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1,893 articles
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Sigur Rós - Valtari
22 May 2012
A typically dazzling record from the Icelandic cosmic folk-pop outfit
The rumours of an ‘indefinite hiatus’ might have left us thinking that was it for Sigur Rós, but the four years since their previous album have amounted to little more than a bit of creative refreshment time. Valtari (the infinitely less satisfying to…
Silver Jews - Early Times 1990-91
22 May 2012
Reissue of early works by David Berman, Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich
Disbanded in 2009, David Berman’s Silver Jews project was a tremendous portmanteau of country and US indie that acted as a vehicle for Berman’s lyrics, his voice, smooth and unsteady as stretched taffy, often simply speaking the words in tune, offering…
Dry the River - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Sun 22 Apr
14 May 2012
Unbalanced mix of noisy rock and gospel from the London five-piece
It’s hard to pigeonhole this band. Not only do the hairy, tattooed Londoners hammer their instruments into a mesh of roaring noise that causes each instrument to become almost unidentifiable from the next, they also sing like choir boys. Dry the River…
Scott McWatt – Jekyll and Hyde
14 May 2012
Lyrically shallow effort from the former Lost City Lights frontman
Former Lost City Lights front man Scott McWatt seems to have gone from an amateur Nickelback-esque sound to one far more similar to amateur Idlewild. Though it is evident that dedication and passion have gone into the making of this album -- it was…
Ride the RockNess Express - train details
8 May 2012
The Express will pick up festival goers from London, Birmingham, Derby, York and Newcastle
As part of the Year of Creative Scotland, RockNess are offering a unique (and environmentally friendly) way to the festival site on the banks of Loch Ness. Picking up passengers from London, Birmingham, Derby, York and Newcastle before dropping them off…
Eye o’ the Dug - St Andrews, Sat 14 & Sun 15 Apr 2012
27 Apr 2012
Fantastic bill featuring Django Django, Malcolm Middleton and more
They may have quadrupled the size of their show, and conscripted beefcakes to man the doors, but the spirit of Fence chiefly prevailed at the inaugural Eye O’ The Dug – a musical hoopla which (kind of) filled a Homegame-shaped hole in the calendar (and…
DIY music promoters Cry Parrot turn 5
26 Apr 2012
Auntie Flo, Dam Mantle, Sacred Paw, Silk Cut and more are on the line-up their birthday party
In recent years, Cry Parrot has played a major role in nurturing Glasgow’s vibrant music scene. To celebrate the music promoter’s fifth birthday, the fervently eclectic independent promoters are holding a party at The Glue Factory, featuring Auntie Flo…
The Sunshine Underground - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Mon 16 Apr
26 Apr 2012
Energetic indie-electro-rock from the Leeds trio
There's something different about The Sunshine Underground. Maybe it's their strange mix of electronica, grimy bass and echoing vocals. Maybe it's their somewhat unorthodox recording methods (they once put drummer Matthew Gwilt in a tent to get a 'big…
Holy Mountain - Earth Measures
26 Apr 2012
A cacophonous, riff-driven release imbued with savage axe-mastery and vintage spirit
What we are basically dealing with here is a delirious, hirsute rawk mob – a cacophonous, riff-driven Glasgow trio who’re as heavy as Led and thrice as cool. Notorious for combustible live shows (they once blared out the back of a van, with a cigarette…
The Leg - An Eagle to Saturn
26 Apr 2012
Absurdist punk more confusing than worthwhile?
