Indie

Extra Golden

3 Jul 2008

Described as ‘an incendiary union of Kenyan benga and Stateside rock’ there’s a soft side to these cross-continental superstars. Their track ‘Obama’ is dedicated to the Presidential front runner, not for political reasons, but as a thank you for helping…

My Bloody Valentine

19 Jun 2008

SHOEGAZE COMEBACK Barrowlands, Glasgow, Wed 2 & Thu 3 Jul There are some musical reunions the whole world wants to happen, and others that start out and then fall away without the populace paying the slightest bit of attention. Then there are…

The Sauchiehall Crawl

19 Jun 2008

INDIE Various venues, Glasgow, Sun 1 Jun One night, 11 bands, three venues in one street. Two options. One: settle down with a pint at the venue of your choice and given that the ABC has How to Swim (pictured), Broken Records and The Twilight Sad this…

Jens Lekman - live music review

5 Jun 2008

INDIE POP Oran Mor, Glasgow, Thu 15 May Modern pop is rarely as smart, affecting or plain funny as when it’s in the hands of Jens Lekman. Nor as succinct. ‘No encore, 11 songs, all hits,’ proclaimed the Swede at the start of his set, tongue lodged…

Fleet Foxes

5 Jun 2008

Seattle five-piece Fleet Foxes are signed to one of the city’s most legendary labels Sub Pop (as well as Bella Union). But it’s as far from grunge as you could get, except for their gorgeous, ramshackle nature. Despite a few shaggy rock outs the band…

Black Kids

22 May 2008

INDIE King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 4 Jun They’re not going to teach your boyfriend how to dance with you, but tipped-for-greatness combo Black Kids are hellbent on entertaining the Tut’s crowd as part of their UK and Europe-wide tour. Speaking from…

White Rabbits

22 May 2008

INDIE Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 2 May Frightened Rabbit, Fleet Foxes, Sam Sparro – there’s a veritable woodland of new bands and artists out there at the moment, so what sets New Yorkers White Rabbits apart? The fact that they subscribe to the…

Various - Chamber Music: James Joyce (1907)

22 May 2008

INDIE (Fire Records) As it says on the double-CD, this is a collection of 36 James Joyce love poems from 1907 interpreted by underground rock artists, some familiar – Mercury Rev, Mike Watt, Ed Harcourt or Willy Mason – others still on the fringes.

Drive-By Argument - Drive-By Argument

22 May 2008

INDIE (Lizard King) Who says you don’t get anything out of further education these days? This quintet formed as part of a college course and rather than that eternal sound of compromise, they came up with this: throbbing Altern-8 keyboard riffs…

We Are the Physics

22 May 2008

Modesty rarely prevails in the braggadocio-strewn world of rock music so when this frisky quartet named their debut album We Are the Physics are OK at Music it seemed for a minute that being demure and was going to overtake skinny jeans on the fashion…

The Hazy Janes

22 May 2008

So we get ten minutes of sunshine and everyone’s out in their undies setting disposable barbecues aflame on any spare patch of grass around. Rely then, on The Hazy Janes to provide a soundtrack for such clement weather and general hedonism. New single…

The Vaselines and Emma Pollock

8 May 2008

INDIE Mono, Glasgow, Thu 24 Apr ‘We’re The Vaselines,’ chirps Eugene Kelly by way of introduction. And perhaps, given that he and Frances McKee are backed by four members of Belle and Sebastian, this is as much to prevent any confusion. The…

The Xcerts

24 Apr 2008

INDIE Barfly, Glasgow, Tue 6 May Indie rock is the musical opiate of the masses. Recapture that first hit ecstasy with The Xcerts, a fresh-faced three-piece from Aberdeen and Exeter. Get Cape Wear Cape Fly liked their fully-formed, captivatingly…

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

24 Apr 2008

INDIE (FatCat Records) Graduating from underground heroes to a mainstream proposition often, unfortunately, requires a little softening around the edges. No signs of this where Frightened Rabbit are concerned, however. While the Glasgow-based foursome…

The Duke Spirit

24 Apr 2008

INDIE King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 2 Apr They should be well practiced at this. Following their well-received 2005 debut Cuts Across the Land, London’s Duke Spirit flew across the pond to play the odd gig or 285. Their follow-up, Neptune, is consequently…

Paul Haig

10 Apr 2008

INDIE Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Sun 13 Apr When Josef K named their solitary album The Only Fun in Town in 1981, it was as dry a statement on Edinburgh nightlife as a band named after a Franz Kafka character could muster. Almost 30 years on, ex-Josef K…

Exposure - Pete and the Pirates

10 Apr 2008

A rag tag band of five Reading songwriters press-ganged into service as a functioning indie pop group after a gig down their local, Pete and the Pirates are presently leading a stealthy campaign to become your new favourite band. Melodic, upbeat…

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles

10 Apr 2008

INDIE/RAVE/GRIME/PUNK/ELECTRO The so-called new rave scene has been responsible for spewing out a load of old meaningless tosh since it was coined by desperate music journalists two years ago, but its latest wrong comes in the form of the debut album…

Hadouken! - Music for an Accelerated Culture

10 Apr 2008

INDIE/RAVE/GRIME/PUNK/ELECTRO (Atlantic) The so-called new rave scene has been responsible for spewing out a load of old meaningless tosh since it was coined by desperate music journalists two years ago, but its latest wrong comes in the form of the…

Wake the President

Glasgow School of Art, Saturday 5 May

10 Apr 2008

There seems to be two video cameras and – at least – three photographers trained on the stage throughout Wake the President’s set. Such fastidious attention would typically be seen as overzealous outwith the upper echelons of Glasgow’s musical…

Eagleowl

10 Apr 2008

INDIE Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Thu 20 Mar Not to be confused with the vicious bird world nasty they’re named after (who loves a bit of dog eating and deer biting), the Eagleowl live experience is a very gentle thing, like watching clouds dragged at a…

Make Model

10 Apr 2008

Shimmering indie that doesn’t quail at the thought of massed harmonies, tinkling piano refrains and crunchy guitars; Make Model are a Scottish talent to watch as they launch new single ‘LSB’ through EMI. Catch them in a venue of this modest size while…

Isosceles

10 Apr 2008

After being spotted by Alex Kapranos, Isosceles scored a coveted support slot with Scottish indie pop royalty Franz Ferdinand. The band are about to launch the latest single, ‘Kitch Bitch/Watertight’, from their debut album Get Your Hands Off, which…

Frightened Rabbit

27 Mar 2008

INDIE Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Thu 27 Mar; Barfly, Glasgow, Sat 29 Mar Returning the conquering heroes from equipment trashing gigs at SXSW, Frightened Rabbit are playing a series of Scottish shows to mark the imminent release of their follow up…

Dananananaykroyd and Copy Haho

27 Mar 2008

INDIE Nice’n’Sleazy, Glasgow, Tue 18 Mar ‘We’re from Stonehaven,’ pointed out Copy Haho (‘hah-ho’, not ‘hey-ho’). ‘That’s in Scotland.’ ‘Darren Mackie!’ comes a bellowed reply, and the Scottish Cup shock happening along the road at Parkhead allows for…