Music and Issue 645

Sunn O))) - Stephen O’Malley interview

4 Dec 2009

Named after a brand of amplifier, Seattle’s doom and drone merchants chat to Stewart Smith as they prepare to bring a beautiful black cloud of sound to Glasgow this fortnight

First word - Har Mar Superstar interview

4 Dec 2009

Risqué performer Har Mar Superstar (aka Minnesota native Sean Tillman) is one of America’s most flamboyant pop exports. Ahead of his arrival in Scotland he admits his enthusiasm for both Susan Boyle and dental hygiene

Christmas film playlist

4 Dec 2009

A quick look at your advent calendar will confirm the coming of the annual festival we know as Christmas, and what better way to celebrate than to gather the whole family around Ye Olde Computer Screen to enjoy a selection of online clips to fuel the…

Labels of love: Chemikal Underground

4 Dec 2009

Based in: Glasgow. Roster: The Phantom Band, Lord Cut-Glass, Emma Pollock, The Unwinding Hours, Adrian Crowley, Zoey Van Goey, Aidan Moffat, Angil and the Hiddentracks, The Radar Brothers. Bosses: Set up in 1995 by the four members of…

Robin Ticciati – Scottish Chamber Orchestra

4 Dec 2009

Love affairs, even in the highly emotionally charged world of classical music, are not always shouted about from the rooftops. But in the love-at-first-sight relationship between the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and their new principal conductor…

Exposure: Codeine Velvet Club

4 Dec 2009

Like a Scots Last Shadow Puppets, chanteuse Lou Hickey has reformed Jon ‘Fratelli’ Lawler to a life of John Barry-esque epics with Codeine Velvet Club. Just don’t call them a side-project, says Lawler. How did Codeine Velvet Club get…

Five reasons to go see: Depeche Mode

4 Dec 2009

1 Enjoy the Silence It’s been 22 years since Basildon’s finest have graced a stage in Scotland, so the faithful have had to be mighty patient to see them live again. That, or make good use of Ryanair to see them in Europe, where they are still…

Paul Booth Quintet and Ingrid Jensen

4 Dec 2009

Neither English saxophonist Paul Booth nor Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen is a newcomer to these parts, but this will be the first time they have featured together. Booth was last here in the summer to work with trumpeter Ryan Quigley’s big band at…

Children's Classic Concerts: Let it Snow

4 Dec 2009

There is no shortage of role models at the Children’s Classic Concerts Christmas show. Not only will young audiences experience the boundless enthusiasm of percussionist hosts Owen and Olly, but their Glasgow concert also features internationally…

Homecoming Live

4 Dec 2009

The cynic might have viewed this musical finale to the Scottish Government’s grand attempt to reel back a few ex-pat Kiwis and Canucks in terms of all the iconic and available Scots bands who weren’t playing. Where were Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas…

Gary Numan

4 Dec 2009

Genuine innovators who also become successful in their own lifetime are pretty hard to come by. Gary Numan not only wrenched the synthesizer from the grasp of the neo-classicist aesthetic of prog and retoolled a generation of artists disillusioned with…

Field Music

Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Sat 21 Nov 2009

4 Dec 2009

‘Pretending to be a band since 2005,’ claims Field Music’s MySpace page modestly. Well, The List can reliably inform you that this is the real deal. Returning after a three-year hiatus, Sunderland’s Brewis brothers, along with their two new bandmates…

trioVD - Fill It Up With Ghosts

4 Dec 2009

(Babel) The Leeds-based trio take their name from having saved a laptop recording of their very first gig as ‘trioVD’ (the initials standing for Valentine’s Day rather than the more dodgy alternative that might have sprung immediately to mind). The…

Ghana Special - Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968–81

4 Dec 2009

(Soundway) A thrilling soundscape of 33 tracks from Ghana between the ‘golden age’ of 1968–81, this maps the optimism and energy of new independence from British colonialism heralded by cutting-edge modern Afro-sounds and Ghanaian blues. Presented in…

Amy Millan - Masters Of The Burial

4 Dec 2009

(Arts and Crafts) As a break from her work with Stars and Broken Social Scene, Amy Millan has created a beautiful collection of warm, folksy tunes overflowing with well-polished brass and pedal steel guitar. The standout songs, though, are the ones…

Metronomy - Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe)

4 Dec 2009

Because Music Re-releases are a little pointless, aren’t they? If we didn’t give a monkeys about your album the first time around, why should we now? Well, quite frankly when it comes to Joseph Mount aka Metronomy, you should always give a monkeys.

