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Gary Numan announces UK tour

Gary Numan announces UK tour

The 'Cars' singer will pull over in Glasgow on Wed 23 May

9 Feb 2012

Electronica icon (and licensed aircraft pilot) Gary Numan has announced a full UK and Ireland tour to take place this summer, in celebration of his new album Machine Music: The Best Of Gary Numan. The tour features just one stop in Scotland, at the O2…

Steve Strange and the Detroit Starrzz, Citrus Club, Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb 2012

Steve Strange and the Detroit Starrzz - Citrus Club, Edinburgh, Fri 3 Feb 2012

Disappointing gig from the New Romantic

(2 stars)8 Feb 2012

When 80s tribute band, and tonight's support act Party Fears Three dedicate their bombastically unsubtle cover of David Bowie's 'Ashes To Ashes' to Steve Strange,…

Raydale Dower - Cryptic Nights at CCA, Glasgow, Thu 2 Feb 2012

Raydale Dower - Cryptic Nights at CCA, Glasgow, Thu 2 Feb 2012

Experimental but playful sound installation

(3 stars)8 Feb 2012

The title of Raydale Dower's new 'spatial sound composition' speaks volumes about the former Uncle John & Whitelock bassist and current Tut Vu Vu clarinettist and sonic architect's methodology.…

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die

The starlet's debut album outshines the blogocentric hype

(4 stars)8 Feb 2012

(Polydor) Amid the conspiracy theories, the double-standards, the cosmetic surgery obsessions, the questions of authenticity (or lack thereof – like pop was ever without a scheme); amid the histrionic revelations (how dare she have tried before!…

Still Corners, Captain’s Rest, Sat 4 Feb

Still Corners, Captain’s Rest, Sat 4 Feb

Dreamy shoegaze five-piece tour recent album

(4 stars)8 Feb 2012

Still Corners had one heck of a 2011, playing SXSW, touring Europe and the US and releasing their debut LP, Creatures of an Hour, and the little basement of the Captain’s is full of people wondering if they can be as lovely live as they are on record.

Edinburgh's Bongo Club under threat of eviction

Edinburgh's Bongo Club eviction threat

The venue's lease to be terminated early by landlords Edinburgh Uni

7 Feb 2012

Out of the Blue, the charity organisation that runs Edinburgh venue The Bongo Club, has been served eviction papers by the venue's landlord, Edinburgh University. A statement on the Bongo Club's website said: 'This notice terminates the lease a whole…

Madonna announces Scottish date for July 2012

Madonna announces Scottish date for 2012

The Queen of Pop will visit Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on Sat 21 July

7 Feb 2012

Pop empress Madonna has just announced a world tour which will call in at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday 21 July. The 'Sticky & Sweet Tour' comes off the back of a busy period for Madge: she's just directed period/contemporary romance W.E.

Interview: RM Hubbert in his own words

Interview: RM Hubbert in his own words

The revered Glasgow guitarist explains how music brought him therapy

3 Feb 2012

Solo work and how it began 'I decided when my dad got ill I needed something to take my mind off things. So I decided kind of arbitrarily to learn flamenco guitar. I’d never played acoustics but I thought, "that looks really fucking hard". I don’t…

Singles of the Month: Withered Hand and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

Singles of the Month: Withered Hand and King Creosote & Jon Hopkins

Django Django, The Twilight Sad and more also reviewed

3 Feb 2012

Come hither and let us imagine a world, a perfect world – a realm in which Kim Wilde is engaged in a goth-disco tryst with The Sisters of Mercy. Think about it. Harder. Got it? Congratulations, you are now playing ‘Lafaye’ (●●●●, Full Time Hobby), the…

Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire to close for refurbishment

Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire venue to close for refurbishment

Owners G1 promise 'a wholly new look' for club and music venue

3 Feb 2012

Veteran Edinburgh club venue Cabaret Voltaire is due to close for six weeks, from Mon 20 Feb–Sun 1 Apr. The club will be subject to a major refurbishment according to a statement released by G1 Group, who have owned the venue since July 2011: ‘A six…

Hazy Recollections – O2 ABC2, Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan

Hazy Recollections – O2 ABC2, Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan

Electro-folk and French lullabies bring weepie and comedy moments

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

Celtic Connections’ Hazy Recollections sessions are great for two main reasons. Firstly, they provide a gathering place for the legion of those with beards and plaid shirts. Secondly, you get to see just how far the festival’s remit of ‘folk, roots and…

The Unthanks, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Tue 24 Jan

The Unthanks, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Tue 24 Jan

Sisters deliver inventive tribute to Robert Wyatt and Antony Hegarty

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

This Celtic Connections show was the last planned outing for what Rachel Unthank, with inordinate modesty, refers to as ‘our self-indulgent experiment’ – that is, the Northumbrian folk collective’s double tribute to the songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony…

Henry Rollins – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Henry Rollins – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Prolific punk-rocker gets gut laughs on his three-hour rant

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

Few people can make a decent living out of talking on stage for two hours. Henry Rollins, on the other hand, has it down to a fine art. An honorary punk rock graduate having earned his stripes fronting S.O.A. and Black Flag in the 80s, and later, his…

Explosions in The Sky - O2 Academy, Glasgow, Mon 23 Jan

Explosions in The Sky - O2 Academy, Glasgow, Mon 23 Jan 2012

An elemental, foundation-shaking post-rock rollercoaster

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

Explosions in The Sky’s music has always had very elemental feel to it. As the unforgiving Glasgow winter freezes the breath in every pair of lungs waiting to get into the Academy tonight, the Texan’s set, which could soundtrack the bleak, sparse cold…

Glasgow Film Festival highlights - NOT READY YET - MARK MILLAR?

