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Interview: Friendly Fires plan to get the crowds dancing at RockNess 2012

Interview: Friendly Fires plan to get the crowds dancing at RockNess 2012

Ed Macfarlane on festivals, pop music and dancing ‘like an idiot’

28 May 2012

Friendly Fires blur the lines between indie and dance music, so their brand of punk funk should fit in perfectly at RockNess. Hailing from St Albans in Hertfordshire they were nominated for the Mercury Music prize for their debut eponymous album, which…

Summer Festivals 2012: Biffy Clyro - interview

Summer Festivals 2012: Biffy Clyro - interview

The band's James Johnston discusses their headline slot at RockNess

25 May 2012

Despite the unusual time signatures, the uncompromising riffs, the bizarro lyrics and the beards, somehow Biffy Clyro have become one of the biggest rock bands in the UK. Even their hits – ‘That Golden Rule’, ‘Mountains’ and ‘Many of Horror…

Summer Festivals 2012: Death in Vegas - interview

Summer Festivals 2012: Death in Vegas - interview

A chat with Richard Fearless ahead of his RockNess performance

25 May 2012

As British music finally dragged itself out of a post-Britpop hangover around the turn of the century, Death in Vegas were among the most quintessential of festival bands. 1999’s The Contino Sessions and 2002’s Scorpio Rising were staples of any…

Summer Festivals 2012: Here We Go Magic - interview

Summer Festivals 2012: Here We Go Magic - interview

The band's Luke Temple gets ready for their slot at T in the Park

25 May 2012

‘I’m kind of a late bloomer, really,’ testifies Luke Temple, singer and songwriter in chief with Brooklynite indie-pop contenders Here We Go Magic. ‘I didn’t start writing songs until 2000, until I was about 25, and up ‘til then I’d only listened to…

Interview: Ash bring the rock to RockNess 2012

Interview: Ash get ready for RockNess 2012

Northern Irish rockers Ash get ready for their only Scottish festival of the year

24 May 2012

Famous for the instantly catchy pop rock of tracks like ‘Kung Fu’, ‘Burn Baby Burn’ and ‘Girl From Mars’ Ash formed as teenagers in Northern Ireland back in 1992. Juggling homework with gigs and recording sessions they released the instant smash 1977 in…

The Son(s) – Leviathan EP

The Son(s) – Leviathan EP

Remarkable EP of lo-fi subtlety and intimacy from the mystery-shrouded artist(s)

(4 stars)24 May 2012

Having consulted an online resource to find a definition of the word 'leviathan' I was met with the task of trying to come to terms with how a mythological sea creature that is manifested as some kind of demon incarnate would find context in the lush…

Melvins Lite – Freak Puke

Melvins Lite – Freak Puke

Experimental craziness from the long-running grungers' reduced incarnation

(3 stars)24 May 2012

You can never really expect every album by these insanely experimental men to sound the same. Even after 29 years of performing and recording together, The Melvins (or Melvins Lite, in this case) somehow manage to remain enthusiastic and creative in an…

Interview: Jakwob prepares for his live show at RockNess 2012

Interview: Jakwob prepares for his live show at RockNess 2012

The dubstep producer talks remixes, Rocky and RockNess

23 May 2012

Young dubstep producer and DJ Jakwob (aka James Jacob) favours a jazzy take on bassy electronica. He first appeared on most people’s radar with his squelchy remix of Ellie Goulding’s ‘Under the Sheets’ and has since gone on to remix Lily Allen, MIA and…

Stag & Dagger, various venues, Glasgow, Sat 19 May

Stag & Dagger, various venues, Glasgow, Sat 19 May

Eleanor Friedberger and Miaoux Miaoux play as part of 13 hour gig crawl

(4 stars)22 May 2012

While its London sister seems to have died a death, presumably smothered by a surfeit of such hipster-friendly crawls and brawls in the English capital, the Glasgow leg of multi-venue one-dayer Stag and Dagger happily lives on, albeit with perhaps a…

Friends - Manifest!

Friends - Manifest!

An insidiously hooky album that's sometimes brilliant, sometimes bloomin’ annoying

(3 stars)22 May 2012

There are songs you can’t get out of your head, and then there are songs you wish you could get out of your head. In the latter category: ‘Hey Baby’ by DJ Otzi. In the former: Friends’ ‘Friend Crush’ and ‘I’m His Girl’. The Brooklyn band’s well-blogged…

Mary Epworth - Dream Life

Mary Epworth - Dream Life

A lavish and eclectic debut album from the folk-rock singer

(4 stars)22 May 2012

Where shall we begin? With the banjo twang, Black Sabbath fuzz and Goldfrapping blues-stomp of ‘Black Doe’? With the brass-toting folk-rock euphoria of ‘Long Gone’? With the swirling psych-pop of ‘Come Back to the Bough’? Or perhaps we should start…