eagleowl

4 Dec 2009

Don’t be fooled. Edinburgh’s masters of lo-fi slowcore are, as one reviewer once pointed out, ‘No bed wetting lightweights’. No sir. Instead Bart (who’s also the brains behind tons of Scottish grassroots music events like Retreat! and The Gentle…

New York Dolls

4 Dec 2009

Only two original members survived to make this line-up, but who cares? They still count as glam punk royalty. Formed in New York over three decades ago, these guys were at the apex of a musical movement that crossed The Stooges with T-Rex. Since their…

Jesca Hoop - Hunting My Dress

4 Dec 2009

(Last Laugh) The Mormons have given us several terrific musical acts – Arcade Fire, Low and The Osmonds among them. To this heavenly litany we now add folk confounder Jesca Hoop. A Californian singer-songwriter living in Manchester, Hoop’s…

Rhett Miller - Rhett Miller

4 Dec 2009

(Serial Lady Killer Records) With Ryan Adams disappointingly adrift, there’s a vacancy for a maverick rock troubador – and this is Rhett Miller’s strongest application to date. Boyishly pretty at 39, and with a fey edge to his warm tenor, the Old…

The Wynntown Marshals - Westerner

4 Dec 2009

(Charger) Impressively boasting two Keiths and two Iains amongst their ranks, The Wynntown Marshalls say they write songs about ‘love, loss, wars, natural disasters and the otherwise broken ride we like to call life’. More specifically, the songs on…

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

4 Dec 2009

Karen O and her boys are back again. Since the last time they were in Scotland (which, excepting the odd T In The Park slot, was two and a half years ago), they’ve released the ‘Is Is’ EP, and the It’s Blitz! album. Karen’s also just finished working…

Francois and the Atlas Mountains - Plaine Inondable

4 Dec 2009

(Fence) Lest we require confirmation that King Creosote’s DIY commonwealth, Fence, is as universal as it is diverse, herein saunters Plaine Inondable – the year’s gentlest Gallic-pop coup – in the nick of time. Francois Marry – touring member of…

The Twilight Sad

4 Dec 2009

In our four-star review of their debut album Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters, the List proclaimed that the Twilight Sad are ‘a band who make sad music – yet it’s that particular Scottish sadness which finds itself couched in a kind of…

Pet Shop Boys

4 Dec 2009

Somewhere in the midst of their epic ‘Pandemonium’ world tour, the Pet Shop Boys managed to put together two EPs – ‘Beautiful People’ (not out here yet) and the brand new, ‘Christmas’. As well as allowing Neil Tennant time off to collaborate with The…

Tricky - Tricky Meets South Rakkas Crew

4 Dec 2009

(Domino) Hip-hop Bristolian Tricky re-invents himself once again with the help of this musical collision with Florida-via-Jamaica-via-Toronto outfit, South Rakkas Crew – producers of Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Sizzla. With that mercurial ‘Straight…

Cryptic Nights

4 Dec 2009

It’s the first anniversary of the multi-artform night celebrating the possibilities of the CCA, and they’re commemorating with a feast. The first 25 people to book tickets will be offered a free Cryptic Nights banquet (everyone else can eat too, it’s…

Benni Hemm Hemm & Alasdair Roberts

4 Dec 2009

With the potential makings of a stunningly good Scotland-meets-Iceland collaboration straight out of the leftfield, this gig, brought to you by those thoughtful folks at Tracer Trails, will be the first airing of the pair’s collaborative work. Benedikt…

Trans Am - What Day Is It Tonight?

4 Dec 2009

(Thrill Jockey) Trans Am – even outside the studio, they’re so taut you could use them to cut cheese. This 1993-2008 live collection never skips a beat as it veers between synth presets and chugging guitar riffs, with excessive drum solos thrown in…

Sparrow And The Workshop - Into The World

4 Dec 2009

(Distiller) If only these guys were around in the 70s, their soulful country vocals and acoustic guitars married to noisy drums and bass could have landed them on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack – they’re that good. Thankfully, they’re here for us to…

School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms Deluxe Edition

4 Dec 2009

(Vagrant) A re-release of their ‘08 album with nine bonus tracks, this only confirms what we know – SVIIB make some gorgeous tunes. The ethereal twin vocals and broody, angelic electronic beats create clean, crisp otherworldly sounds perfectly…

VA – Fabriclive 49: - Buraka Son Sistema

4 Dec 2009

(Fabric) This is impressive: out of the 28 tracks on offer here, only six last longer than three minutes – something worth praising in an inherently repetitive genre. Buraka Son Sistema oversee the melding of various dance styles with lively African…