Glasgow Film Festival highlights

A selection of the best events at GFF 2012

3 Feb 2012

Music We’re excited about DIY promoter Cry Parrot’s event with soundtrack dark lord Umberto who will provide the music for a secret film of his choice (SWG3, 25 Feb, 8pm). Douglas Hart, founding member of The Jesus and Mary Chain, has made videos for…

M83 - The Arches, Thu 19 Jan

M83 - The Arches, Thu 19 Jan

Revered French electro act let down by bad sound

(2 stars)3 Feb 2012

The problem with eagerly anticipating a show for any great length of time is that you always leave yourself open to disappointment if things don’t live up to your expectations, such is the way with live music. Sold out weeks in advance, M83’s…

Ed Sheeran, Tue 10 Jan, HMV Picture House, Edinburgh

Ed Sheeran - Tue 10 Jan 2012, HMV Picture House, Edinburgh

Unlikely chart-topping teen idol performs angsty ballads

(3 stars)3 Feb 2012

‘I have some news’, Ed Sheeran casually mentions amidst the screaming adoration, after a nice loop-pedal driven cover of 'Wayfaring Stranger'. ‘My album’s just gone triple platinum’. (More screams). Quite impressive, really, for the unlikely teen idol…

Wild Flag, Oran Mor, Mon 30 Jan

Wild Flag, Oran Mor, Mon 30 Jan

Indie-rock supergroup prove more than the sum of their parts

(4 stars)3 Feb 2012

The word ‘supergroup’ often sets alarm bells ringing. What if the weight of previous successes is too much pressure? What if this new project isn’t as good? Hell, what if it’s downright rubbish (see exhibit A: Velvet Revolver)? Wild Flag are of…

Paul McCartney - Kisses on the Bottom

Paul McCartney - Kisses on the Bottom

Macca covers 1920s and 1930s standards, with vanilla results

(3 stars)3 Feb 2012

Paul McCartney has the weirdest back catalogue of any Beatle. This is an album of the 20s and 30s standards his dad used to play and it's less weird than perplexing, thanks to the unfortunate choice of Tommy 'Mainstream' LiPuma as producer. After his…

The Banana Sessions - Mixtape

The Banana Sessions - Mixtape

Long-awaited debut album from the folksy Edinburgh fivesome

(3 stars)3 Feb 2012

Waiting four years before releasing debut album Mixtape, Edinburgh five-piece The Banana Sessions certainly can't be accused of rushing in to anything. Exhibiting an eclectic combination of styles Mixtape opens with 'Two Seasons' a well crafted folk…

The Muppets' most memorable moments

The Muppets' most memorable moments

A gallery of clips from our favourite frog and his friends

1 Feb 2012

The Muppets have a string of movies to their names already, including The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Christmas Carol, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper. Never ones to shirk away from serious film, darling, they’ve also had cameos in…

David Hasselhoff - interview

Interview - David Hasselhoff

The knightriding, baywatching, car-jumping icon discusses hitting the water and ending the Cold War

1 Feb 2012

First record you ever bought ‘She Wore Blue Velvet’ by Bobby Vincent. [sings] ‘She wore bluuuue velvet’ – either that, or ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ by The Beatles. Last extravagant purchase you made Some earrings for my girlfriend. First film you…

Five reasons to go see . . . The GZA

Five reasons to go see . . . The GZA

The Genius of Wu Tang approaches the Arches

1 Feb 2012

He’s a genius The Genius, to be precise. GZA, aka The Genius, (Gary Grice to his mum) is a founding member of Wu Tang Clan, along with his cousin, producer The RZA, and gravelly-voiced rap heathen Ol’ Dirty Bastard (RIP). The Clan emerged out of New…

The Muppets

The Muppets

Old-school bonhomie and well-calculated cameos in affectionate reboot

(3 stars)1 Feb 2012

(U) 103min Long before there were computer generated characters, fuzz, felt and puppetry launched talking animals onto our television and cinema screens, and few were as well loved as Jim Henson’s Muppets. A bona fide pop-culture phenomenon, Kermit…

Exposure: Still Corners

Exposure: Still Corners

Cinematic dream-pop with a Lynchian vibe

1 Feb 2012

The whispery female vocal, the unsettling tone, the shoegazey guitars... There’s a very cinematic, 1990s David Lynch feel to the heavenly dream-pop of London-based Still Corners. The List finds singer Tessa Murray and songwriter Greg Hughes drinking…

