Punk

Twin Atlantic - Free

Glasgow's indie-punk-rock upstarts continue their ascent with accomplished second album

25 Apr 2011

(Red Bull) With Biffy Clyro now zapped up into mainstream consciousness in a sort of twisted alien abduction, there’s a vacuous hole now open for Scotland’s next alt-rock band to stake their claim in. Twin Atlantic however have been ploughing their…

Club Noir

28 May 2009

When Club Noir was first born to proud co-promoters Tina Warren and Ian Single five years ago, it stood in a field of one. Burlesque clubs weren’t the fashion then, or at least not outside of London, and the pair succeeded in their aim of presenting a…

Exposure: Louise Against the Elements

11 May 2009

They may have already supported Duffy, but Louise Against the Elements aren't quite comparable to the uncomfortable squeak of the Welsh pixie. Instead it's the raw garage power of Courtney Love and fellow Glaswegian, Shirley Manson, that drives a band…

Acoustic Ladyland - Living With A Tiger

25 Jun 2009

(Strong & Wrong) Acoustic Ladyland announced itself as something other than a jazz outfit with the release of its 2001 debut album inspired by the songs of Jimi Hendrix. The punk jazz label subsequently attached to the band confirmed founding members…

Frank Turner

16 Oct 2008

PUNK FOLK Frank Turner’s musical pedigree isn’t half puzzling. He used to front British punk rock outfit Million Dead, has a Black Flag tattoo, and claims Iron Maiden are one of his favourite bands. So what’s he doing these days, musically? Quietly…

Profile: Eyad Zahra - Director of Muslim punk scene film The Taqwacores

Film adapts novel by Michael Muhammad Knight

10 Aug 2011

Name Eyad Zahra Born 20 Safar 1403 AH (Islamic calendar) in Cleveland, Ohio. Background Zahra’s family is Syrian. He was the first of his family born in America, his older brother was born in Syria. Growing up, his mother taught him about…

Exposure: Lovvers

4 Sep 2009

Lovvers sound like they've set up in your bedroom, cranked up the amps eardrum-bursting levels and proceeded to not give one solitary shit if they piss you off, earning a night in the cells in the process. The UK punks' debut album, OCD Go Go…

Exposure: Serpico

28 May 2009

It seems to be quite a quick rise to fame. How did it all get started? Not that quick! We formed the band in mid-2005 and released our EP at the start of 2007. It got some nice reviews and we’ve basically been on the road as much as possible since…

Gallows - ABC, Glasgow, 8th May 2009

12 May 2009

Aided by the inevitable boost that comes with major label backing, Gallows are finding themselves, now on album two, amidst escalating popularity and in the throes of larger stomping grounds, in terms of live performance. Tonight's show at the ABC would…

The All American Rejects

22 Jan 2009

POP PUNK It sounds like effortless pop punk, but The All American Rejects almost went ‘crazy’ writing their new album, When The World Comes Down. Guitarist Mike Kennerty explains: ‘When we were writing the second album Move Along (which later went…

Viv Albertine - Henry’s Cellar Bar, Edinburgh, Saturday 5 Nov

Musically and emotionally raw 'secret' show from former Slits guitarist

8 Nov 2011

“Penis!” Former Slits guitarist Viv Albertine may only be checking her sound levels, but her one word opening gambit sets out her store for the artistic splurge that’s to follow. Within seconds Albertine is relating how she thinks about sex all…

Alice Cooper - SECC: Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Mon 31 Oct

2 Nov 2011

Could there be a more perfect date for Alice Cooper to play Glasgow? And the Halloween freakshow starts early with protopunks New York Dolls still pouting after all these years. A muted response from the crowd in this vast arena lessens the impact but…

Interview - Royal Republic

The funky Swedish punk rockers on their debut album and 'The President’s Daughter'

19 Oct 2011

Touring in support of their debut album We Are the Royal, Sweden’s cheeky rock quartet Royal Republic are preparing to run riot across the UK. The List caught up with guitarist Hannes Irengård to find out more. How would you describe your music to…

