Rock

Unusual highlights from Edinburgh Festival 2012 programme

Barges, a spoken word section, free shows from big names and more

Dip in for some watery goings-on at the Art Festival as Tania Kovats invites you on a canal boat trip on 3 August. The vessel sets sail from behind Cargo on Fountainbridge at 9am, making the return voyage from Jupiter Artland at 3pm. Call 01506 889 900…

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012: Music highlights

Steamy samba, sleazy-noir synths and goth-pop to feature at Fringe

Brazil! Brazil! Presents Favela Funk Party. The 2010 success of Brazil! Brazil! brought the steamy sounds and sights of samba to the festival and the same people behind that glory deliver an explosion of favela funk and samba reggae. Among the acts…

Secret Motorbikes EP review - I Get Up

Gnarly and rewarding listen from new Glasgow based noiseniks

New Glasgow based noiseniks, Secret Motorbikes, deliver 'I Get Up', their second offering in as many months, after their previous effort 'This Is Not A Hostel'. This relentless DIY ethic that the guys pursue clearly serves them well as their playful…

The View to play T in the Park 2012

The Dundonian group will take to the Main Stage on Saturday under the name The Dryburgh Soul Band

After the somewhat inevitable news that Pete Doherty would yet again forego a stint at T in the Park, ticket holders have been mollified with better news: The View will perform a main stage set Saturday 7 July, under the sly pseudonym The Dryburgh Soul…

Sharon van Etten set for UK tour

Third album from cohort of The National, The Antlers and Beirut

When we tell you Sharon Van Etten’s had it tough, we don’t just mean a bit of writer’s block or bad press. The Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter found herself fleeing an abusive relationship and endured two years of homelessness while making her third…

The Rapture - Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Tue 12 Jun 2012

Display of a band firmly asserting their own vitality

Are The Rapture a nostalgia act? After all, it’s now 13 years since their debut album Mirror placed them at the forefront of New York’s then-nascent dance-punk explosion, predating even LCD Soundsystem. The thin turn-out here – the balcony wasn’t even…

Austra - Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh, Tue 5 Jun 2012

Crystalline headrush of swirling synths with voice centre stage

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has heard her group’s debut album, Feel it Break, that Katie Stelmanis’ stunning voice is central to the Austra live show. The Latvian-Canadian’s classical training is very much in evidence in the clear diction…

Advance Base - A Shut In's Prayer

New project from Owen Ashworth of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

Still singing in his trademark low-energy, just-woken-up vocal, one listen to this new record and Owen Ashworth's cover will be blown immediately when heard by fans of his now-retired project, the cult heartbreak-pop of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone.

Interview: Scissor Sisters headline Wickerman festival 2012

Collaborations, Calvin Harris, Olympics and new album Magic Hour

Having officially launched their fourth album Magic Hour at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire in May, enduring festival favourites Scissor Sisters will play only two more shows in the UK this summer: one at the Wickerman Festival in Dumfries and Galloway…

Rick Redbeard and Adam Stafford

Reasons to go see cohorts of The Phantom Band and Y’all Is Fantasy Island

You may recognise these two Rick ‘Redbeard’ Anthony – here appearing in his alt-folk solo guise – as frontman of Glasgow kraut-folk six-piece the Phantom Band, and Adam Stafford from defunct grungy Falkirk noiseniks Y’all Is Fantasy Island, now going it…

Exposure: The Machine Room

Grand, glistening electro-indie invoking New Order, Chapterhouse and The House of Love

One of the essential new Scottish bands to catch at this summer’s festivals (they play Go North, T in the Park and Wickerman), Edinburgh quintet The Machine Room’s grand, glistening electro-indie invokes all from New Order to Chapterhouse and The House…

Cloud Nothings - The Captain’s, Glasgow, Tue 5 Jun 2012

Success for evolving band despite exchange of catchy songs for white noise

Cloud Nothings’ progression from Ohioan teenager Dylan Baldi’s lo-fi bedroom project to an arm-flailing, ass-kicking twentysomething with live band has been a joy to watch. Nearly drowning in their own energy, the quickness in delivery of their material…

Japandroids - Celebration Rock

Loud, scrappy and triumphant rock music made by two guys having a ball

It shouldn’t take much to convince any sensible listener that any claims that ‘guitar music is dead’ are unfounded as they are unnecessary. But for the more stubborn among you, Japandroids’ latest album, Celebration Rock, may be enough to comfort you…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Meursault

Neil Pennycook reveals some of the band’s on-the-road eating habits

What time is breakfast? The five minutes between waking up and getting in the tour van.Tea or coffee? Coffee. Smoking or non-smoking? Smoking.

John Maus - A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material

Off-kilter compilation from Ariel Pink and Animal Collective keys-man

Remastered rarities, demos and previously unreleased tracks are generally the preserve of the socially ostracised. Don’t own a stained raincoat and a couple of Can bootlegs? Don’t care. We make an exception for cult hero and part time-Ariel Pink and…

Interview: Amy Macdonald prepares to play 'Five a Day for the Kids'

At only 24 years of age, Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald has had a UK Number One single and sold four million albums. Known for her originality as well as her versatility, Amy has developed a following with self-penned tracks such as 'This is…

Eat, sleep and breathe: Sean Smith, We Were Promised Jetpacks

The bassist shares the band's tour habits

What time is breakfast? It changes every day. Usually fairly late though. It’s just the adults that get up in time for breakfast. Tea or coffee? Coffee. Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking. Sweet or savoury snacks? Savoury, but Peter Q…

Olympic Swimmers - No Flags Will Fly

Less than original but still worthwhile Scottish post-rock debut

The fact Olympic Swimmers’ debut album arrives in a summer when their Google search rankings might not be the best isn’t their biggest hindrance to standing out. Situated between the pillars of Scottish alternative music – Idlewild’s shrewd melodies…

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

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

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

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

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

A chat with Richard Fearless ahead of his RockNess performance

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

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

‘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 get ready for RockNess 2012

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

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

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

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

Experimental craziness from the long-running grungers' reduced incarnation

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…