream of new talent can be found cutting their teeth there most week nights, and for the…

Lemonheads, The - album review

The Lemonheads

2 Oct 2006

INDIE ROCK (Vagrant) At their peak, Evan Dando’s Lemonheads brilliantly combined the slacker punk power of grunge with perfect pop melodies, and while this is not quite a vintage demonstration of that, it’s still an impressively feisty return…