Best of a decade: Timeline

2 Dec 2009

1999 July Scottish Parliament opens, with Labour candidate Donald Dewar elected as the first First Minister ahead of SNP rival Alex Salmond. Dewar died suddenly in October 2000, following a fall at his Edinburgh residence. 2000 June Biffy Clyro…

Florence and the Machine - Florence Welch interview

2 Dec 2009

Florence and the Machine’s frontwoman Florence Welch is a surprisingly normal 23-year-old, albeit one blessed with the looks of a 19th century beauty and the best singing voice of her generation. So why is she so mired in doom and gloom? Jonny Ensall…

Best of a decade: Respectable in the Noughties

2 Dec 2009

Much of the most powerful art produced in Scotland in the 1980s–1990s developed in angry reaction to the political situation and tapped into our radical, left-wing and egalitarian traditions – it’s no accident that the most popular works of that period…

Christmas singles 2009 roundup

The Xmas Factor

2 Dec 2009

The dull predictably of The X Factor now means that some putty-faced goon will get a Christmas number one single every year from now until the apocalypse, followed in the top ten by an army of insentient reality TV drones. Yet, in the face of this sad…

Best of a decade: Franz Ferdinand release their debut album

2 Dec 2009

Setting the template for art-rock, and showcasing their ineffable cool in the process, Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled debut was a turning point for Scottish music. Claire Sawers asks Malcolm Ross of highly influential bands including Josef K and Orange…

Best of a decade: Music

2 Dec 2009

Arcade Fire – Funeral, The Knife – Silent Shout, Radiohead – Kid A, Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago, The White Stripes – White Blood Cells, Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To…

Spotify playlist: St Andrew's Day

Secretly Scottish

30 Nov 2009

How about some Revolting Cocks, Siousxie & the Banshees and Human League? Just because it's St Andrew's Day it doesn't mean you have to subject yersel' to the barrage of yer Dougie MacLean, yer Proclaimers and yer Simple Minds to celebrate culture of…

Loud & Proud

24 Nov 2009

Loud & Proud, Scotland’s LGBT choir, has come a long way in a short space of time. The a capella group, which performs its annual festive concert at the George Square Theatre this fortnight, started life as a ten-week singing course at the LGBT Centre…

Creeping Bent Records showcase

24 Nov 2009

When Andy Warhol said everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, he wasn’t counting on the irresistible rise of the Creeping Bent Organisation, which this month celebrates 15 years carving out a parallel pop universe with two very special shows. Vic…

Profile: Filthy Dukes

24 Nov 2009

Name Filthy Dukes Occupation South London DJs and synth pop trio. Filthy Dukes, eh? What’s next – Prince Charles covered in mud? Far from being dirty members of the aristocracy Filthy Dukes actually started out as DJs Olly Dixon and Tim…

Fred Deakin set for Mumbo Jumbo

24 Nov 2009

With their motto of ‘quality retro to future classics, party rockin’ tunes and good time grooves’ Fred Deakin sounds like the perfect guest for Mumbo Jumbo. He’s best known as one half of burbling electronica types Lemon Jelly and Edinburgh club legend…

Paramore

24 Nov 2009

You know a band’s famous when, months after it’s happened, the world is still talking about the singer going blonde, and they’re only just losing Grammies to megastars like Amy Winehouse by a whisker. And boy are Paramore famous. Having sold out…

Teenagersintokyo

Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Sun Nov 15

24 Nov 2009

Before the second of two Scottish dates by what is possibly Australia’s glossiest female-led quintet, the uber-cool members huddle side-stage for a pre-show toast of Jameson’s, no chaser. Not an uncommon pre-gig ritual, for sure, but here it oozes…

Abram Wilson - Life Paintings

24 Nov 2009

(Dune Records) Arkansas-born trumpeter Abram Wilson has been based in London since 2002, but grew up New Orleans, where he absorbed the city’s rich musical traditions and its potent trumpet heritage. That heritage is clearly reflected in his rich…

Ex Libras - Suite(s)

24 Nov 2009

(Wirebird) Formed in the unlikely locale of their Hounslow Borough library workplace, the London trio of Amit Sharma (vocals, guitar), Kieran Nagi (piano, bass) and Ross Kenning (drums) recorded this promising debut in, of all places, the garden…

Josephine Foster - Graphic As A Star

24 Nov 2009

(Fire) Colorado-born folkie Jo Foster, delivers her fifth solo set, inspired and based on the works of 19th century poet Emily Dickenson. Comprising 26 short fireside-folk dirges (think Shirley Collins or Tiny Tim), it falls short of the oblique…