Italo-horror artist Umberto to appear at GMFF

GFF 2012 - Italo-horror artist Umberto

The soundtrack specialist fits comfortably into the Glasgow Music and Film Festival strand

1 Feb 2012

Horror-score revivalist Matt Hill channels the creepyass compositions of Goblin, John Carpenter and Fabio Frizzi in his eerie synthjams, conjuring up a sonic witches brew. A member of drone-merchants Expo 70, Hill has, in his Umberto guise, explored the…

Cry Parrot New Year Fest - Nice & Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Cry Parrot New Year Fest - Nice & Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 13 Jan

Snapshot of Scotland’s restless underground featuring Sacred Paws

(4 stars)1 Feb 2012

Not so much a ‘hot tips for 2012’ shindig as a snapshot of Scotland’s restless underground, the second night of independent promoter Cry Parrot’s new bands residency is dominated by electronica, but there’s room for polyrhythmic guitar’n’drum jams too.

Steven Severin: Vampyr - Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh, Thu 12 Jan

Steven Severin: Vampyr - Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh, Thu 12 Jan

Ex-Banshees bassist delivers brooding live score to 1930s horror classic

(3 stars)1 Feb 2012

The man with the flowing white hair walks towards a small table and chair to one side of the Cameo’s big screen. Sporting a long black winter coat and carrying a glass of red wine, the man looks as if he’s stepped in from another, altogether darker age…

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers - The Arches, Glasgow, Sat 21 Jan 2012

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers - The Arches, Glasgow, Sat 21 Jan 2012

Accomplished musicianship but work in progress lacks intensity

(3 stars)1 Feb 2012

The comparisons with country greats have been made in abundance – Iris DeMent, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch – but Zoe Muth is a singer-songwriter with unique talents. The voice is strong, the tunes engaging and the lyrics, which form bleak but…

Azari & III - Azari & III

Azari & III - Azari & III

Credit due delivering a straightforward house music manifesto with compelling four-to-the-floor forc

(4 stars)1 Feb 2012

(Island) This self-titled debut is actually a major label re-release of an album that, until recently, was widely available as an import – including on Spotify. It’s getting a reboot in the UK in CD form (you remember CDs right?) though really the…

Review of reviews: No One Can Ever Know

Review of reviews: No One Can Ever Know

What we said and what they said about the new Twilight Sad album

1 Feb 2012

What we said: ‘This second album from The Twilight Sad is a surprising and substantial progression. It’s what you might call, we suspect, a definite grower – and perhaps a worthy Mercury contender nearer the time?’ The List What they said…

Palace - Domino reissue several albums from Will Oldham project

Palace - Domino reissue several albums from Will Oldham project

There is No-one What Will Take Care Of You/ Days In The Wake/ Hope/ Viva Last Blues/ Lost Blues And

(5 stars)1 Feb 2012

(Domino) Before he cast himself as Bonnie Prince Billy, Kentuckian alt-folk heartbreaker Will Oldham recorded several exquisite, distinguished long-players under the Palace moniker. After aeons in the hard-to-find wilderness, they will be…

Various Artists - World Routes: On The Road

Various Artists - World Routes: On The Road

30-track BBC Radio 3 compilation featuring Toumani Diabaté, Tito Paris and Ilham Al Madfai

(4 stars)1 Feb 2012

(Nascente) How would we hear diverse world musics without Radio 3? Thank goodness they still have the budget to travel to far-flung places to capture stunning sounds from ordinary musicians we’d never know about otherwise. Since 2000 the World Routes…

Michael Nyman - Michael Nyman

Michael Nyman - Michael Nyman

Handsomely packaged re-release of early scores by minimalist composer

1 Feb 2012

(MN Records) Long before his soundtrack for Jane Campion’s The Piano, Michael Nyman’s very English form of baroque minimalism had impeccable art school credentials. Following his debut on Brian Eno’s Obscure label, this 1981 follow-up five years…

Ibrahím Maalouf - Diagnostic

Ibrahím Maalouf - Diagnostic

A groundbreaking album of brooding French-Arabic tones from trumpeter

(5 stars)1 Feb 2012

(Harmonia Mundi) The brooding French-Arabic quarter tones of Ibrahím Maalouf’s trumpet first seduced as guest on the late Lhasa de Sela’s desert island disc The Living Road. Bewitching then, Maalouf’s own debut with a brace of tremendous musicians…

Space rock pioneer Silver Apples set for Glasgow Music and Film Festival.