Terrifyingly obscure and possibly dangerous are pretty much the only ways to describe this offering from Edinburgh's The Leg. Definitely not one for the faint-hearted or easily offended as tracks cover some pretty dark ideas. Shouted lyrics sound eerily…
Kim Edgar - The Ornate Lie
26 Apr 2012
Folk rock from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar
The second album from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar raises the bar from where her acclaimed debut album left off, mixing delicate folk rock melodies with Kim’s uniquely Scottish and poignant lyrics. Edgar’s harmonious piano playing and a voice full of…
Exposure: Friends
25 Apr 2012
The Brooklyn hipster quintet make disgustingly cool indie post-punk-funk
The List makes two predictions with regards to this fresh Brooklyn indie post-punk-funk ensemble. 1) They’re going to be the sound of many people’s summer, and 2) they’re going to have music journos punning furiously on their sitcom namesake. They’re…
The Futureheads - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 9 Apr
25 Apr 2012
Stripped down acoustic and a capella show from the indie-rock group
For a band who made one of their very earliest trips around the UK a tour of working men’s clubs, there was a certain sense of having come full circle here. Billed as an acoustic and a cappella tour, it was more than just a stripped-down version of…
Andrew WK - The Garage, Glasgow, Sat 14 Apr
25 Apr 2012
The long-haired party-metaller plays debut album I Get Wet in full
Andrew WK is what he is: partier, lover of dirty jeans, motivational speaker. Whatever you thought of him when he arrived on the scene with tongue firmly in cheek on the back of last year’s debut album I Get Wet is irrelevant. As a live prospect, Andrew…
Walter Scott Prize 2012 shortlist announced
23 Apr 2012
Andrew Miller, Alan Hollinghurst, Barry Unsworth, Sebastian Barry, Patrick DeWitt and Esi Edugyan
The shortlist for the 2012 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction was revealed earlier this month at the programme launch for the Borders Book Festival in Melrose. The contenders for the £25,000 prize, the largest annual literary prize awarded…
Zulu Winter - Language
23 Apr 2012
The indie rockers' debut is disappointingly unadventurous
(Play It Again Sam) With their unabashed love of Czech new wave cinema, Steve Reich, TS Eliot, Ayn Rand and modern dance troupes The List won’t even pretend to have heard of, we expected something a little more adventurous from Zulu Winter’s debut…
PAWS - Misled Youth
23 Apr 2012
A pacey, frantic and melancholy EP from the Glasgow garage pop-rock trio
(Fat Cat) Grrr, Paws are good. Be it gigging in weird places (the Glasgow trio have played in bathrooms, skate shops and on top of double decker buses) or the bedroom recordings released on painstakingly put-together, hand-numbered limited edition…
Two Wings - Love's Spring
23 Apr 2012
A warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and English folk-rock
(Tin Angel Records) The strident classicism of Two Wings may come as a surprise to those familiar with the avant-folk of Hanna Tuulikki’s other group Nalle. That project’s eerie soundworld is replaced by a warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and…
Wickerman festival 2012 line-up announced
18 Apr 2012
Scissor Sisters, Texas, The Levellers and Mike Skinner on Scottish festival bill
The official line-up for the 2012 Wickerman Festival has been announced, with New Yorkers Scissor Sisters will headline the Summerisle stage on Fri 20 July, and Scottish favourites Texas headlining the same stage on Sat 21 July. Scissor Sisters are…
Madonna - MDNA
18 Apr 2012
Album with producers Benny Benassi, Martin Solveig and William Orbit
Kudos to 53-year-old Auntie Madge not for delivering a classic album, but for having the sheer brass she-balls to turn out a record that’s as clubby, sexy and designed for the dancefloor after midnight as any she’s produced. A nod and a wink to naughty…
Jesus H. Foxx - Endless Knocking
18 Apr 2012
Long-awaited debut admirable in perfectionism, but feels laboured
(Song, by Toad) ‘I’ve waited two bloody years for these muppets to finish this album,’ writes Song, by Toad boss Matthew Young in an amusingly frank note accompanying Edinburgh seven-piece Jesus H. Foxx’s debut. We’ve shared his frustration in…
Cate Le Bon - Cyrk
18 Apr 2012
Brilliantly textured slice of Welsh psychedelic folk genius
For her latest outing Cate Le Bon takes her pick of the current crop of Wales’ finest musicians, with H. Hawkline providing hypnotically undulating synth goodness, while Y Niwl’s wünderkind Sion Glynn weaves beautifully meandering melodies, at times…
Julia Holter - Tragedy
18 Apr 2012
Celestial drones, mesmeric synths, ambient noise and unearthly vocals
(Night School) Perhaps you read that album title and started hollering the Bee Gees song or god forbid, Steps. Thank the stars, then, for LA composer and minimalist pop diviner Julia Holter, who will banish your garish disco horrors with celestial…
French Wives - Dream of the Inbetween
18 Apr 2012
An astute and highly promising opening salvo from Glasgow band
(Electric Honey) What a satisfying thing it is to hear a pop song that bypasses the tyranny of the chorus and sticks to its guns with a series of ear-warming verses. ‘Younger’, the shoulder-high stand-out track from the debut collection by French Wives…
Interview: Ben Sims gets ready for RockNess 2012
13 Apr 2012
The techno DJ/producer among names added to festival bill
DJ Ben Sims has been announced for 2012’s RockNess festival, where he joins Soma Records on the Arcadia UFO stage. With over 20 years of DJ experience, running his own Theory label (among others), he’s renowned for his DJ skills using vinyl, CD and…