New York's The Rapture set for UK tour

After a tumultuous period, the band are back on track with new album In the Grace of Your Love

21 Sep 2011

‘It’s been a real up and down five years,’ says The Rapture’s drummer Vito Roccoforte on the line from his home in New York City. That’s something of an understatement. In the half-decade since their second full-length album Pieces of the People We…

Interview: Henry Rollins on his eating habits

Rollins set for Edinburgh Festival Fringe spoken word show

16 Aug 2011

What time is breakfast? Even though I am not hungry when I get up, I try to eat to get me ready for the day. Within an hour of getting up. Tea or coffee? Both. Usually tea in the morning, coffee after that. Smoking or non-smoking? Non.

Lydia Lunch - Pivotal figure of New York’s No-Wave scene

UK tour from Sonic Youth and Michael Gira collaborator

29 Jun 2011

She’s one of the most influential figures to come out of New York’s No-Wave scene. Founder of the inspirational Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lunch has collaborated with Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, Michael Gira, Nick Cave, The Birthday Party and Omar…

The Nightingales - Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, Mon 23 May 2011

Skewed meat n' two veg avant-garage from alt-punk stalwarts

27 May 2011

The Nightingales are what happens to 1970s-sired latch-key kids if you leave them alone with a CD of Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, a DVD of The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club and the Bumper Book of Existentialism For Boys. After more…

John Cooper Clarke lines up Glasgow Arches date

Bard of Salford continues public rehabilitation after celebrity endorsements

19 Jan 2011

When John Cooper Clarke declaimed an epigrammatic ‘why struggle?’ at the opening of his final 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show in his trademark deadpan northern twang, the statement was a typically double-edged mix of the philosophical and the…

Vintage Violence - new Edinburgh club from the makers of FAST

Glam Rock with a twist

30 Nov 2010

‘It’s pretty rock’n’roll,’ says promoter Chris FAST, discussing the spirit of his semi-regular club night at Edinburgh College of Art’s Wee Red Bar. That should come as no surprise – Chris’ old club FAST was among the very best nights in Edinburgh for a…

Vic Godard and Subway Sect - We Come As Aliens

1 Nov 2010

(Overground) Without South London’s existentially inclined postman, the history of Scottish pop from Orange Juice and Fire Engines onwards would’ve sounded a whole lot less jangular. Godard’s latest incarnation of Subway Sect produce a glorious…

Crystal Castles embark on UK tour

The 8-bit punks are back, but just who are Alice Glass and Ethan Kath?

6 Oct 2010

Crystal Castles are notoriously hard to pin down. They rarely do interviews, and when they do, they make those interviews difficult. Over half a decade of grumpiness, reticence and insouciance they’ve done little to promote their own work in the…

Comanechi and Divorce

Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Thu 23 Sep 2010

6 Oct 2010

Glasgow all-girl (bar one bloke) punk outfit Divorce and London boy-girl garage duo Comanechi (pictured) are calling their musical ménage-a-deux a ‘marriage of filth’. That’s not a bad tag line for these increasingly inseparable bands that boast…

Confusion is Sex

12 Aug 2010

Things are always a bit strange at Confusion is Sex, and here they take a turn for the even weirder as CiS host a ‘Hentai Tokyo Party’ for a dose of cortex searing neo-gothic Japanalia as drag acts, Manga erotica, the Kamikaze Girls, burlesque and more…

Kong plays at Captain's Rest in Glasgow

Loud, abrasive, and possibly naked bellies

30 Jul 2010

Loud, creepy and fond of wearing Y-fronts onstage (and nothing else except a plastic kid’s mask, or Sellotape on their faces). If that’s how you like your music, then this Fugazi-echoing Manc trio are most definitely for you. Expect abrasive punk, and…

Wavves new album King of the Beach steers band into new direction

New, studio-recorded album abandons distortion for keyboards and samples

22 Jul 2010

Wavves’ Glasgow show last November disappointed some of those charmed by the fuzzy, home-recorded pop thrum of their first two albums, Wavves and Wavvves. In sharp focus, the qualities that led some dizzy minds to lump them in with a new wave of…