Punk

Patti Smith - Banga

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

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…

Divorce, Vom and Teenage Ricky - Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Sat 4 Jul

23 Jul 2009

Launching their Optimo Records debut EP – a satanic slab of red vinyl sleeved in a painting of ragged teeth and diseased gums – Divorce affirm their status as Glasgow’s most thrilling band. Their support acts are no slouches either. Teenage Ricky stage…

Pop punk titans Bowling for Soup - interview

Jaret Reddick and Erik Chandler discuss their career ahead of their gig at the Oran Mor

7 Mar 2012

Believe it or not, pop-punk veterans Bowling for Soup are about to celebrate eighteen years in the business of show. Frontman Jaret Reddick and bassist Erik Chandler are set to mark the occasion with an acoustic tour of the UK, during which they will…

Juliette Lewis

Punk rock, Hollywood style

2 Oct 2009

She may have left her backing band, The Licks, behind but Hollywood actress Juliette Lewis (her role in Natural Born Killers probably best sums up her punk rock attitude) hasn’t lost any of her rock verve. ‘I’m just some crazy fucking chick fronting a…

Magazine to play Edinburgh Edge Festival

Howard Devoto's band offer a theatrical spectacle

13 Jul 2009

When Howard Devoto reconvened his band of post-punk fabulists after a 28-year hiatus earlier this year, it not only revisited a back catalogue that married a Proust and Dostoyevsky-inspired lyrical ennui to sophisticated layers of sci-fi punk-prog-glam.

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…

Gallows

30 Apr 2009

Ferocious English hardcore punks Gallows are at the forefront of the UK punk scene. They are promoting their bleak new album, Grey Britain, pepped up by vocals from Simon Neil of Scots rockers Biffy Clyro. The Kerrang Award winners are famed for their…

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…

The Leg - An Eagle to Saturn

Absurdist punk more confusing than worthwhile?

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

Eternal Fags - Eternal Fags

16 Jun 2010

If the inmates of Napa State Mental Hospital formed a band after The Cramps visited to play there in 1978, they might have sounded something like Eternal Fags. The tortured yowls and strange austerity of the melodies on songs like ‘Annie’ and ‘The Slug…

Dan Sartain

1 Jun 2010

Dan Sartain bounds onto the stage, guitar in hand, to whoops of delight from a mostly male crowd. He is not the kind of guy you bring home to mom – which is why all guys want to be him – he’s more like the one upon whom your mum secretly harbours a…

Shonen Knife

21 Apr 2010

‘When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert’ – the now immortal words of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain on Japanese punk-pop trio, Shonen Knife, who make their welcome return to the UK this…

Part Chimp - Stereo, Glasgow, Fri 25 Sep

'Loudest band in Britain' let loose

2 Oct 2009

The term ‘Cult Following’ is thrown around all too easily these days, but it begins to prove apt as the dimly-lit bowels of Stereo, wall to with head-banging disciples, are thrust into perpetual noise this evening at the hands of Part Chimp. Previously…

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…

Magazine - Second Life

21 Aug 2009

On their return earlier this year, Magazine received ecstatic words. Now, Neil Cooper is convinced lighting can strike twice. Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for reigniting love affairs. This year, in a concrete hall close to Manchester University…

Exposure: The Nature Boys

21 Aug 2009

Harking back to the Postcard days, when Scottish music strutted its stuff under cool shades and intricate guitars, Nature Boys look to similar tight rhythms and flowing melodies to create a noise worth dancing to. Consisting of Cammy Shiels (vocals)…

The Stranglers

HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, Fri 7 Aug

10 Aug 2009

The opening night of this year’s Edge Festival, and while young folksters Mumford & Sons are playing the other side of town, it couldn’t be more different at the Picture House as old school punks The Stranglers keep things ‘Nice’n’Sleazy’. Formed in…

Bronto Skylift and The Gap Year Riot

23 Jul 2009

Two-piece bands are an irregular find these days, especially ones who can make this much noise. With a simple set-up of drums, guitar and one hell of a screeching set of lungs, Glaswegian duo Bronto Skylift easily cram this modest venue with their…

TV21 - Forever 22

25 Jun 2009

(Powbeat) Back in 1981, Edinburgh’s TV21 were poised to stand alongside Scots post-punk giants (i.e. Simple Minds and The Skids) after their debut LP, A Thin Red Line garnered rave reviews. However, things took a downturn for the power-pop outfit and…

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…

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: 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…

Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone!

16 Apr 2009

(Best Before) Producing roughly as much energy as a Mentos mint dropped into a can of Diet Coke, the Glasgow sixsome follow last year’s Sissy Hits EP with a debut album Hey Everyone!. Twelve anti-lullabies of clattery, shouty, thrashy scream-pop are…

Exposure: Citizens

6 Apr 2009

Blurring punk and hardcore ferocity with clever riffage and instrumental experimentation, Glasgow trio Citizens are a particularly proactive component in the city's evolving underground musical landscape, with it's members also currently involved in…

Paper Planes

2 Apr 2009

INDIE/PUNK One part American, three parts Scottish and all parts pretty exceptional, Glasgow’s Paper Planes have struck on a great formula. New Jersey-born front woman Jennifer Paley is as photogenic as a young Chrissie Hynde and caterwauls as…

Exposure: zZz

30 Jan 2009

Let's get the bad out of the way first: zZz are from Holland, they have a name that sounds like sleeping and their music has appeared on a car advert (and surprisingly also a Japanese mayonnaise commercial, although that's neither here nor there).

Dead Boy Robotics

22 Jan 2009

Two fellas from Edinburgh construct something wonderful out of the dance/ noise/punk/electro sound they’ve been building. Seeing that this gig is part of the Cab’s Duty Free sessions this live set at Sick Note will be free entry and the resident DJ team…

The Bronx - The Bronx

8 Jan 2009

PUNK/ROCK For years punk was in the thrall of the pop punk of Blink 182 and Green Day. Now, finally, with bands like Gallows, Fucked Up and The Bronx it’s retaking the world of hardcore and crawling is way from the underground once again. Confusingly…

Exposure - Vivian Girls

2 Dec 2008

Propelled into our lives on a wave of blog hysteria following a scuzzy masterpiece of a debut, Vivian Girls are possibly the most perfect outfit to come out of New York since The Strokes squeezed into those skinny jeans and stole our hearts all those…

New York Dolls reunite with Todd Rundgren for new album

14 Nov 2008

The New York Dolls and legendary record producer Todd Rundgren have been reunited for the first time in 36 years. Rundgren will produce the Dolls' new album at his studio on the island of Kauai. Production is scheduled to start in January 2009. This…

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…