GFF 2012 - Silver Apples set for Glasgow Music and Film Festival

Live set from the cult 60s space rock pioneers

27 Jan 2012

When Simeon Coxe III took a 1940s vintage oscillator onstage with him to liven up the psych-rock band he fronted, sparks flew to the extent that half the band left, and, with only drummer Danny Taylor in tow, Silver Apples were born. With their name…

Vieux Farka Touré set for Celtic Connections 2012

Vieux Farka Touré set for Celtic Connections 2012

Blues and country influence from son of legendary Malian guitar player

27 Jan 2012

Farka Touré. Where have you heard that name before? Vieux is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, one of the true stars of the world music scene. Farka Touré senior passed away in 2006, but junior has picked up where he left off…

Django Django - Django Django

Django Django - Django Django

Dense and often surprising debut spitting up bursts of bold, spaced-out texture

(4 stars)27 Jan 2012

(Because) Django Django’s debut has a lot of strings to its bow. It benefits from being the result of prolonged and measured tinkering by three Edinburgh art school grads over the space of a couple of years in a London bedroom. These efforts have…

The high energy, high concept dance-rock of Justice is French through-and-through

The high energy, high concept dance-rock of Justice is French through-and-through

To these new gods of French electronic music, we say Salut!

27 Jan 2012

The hair; the crotch-hugging denim; the ‘tude - everything about Justice’s demeanour screams metal. And with good reason. The band, comprising Xavier de Rosnay (monobrow, flaired nostrils) and Gaspard Augé (hair of Robert Plant, moustache of a Deep…

Trailer Trash Tracys - Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Sun 15 Jan 2012

Trailer Trash Tracys - Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Sun 15 Jan 2012

Effects-laden shoegaze fog heavy on the exquisite melodrama

(3 stars)27 Jan 2012

Not, as you might have expected from the name, a clan of bad-mouthin’, whisky-swillin’ Midwestern girls battering badly-tuned guitars and trying to resurrect the lost souls of L7 or The Distillers, Trailer Trash Tracys are instead three guys and a girl…

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel

RSNO and Scottish Opera in new translation of opera

27 Jan 2012

Irish soprano Ailish Tynan is proving a hit with Scottish audiences. After joining the RSNO for a highly successful Viennese New Year, she’s now back to Glasgow and Edinburgh to work with Scottish Opera, taking the role of Gretel in their brand new…

Real Estate set for UK tour

Real Estate set for UK tour

New Jersey trio take one of the best albums of 2011 on the road

27 Jan 2012

Let England Shake may have topped most of the critics’ lists, but for many it was word-of-mouth, you have to hear this, slow-burner Days by Real Estate that became their hands down musical highlight of 2011. This much-lauded record was an Ariel Pink…

The Twilight Sad set for UK tour

The Twilight Sad set for UK tour

Kilsyth trio take third album No One Can Ever Know on tour

27 Jan 2012

With their third album No One Can Ever Know, masters of the dark side anthem The Twilight Sad add impressively to a catalogue that includes one of the finest Scottish debuts of recent years. It’s a bit of a surprise then to discover that the Kilsyth…

Courtney Taylor-Taylor & Jim Rugg - One Model Nation

Courtney Taylor-Taylor & Jim Rugg - One Model Nation

Unsuccessful comic book crossover attempt from the Dandy Warhols frontman

(2 stars)27 Jan 2012

(Titan Books) It’s always interesting when someone turns their hand from one artform to another. However, One Model Nation is proof that the results aren’t always as interesting as the concept. The idea of a comic from Dandy Warhols’ frontman…

Howler - America Give Up

Howler - America Give Up

The kind of easily-digestible festival fodder that could hit the spot live, but is dull on record

(2 stars)27 Jan 2012

(Rough Trade) You think we would all have learned by now that it is frankly unproductive to call anything the ‘new this’, the ‘next that’, or, god forbid, ‘the hottest thing you’ll hear all year’. Sadly, whether they’re aware of it or not, young US…

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 15 Jan 2012

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Oran Mor, Glasgow, Sun 15 Jan 2012

Minimal classical configurations building a truly hypnotic form

27 Jan 2012

The collaboration of Stars of the Lid’s Adam Wiltzie and Devics’ Dustin O’Halloran might sound like a dream ticket for devotees of string-abetted US independent music, but this live performance was no occasion for ego or for taking individual bows.

Eat, sleep and breathe: Melanie C

Eat, sleep and breathe: Melanie C

Former Spice Girl on green tea, lemon, ginger and missing spicy food

27 Jan 2012

Eat, sleep and breathe Melanie C What time is breakfast? 8am or thereabouts. Tea or coffee? Green tea. Smoking or non-smoking? NON! Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury. What food do you miss when you tour? Spicy food – I tend to avoid…

Pulp - It/Freaks/Separations

Pulp - It/Freaks/Separations

Reissue of first three albums from 1980s originally released on Fire

(3 stars)27 Jan 2012

(Fire) Testament to the 80s’capacity to incubate provincial bands until they’re ready for megastardom, Pulp’s first three albums on Fire were a career’s worth in themselves, although hardly anyone remembers. Containing, as all three of these reissues…

Lindstrom - Six Cups of Rebel

Lindstrom - Six Cups of Rebel

A blast taking in slamming synth boogie to shameless pomp metal

(4 stars)27 Jan 2012

(Smalltown Supersound) Like a cosmic disco Ulysses, Lindstrom has felt his way through space, to traverse the Balearic and land upon the wild party island of Six Cups of Rebel. This isle is full of noises, from slamming synth boogie to shameless pomp…

Machinedrum - sXlnd

Machinedrum - sXlnd

Inventive release taking in UK funky, smooth old-school house and sophisticated club tracks

(3 stars)27 Jan 2012

(LuckyMe) A five-track EP rather than a full-blown album, there’s nonetheless a long player’s worth of sonic invention on the latest from Travis Stewart, running the gamut from UK funky to smooth old-school house with an understated Balearic edge.