Patti Smith - Banga

Patti Smith - Banga

Unique album of punk poetry populated by rocky arias, improvised psalms and lyrical reveries

(3 stars)22 May 2012

You may have heard that Patti Smith dedicates a song to Amy Winehouse on her 11th studio album, Banga. This takes the form of a syrupy ballad, ‘This is the Girl’, and its intentions are honourable, but look beyond it: there are greater, more defiant…

Sigur Rós - Valtari

Sigur Rós - Valtari

A typically dazzling record from the Icelandic cosmic folk-pop outfit

(4 stars)22 May 2012

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

Silver Jews - Early Times 1990-91

Reissue of early works by David Berman, Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich

(4 stars)22 May 2012

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

Dry the River - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Sun 22 Apr

Unbalanced mix of noisy rock and gospel from the London five-piece

(2 stars)14 May 2012

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

Scott McWatt – Jekyll and Hyde

Lyrically shallow effort from the former Lost City Lights frontman

(2 stars)14 May 2012

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…

The specially chartered RockNess Express - train details

Ride the RockNess Express - train details

The Express will pick up festival goers from London, Birmingham, Derby, York and Newcastle

8 May 2012

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 - PHOTO GALLERY?

Eye o’ the Dug - St Andrews, Sat 14 & Sun 15 Apr 2012

Fantastic bill featuring Django Django, Malcolm Middleton and more

(4 stars)27 Apr 2012

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 celebrate fifth birthday

DIY music promoters Cry Parrot turn 5

Auntie Flo, Dam Mantle, Sacred Paw, Silk Cut and more are on the line-up their birthday party

26 Apr 2012

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

The Sunshine Underground - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow, Mon 16 Apr

Energetic indie-electro-rock from the Leeds trio

(4 stars)26 Apr 2012

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

Holy Mountain - Earth Measures

A cacophonous, riff-driven release imbued with savage axe-mastery and vintage spirit

(4 stars)26 Apr 2012

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

The Leg - An Eagle to Saturn

Absurdist punk more confusing than worthwhile?

(2 stars)26 Apr 2012

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

Kim Edgar - The Ornate Lie

Folk rock from The Burns Unit member Kim Edgar

(3 stars)26 Apr 2012

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

Exposure: Friends

The Brooklyn hipster quintet make disgustingly cool indie post-punk-funk

25 Apr 2012

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

The Futureheads - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 9 Apr

Stripped down acoustic and a capella show from the indie-rock group

(4 stars)25 Apr 2012

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

Andrew WK - The Garage, Glasgow, Sat 14 Apr

The long-haired party-metaller plays debut album I Get Wet in full

(3 stars)25 Apr 2012

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

Walter Scott Prize 2012 shortlist announced

Andrew Miller, Alan Hollinghurst, Barry Unsworth, Sebastian Barry, Patrick DeWitt and Esi Edugyan

23 Apr 2012

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

Zulu Winter - Language

The indie rockers' debut is disappointingly unadventurous

(3 stars)23 Apr 2012

(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

PAWS - Misled Youth

A pacey, frantic and melancholy EP from the Glasgow garage pop-rock trio

(4 stars)23 Apr 2012

(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

Two Wings - Love's Spring

A warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and English folk-rock

(3 stars)23 Apr 2012

(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

Wickerman festival 2012 line-up announced

Scissor Sisters, Texas, The Levellers and Mike Skinner on Scottish festival bill

18 Apr 2012

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

Madonna - MDNA

Album with producers Benny Benassi, Martin Solveig and William Orbit

(3 stars)18 Apr 2012

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

Jesus H. Foxx - Endless Knocking

Long-awaited debut admirable in perfectionism, but feels laboured

(2 stars)18 Apr 2012

(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

Cate Le Bon - Cyrk

Brilliantly textured slice of Welsh psychedelic folk genius

(4 stars)18 Apr 2012

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

Julia Holter - Tragedy

Celestial drones, mesmeric synths, ambient noise and unearthly vocals

(4 stars)18 Apr 2012

(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

French Wives - Dream of the Inbetween

An astute and highly promising opening salvo from Glasgow band

(3 stars)18 Apr 2012

(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

Interview: Ben Sims gets ready for RockNess 2012

The techno DJ/producer among names added to festival bill

13 Apr 2012

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…

Feist, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Tue 27 Mar 2012

Feist, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Tue 27 Mar 2012

Stunning concert from the Canadian alt.folkie

(5 stars)11 Apr 2012

‘Wan, two, freee, fourr’, some gentleman gargles towards the end of Feist’s second encore. Without thinking, she laughs it off before ending on a heartbreakingly beautiful solo run of ‘Intuition’ from 2007’s The Reminder. It’s pin-drop silence…