Partikel - Cohesion

Partikel - Cohesion

Trio’s flexible, responsive interplay maintains interest in material a little samey at times

(3 stars)27 Jan 2012

(Whirlwind Recordings) From the same label, Partikel are a London-based saxophone trio led by Duncan Eagles, with Max Luthert on bass and Eric Ford on drums. Sonny Rollins probably remains the most famous exemplar of the challenges and rewards of the…

Biffy Clyro, Deadmau5 and Justice announced for RockNess 2012

Biffy Clyro, Deadmau5 and Mumford & Sons announced for RockNess 2012

Justice, Metronomy, Noah & the Whale and Death in Vegas also confirmed

26 Jan 2012

Scottish rock titans Biffy Clyro and dance kingpins Justice and Deadmaus have been announced as acts set to play RockNess 2012. The festival which will take place at Dores on the banks of Loch Ness on Fri 8–Sun 10 Jun, will also feature performances…

Emili Sande - Our Version Of Events

Emeli Sande - Our Version Of Events

Powerful, sophisticated and smart mix of stripped down, acoustic songs

(4 stars)24 Jan 2012

(Virgin) Just imagine it, Adele and Emeli Sandé down the pub, putting the world to rights over copious pints. Men? Screw ’em. Hype? Whatever. But the main reason they’d make great gal pals is because they’ve both worked out ways to channel their…

P. Diddy

P. Diddy to launch music-themed cable network

Music Gossip

24 Jan 2012

P. Diddy is launching a new music-themed cable network. The 'Coming Home' hitmaker - real name is Sean Combs - is planning to create Revolt, a musical network with an urban style that will have a heavy focus on videos instead of original…

School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

Third album from New York electro-phantoms, now a duo

(3 stars)24 Jan 2012

(Full Time Hobby) Ghostory – geddit? It’s the way in which our histories are colonised by ghosts. It’s the way in which persons come to haunt our tales of yore. It’s the third album from New York electro-phantoms SVIIB. At best, it is euphoric – all…

Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

Buoyant, but lacking dynamics that made last year’s album instantly spine chilling

(3 stars)23 Jan 2012

(Southern Lord) The follow up to last year’s Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I surveys the same improvised and stripped down hinterlands of its predecessor, reviving their string section in favour of the amplified nature of their previous…

Die Hard - Die Hard

Die Hard - Die Hard

Glasgow outfit's eponymous debut of magnificently off-kilter, avant pop tales

(4 stars)23 Jan 2012

(Halleluwah Hits) If this Glasgow outfit had named themselves after any other Bruce Willis film we’d have issues, but as it is we’re rather partial to a bit of John McClane action so we’re giving Die Hard a go. Stick their eponymous debut on and…

The Ting Tings - Sounds From Nowheresville

The Ting Tings - Sounds From Nowheresville

Second album a mixed bag containing glimpses of what makes them fun

(3 stars)23 Jan 2012

(Columbia) Pity the poor Ting Tings. After selling millions of records, the Mancunian electro-pop duo got stressed, scrapped a whole album and hid from their record label. Allegedly. You can see why the pair might worry about following We Started…

Lambchop - Mr M

Lambchop - Mr M

Reassembled band present lovely low-key set recalling Sinatra, Bacharach and crooners

(4 stars)23 Jan 2012

(City Slang) Having taken a break from the long-lasting alt.country outfit (to collaborate with singer Cortney Tidwell on 2010’s KORT project), Lambchop founder and frontman Kurt Wagner has reassembled the Nashville-based band to make its 11th…

The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know

The Twilight Sad - No One Can Ever Know

Influence of post-punk and synthesisers lends more heart-shredding, austere edge

(4 stars)23 Jan 2012

(FatCat) Bearing the uncertain honour of an ‘anti-production’ credit from Andrew Weatherall (it means general pre-recording guidance, it seems), this second album from The Twilight Sad is a surprising and substantial progression. The washes of epic…

Thurston Moore, The Arches, Glasgow, Mon 28 Nov 2011

Thurston Moore - The Arches, Glasgow, Mon 28 Nov 2011

Captivating picture of solo artistic triumphs from Sonic Youth frontman

(4 stars)17 Jan 2012

You split from your wife of nearly thirty years, who not only is the mother of your child but is also responsible, along with you and some other talented friends, for creating one of the most important musical legacies in modern music – you’re gonna be…

Every Time I Die, King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 7 Dec 2011

Every Time I Die - King Tut’s, Glasgow, Wed 7 Dec 2011

Relentless stream of three-minute blitzkrieg salvos

(4 stars)17 Jan 2012

King Tut’s is sold out tonight, and rightly so. US noiseniks Every Time I Die are one of the most engaging bands in the broad church of metal, preaching their inimitable brand of plunging rock ‘n’ roll since way back then in 1998. Trash Talk do a good…

Michael Jackson project based on poems of Robert Burns

Michael Jackson project based on poems of Robert Burns

Recordings of co-written songs may emerge, says producer David Gest

16 Jan 2012

The Robert Burns' Birthplace Museum is in talks about receiving a copy of songs co-written with Michael Jackson that are based on Burns' poems. Music producer David Gest visited the museum in Ayrshire in December as part of a programme being filmed…

Preview of 2012 - The best events this year

Preview of 2012 - The best events this year

Featuring the Cultural Olympiad, The Dark Knight Rises, WU LYF, Glasgow International and more

9 Jan 2012

It’s 2012, but fear not, things aren’t as bad as they seem. Before you decide to occupy government property, or smash a brick through Dixons, take heart in the folklore of a simpler age. For when times are black, you can always rely on the comfort of…

Preview of 2012 - Emeli Sandé

Preview of 2012 - Emeli Sandé

The Scottish chart-topper aims to release a hit album in 2012

6 Jan 2012

Whenever Emeli Sandé gets a chance to stop and think, she says, the journey she’s already been on in her life still has her pinching herself. ‘To think that three years ago I was sitting in a lecture theatre in Glasgow learning about anatomy,’ she says…

Stereolab member Laetitia Sadier to play Celtic Connections

Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier to play Celtic Connections 2012

Material from Sadier's solo album The Trip, plus Stereolab songs

6 Jan 2012

In 2009, when Stereolab announced plans to go on indefinite hiatus, the group’s spectral-voiced singer Laetitia Sadier prepared for a life away from making music. Her other project, the pop quintet Monade, closed for business the same year. Suddenly…

Five picks from the Celtic Connections programme

Five picks from Celtic Connections 2012

Featuring Zoe Muth, Jack Bruce, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins and Vieux Farka Touré

6 Jan 2012

Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers The year in Americana 2011 belongs to Gillian Welch and the release of her album The Harrow & the Harvest, but amongst a promising field of young female country singers, Zoe Muth stands out. With her ear for an instant…

Preview of 2012 - Errors

Preview of 2012 - Errors

Rock Action's math-rock heroes return home

6 Jan 2012

The Glasgow band have been reduced from four to three as their guitarist has left to become a full-time dentist (leaving Steev Livingstone to get to grips with his six string again). Yet, despite this setback new album Have Some Faith in Magic (Rock…

RM Hubbert to launch latest album Thirteen Lost & Found with the help of some famous friends

RM Hubbert launches album Thirteen Lost & Found with friends

Aidan Moffat, Alex Kapranos and more to join in at Stereo show

6 Jan 2012

RM Hubbert’s debut album First & Last was more than just an instrumental record by a talented Glaswegian guitarist. Far from a commercial stepping-stone, the record was rather the result of Hubbert’s attempts to document a tumultuous three-year period…

Friendly Fires - Barrowland, Glasgow, Tue 20 Dec 2011

Friendly Fires - Barrowland, Glasgow, Tue 20 Dec 2011

Triumphant end of year show from the St Albans indie-ravers

(4 stars)6 Jan 2012

2011 didn’t quite belong to Friendly Fires, as some had predicted it might, but they owned significant parts of it off the back of their euphoric second album Pala – not least the flying feet and skyward waving arms of a few summer festival crowds. The…

M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming combines ambient roots with pop sensibilities

M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming combines ambient roots with pop sensibilities

We reassess the albumprior to Frenchman's upcoming UK tour

6 Jan 2012

The Associates’ Alan Rankine once opined that the best way to make an album is to ‘start with a climax, then go further.’ It’s a maxim that Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez – an Antibes-born, LA-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with an idiosyncratic…

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy to play Celtic Connections set

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy to play Celtic Connections set

Some facts you may not know about Will Oldham's alterego

6 Jan 2012

1. This will be first Scottish performance in over five years The music of Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) has haunted independent music for over two decades now, through various monikers (Palace Music, Palace Brothers, Palace Songs to name a…

Errors - Have Some Faith In Magic

Errors - Have Some Faith In Magic

Superb third album that should push the foursome out of Mogwai's shadow

(4 stars)6 Jan 2012

(Rock Action) Lazily regarded as Mogwai-lite for most of their seven year existence, Errors’ third offering finally sees the Glasgow foursome shrug off the shackles of their legendary label founders’ early patronage. Anyone with half a brain could…

Eat, sleep and breathe with Fránçois from Fránçois & the Atlas Mountains

Eat, sleep and breathe with Fránçois from Fránçois & the Atlas Mountains

A questionnaire about food and the touring musician

6 Jan 2012

Fránçois Marry is fuelled by a combination of herbal tea, techno, chocolate and Cognac – in varying quantities, depending on where the tour van is stopping that day... What time is breakfast? 7am at the hotel before a long drive. Tea or…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Nuala Kennedy

Eat, sleep and breathe: Nuala Kennedy

The flautist and singer takes to the stage with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billie this month

6 Jan 2012

What time is breakfast? Whenever hunger strikes. Tea or coffee? Always tea! Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking. Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury van-snacks: I have a minor addiction to those cheese puffs crisps. Wotsits or Cheetos…

Malcolm Middleton - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Wed 14 Dec

Malcolm Middleton - Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Wed 14 Dec

The ex-Arab Strap man isn't as miserable as he makes out

(4 stars)6 Jan 2012

What better way to celebrate Christmas than with Mr Season of Goodwill himself, Malcolm Middleton, the man whose campaign to get ‘We’re All Going to Die’ to the 2007 Christmas number one spot will live long in the hearts of those who believed in it.