Elle Fanning to star in film adaptation of Stuart Murdoch's God Help the Girl

Elle Fanning to star in film adaptation of Stuart Murdoch's God Help the Girl

Glasgow-set musical to commence filming in June

11 Apr 2012

When Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch created God Help the Girl back in 2009, he knew that he was writing a 60s girl-group soundtrack for a film that didn't yet exist. Now, after years of fund-raising and producing, a film adaptation of the album…

Incubus announce one-off 2012 UK show

Incubus announce one-off 2012 UK show

The Californian rock group to play London's O2 Academy Brixton in July

11 Apr 2012

After their highly successful sell out If Not Now, When? world tour last year, fans will be pleased to hear that Incubus have now confirmed a one-off UK headline show for 2012. This performance will be highly anticipated by fans as the band were…

Want advice on how your band can 'make it' and score a gig abroad?

Want advice on how your band can 'make it' and score a gig abroad?

Third Annual Wide Days Seminar

3 Apr 2012

Following on from successes in 2010 and 2011, the informal music conference, slash industry showcase that is Wide Days returns – with seminars for those wanting to get in to the music business during the day, followed by live performances and showcases…

Spiritualized, 02 ABC, Glasgow, Thu 22 Mar

Spiritualized, 02 ABC, Glasgow, Thu 22 Mar

Uplifting psychedelic set from the 90s acid-indie icons

(4 stars)3 Apr 2012

The sonic delights of indie starlets, Spiritualized receive a heroes welcome tonight, showcasing tracks from their new album Sweet Heart Sweet Light. The band also delve into their extensive back-catalogue, providing life affirming moments from their…

Interview - Napalm Death

Interview - Barney Greenway of Napalm Death

The grindcore pioneers talk about new their album, metal and Joy Division

2 Apr 2012

Napalm Death are musical pioneers, they invented grindcore, mixing death metal with hardcore punk and made music harder, faster and nastier than anyone that had gone before. Famed for their ferocious live shows, political edge and refusal to compromise…

Interview: Andrew Weatherall set for RockNess 2012

Interview: Andrew Weatherall set for RockNess 2012

Esteemed DJ and producer on A Love From Outer Space and festivals

30 Mar 2012

Andrew Weatherall is just one of the new announcements for 2012’s RockNess line-up where he’ll be joining Soma Records who are taking control of the new Arcadia UFO. It’s a Scottish Festival exclusive as he’s joined by Sean Johnston as they present an…

RockNess announces Hudson Mohawke at Sub Club 25 year celebration

RockNess 2012 hosts Hudson Mohawke at Sub Club 25 year celebration

Dave Clarke, James Holden and Andrew Weatherall among dance picks

30 Mar 2012

RockNess today confirmed not only a plethora of new acts for this June’s festival, but a whole new stage designed for hard partying aficionado’s of dancefloor devastation, all in celebration of Sub Club Sound System’s 25 year anniversary. The Arcadia…

Sinead O'Connor

Sinead O'Connor

Powerfully autobiographical live show from the suede-headed nutter

(4 stars)28 Mar 2012

One of the funniest tales in music concerns an Irish hack sent to doorstep Sinead O’Connor. The scribbler promptly vanishes then days later is tracked down to O’Connor’s Paris hotel suite: ‘Sinead and I,’ he informs his former colleagues loftily…

Florence and The Machine - SECC, Glasgow, Mon 12 Mar

Florence and The Machine - SECC, Glasgow, Mon 12 Mar

Stunning show from the 21st century diva

(4 stars)27 Mar 2012

Has Florence Welch ever told you about the time she flew up to Glasgow on a whim to visit a friend who lives in a castle in the Highlands? The four-hour bus journey that followed – still in her pyjamas – took her through Lochgilphead, where her Scottish…

Bob Dylan to return to Hop Farm music festival

Bob Dylan to return to Hop Farm music festival

Peter Gabriel, Suede, Damien Rice and Primal Scream also announced

27 Mar 2012

This year's Hop Farm festival has again attracted huge acts to the fifth annual no branding, no sponsorship festival running from June 29th to July 1st.

Graham Coxon on second solo album, A+E - interview

Interview: Graham Coxon on his eighth solo album A+E

The guitarist also discusses Blur's headline gig at the 2012 Olympics

27 Mar 2012

Blur guitarist Graham Coxon is releasing his eighth solo record as the band prepares to play the Olympics. He talks to Ryan Drever about having his cake and eating it So, you’ve reunited with your hugely successful former band, are playing some of…

Colette Thurlow of indie band 2:54 - interview

Colette Thurlow of 2:54 - interview

The indie singer/guitarist discusses sibling bandmates and significant influences

27 Mar 2012

Like a louchely worn black leather jacket, moody guitar music will never go out of fashion – see 2:54 for proof on both counts. Having toured with Warpaint and The Big Pink since emerging a year ago, the London four-piece based around sisters Colette…

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