Exposure: Dead Boy Robotics

Exposure: Dead Boy Robotics

Edinburgh's avant synth-pop outfit, who released their self-titled debut album in November on Tape

6 Jan 2012

The name Dead Boy Robotics must be an obscenely cool reference to an obscure sci-fi tome, right? No, they came up with the name all by themselves. It fits pretty well as it happens; they describe their sound as an amalgam of ‘laptop bleeps, synth…

The View - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Mon 19 Dec

The View - O2 ABC, Glasgow, Mon 19 Dec

Raucous, lager-soaked rock'n'roll show

(4 stars)6 Jan 2012

Being partial to the occasional shandy, it pained The List to witness the mass lager sacrifice that occurred at the ABC this night – nary a punter was spared a shower of the gods’ amber nectar as high-spirited young souls sent pint after pint looping…

The Saturdays - SECC, Glasgow, Tue 13 Dec

The Saturdays - SECC, Glasgow, Tue 13 Dec

Polished pop performance that felt lacking in soul

(3 stars)6 Jan 2012

With Little Mix winning this year’s X-Factor, you would think the positively elderly Saturdays (average age: 24) would be showing signs of abject desperation not to lose their crown as the current biggest UK girl group not in semi-retirement. But no...

Kid Canaveral’s Christmas Baubles II - Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 17 Dec 2011

Kid Canaveral’s Christmas Baubles II - Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 17 Dec 2011

Josie Long, eagleowl and more join in Kid Canaveral's annual shindig

(4 stars)6 Jan 2012

The combination of cheap tins and 12 hours of live entertainment could be an endurance test in the wrong hands, but the second annual Fence Records/Kid Canaveral Chirstmas Baubles all-dayer doesn’t exactly feel like a chore. A joyous turn by Fence…

Preview of 2012 - Major Lazer

Preview of 2012 - Major Lazer

Tsunami of sound from Diplo and Switch's musical alter-ego

6 Jan 2012

Brace yourselves for some sub-heavy electro dancehall from Diplo and Switch as they unleash their collective alter ego Major Lazer: ‘A Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed…

Preview of 2012 - Arika12

Preview of 2012 - Arika12

Mind expanding, cross-art discussion festival from the INSTAL and Kill Your Timid Notion creators

6 Jan 2012

'At a conference or festival, the best discussions are often the ones you have at the bar,’ says Barry Esson, co-organiser of Arika12. So, in the hope of stimulating some thought-provoking and who knows, maybe even life-enhancing discussion, he and…

The Big Pink - Future This

The Big Pink - Future This

Second electro-pop offering let down by over-egged desire to be anthemic

(2 stars)6 Jan 2012

(4AD) It’s easy to assume that London duo Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s oft-scrutinised industry connections have earned them their breaks while ignoring the fact that the dark, feedback and effects-swathed element of their music honours 4AD’s goth…

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Boy & Bear - Moonfire

Mumford-esque mimsy-folk from down under

(2 stars)6 Jan 2012

(V2) If you’ve considered moving to the opposite side of the world to escape Mumford & Sons, think again – their Australian kindred spirits and touring partners Boy & Bear await you, ready to close the jaws of a vice-like international folk-pop mimsy…

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Area 52

Orchestral backing and lots of special guests leads to a fun if over-wrought latin-funk-rock record

(3 stars)6 Jan 2012

(Rubyworks) For their fifth studio album the Mexican acoustic rock duo have teamed up with 13-piece orchestra C.U.B.A. to rework nine previous compositions. The radically increased personnel (which is also augmented by several guests including Cuban…

Prinzhorn Dance School - Clay Class

Prinzhorn Dance School - Clay Class

Understated and minimal post-punk effort, but with divisive shouty vocals

(2 stars)6 Jan 2012

(DFA) Whether or not you like Prinzhorn Dance School probably hinges on the vocals. Depending on where you stand on a half shouted vocal (see Mark E Smith, Architecture in Helsinki, Gang of Four et al), their self-titled debut, put out on in 2007 on…

Chris Devotion and The Expectations – Amalgamation and Capital

Chris Devotion and The Expectations – Amalgamation and Capital

Worthwhile debut stumbles when it steps away from solid pop template

(3 stars)6 Jan 2012

(Armellodie) Amalgamation and Capital is the debut from Glasgow’s Chris Devotion and the Expectations. Kicking off with ‘A Modest Refusal’, a punchy salute to 50s/60s pop, complete with textbook dum, dum-dum, tshh’s and whoah-ohs, this is an album…

Baobab-Gateway – Strings That Sing

Baobab-Gateway – Strings That Sing

Accomplished Scottish-African musicians with healthy, multicultural roots

(3 stars)6 Jan 2012

(Brechin All) Baobab-Gateway’s name pinpoints the West African influences found in their original sound. The international pedigree and multi-ethnicity of these experienced Scottish based musicians (Salsa Celtica, Bhundu Boys, Waa Sylla) is a…

RM Hubbert – Thirteen Lost & Found

RM Hubbert – Thirteen Lost & Found

Beautiful collaborative effort from the percussive guitarist

(4 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Chemikal Underground) Last year’s solo debut, First and Last, saw Glaswegian guitarist RM Hubbert communicate all manner of emotions and stories through his own beautifully lush and percussive playing style. On this second album, Hubbert (who…

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

Heartfelt ode to Americana from the Swedish siblings

(4 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Wichita) On the surface, First Aid Kit’s obsession with Americana looks a little odd, given that they’re Swedish sisters barely out of their teens. But the pair’s homage is steeped in knowledge, and this second album sounds like it could’ve been…

The Lemonheads - Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners: The Best Of

The Lemonheads - Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners: The Best Of

Expansive look at Evan Dando and co's back catalogue

(4 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Rhino) Evan Dando is still going strong as the lone remaining member of The Lemonheads, although his days as a mainstream slacker rock heartthrob are long behind him. As this two-CD, 47-track collection demonstrates, though – perhaps too extensively…

Single of the month: Trailer Trash Tracys ‘Candy Girl / Strangling Good Guys’

Single of the month: Trailer Trash Tracys ‘Candy Girl / Strangling Good Guys’

Florence and the Machine, Arctic Monkeys and more also reviewed

5 Jan 2012

Music snobs love to flame Florence and the Machine these days. But as ‘No Light No Light’ (Island) ●●●● proves, Welch does epic, pagan pop pretty much perfectly. Her only crime is that lots of people now like it. They’d no doubt sneer at the recent…

Aeroc – R+B=?

Aeroc – R+B=?

Geoff White's minimal techno alterego saves his best material for last on new album

(3 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Ghostly International) Previously known for minimal techno releases on the likes of Traum, Force Inc and Psytrax, US producer Geoff White adopted the Aeroc moniker for more experimental offerings, resulting in 2004’s Viscous Solid album. Seven…

Mull Historical Society - City Awakenings

Mull Historical Society - City Awakenings

Varied collection of often backwards-looking eccentricities

(3 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Xtra Mile Recordings) A decade after the Mull Historical Society debut Loss, Colin MacIntyre marks the event with another gentle, curious and occasionally awkward platter, as they called them back in the early 00s. In some ways, MHS are becoming…

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester

Dreamily insubstantial album that's very, very Lynch

(2 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Double Six) Rightly or wrongly, a lot of bands find themselves being likened to the soundtrack of a David Lynch film. In the case of Trailer Trash Tracys’ debut the comparison is, in fact, justified. Mixing dark and disturbing soundscapes…

Dan Sartain – Too Tough To Live

Dan Sartain – Too Tough To Live

Old School punk album from the raw rock'n'roller

(4 stars)5 Jan 2012

(One Little Indian) The handsome Alabama rocker’s throwback blues and rockabilly sound has always been fuelled by a raw power reminiscent of punk. For his sixth album, the greasy-quiffed one has embraced the punk rock style as well as its spirit with…

Chris Isaak - Beyond the Sun

Chris Isaak - Beyond the Sun

Listenable but redundant take on some of Sun Records' finest

(3 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Vanguard Records/Rhino) During its 1950s heyday, Sun Records churned out standards by the bucketload from the likes of Elvis, Cash and Orbison. During the recording of Beyond the Sun, David Lynch’s favourite bequiffed rockabilly star was presumably…

François and the Atlas Mountains - E Volo Love

François and the Atlas Mountains - E Volo Love

Breezy, summery pop from the former Fencer

(4 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Domino) Graduating, as James Yorkston and King Creosote did before him, from Fence to Domino, La Rochelle’s François Marry has produced an album here that’s worthy of the increased exposure. A set of breezy summertime pop songs which seem strangely…

Weather Report - Live In Cologne 1983

Weather Report - Live In Cologne 1983

Decent but inessential instalment of the legendary jazz troupe's back catalogue

(3 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Art of Groove / Birdjam) This is the third in a previously unreleased sequence of very well recorded concerts featuring the band in Germany, and arguably the least essential, if only because the later phase of the band’s history was generally less…

Simon Thacker and the Nava Rasa Ensemble – Nada-Ananda

Simon Thacker and the Nava Rasa Ensemble – Nada-Ananda

Fruitful reinterpretation by the British classical guitarist and collaborators

(4 stars)5 Jan 2012

(Slap The Moon) Shirish Korde’s Nada-Ananda concerto allows classical guitarist Simon Thacker and South Indian violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, working with the Edinburgh Quartet, Brazilian bassist Mario Caribe and percussionist Iain Sandilands, to show…

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