April, 2009

Wednesday night saw Yorkshire trio White Belt Yellow Tag welcomed to King Tut’s for their first ever show in Scotland. After walking onstage and doing a brief last minute sound check, with no introduction they launched into what was to prove a short but powerful set.

The pounding drums and soaring guitars of their opening track, ‘Remains’, was the only introduction needed. The wave of sound hit the modest but enthusiastic crowd and they were off and away for seven tracks all of which swelled to fill the venue and beyond. It was easy to get caught up and swept away.

On stage White Belt Yellow Tag have a very full sound and are dynamic to watch. The group are the new project of Justin Lockey, formally of now defunct band Yourcodenameis:milo. WBYT are aided by the use of samples but thankfully are not overdone. The driving force of their quite intense live sound comes from the guitars and those solid drums, not from recorded loops, refreshing in the age of electro. The addition of keyboards in a few tracks gives the songs a more ethereal feel but keeps the intensity.

‘You’re Not Invincible’ a tune already receiving play on BBC 6 music was the night’s stand out track but closer ‘Endsong’ provided a change of pace rounding off the show beautifully.

Watch out for some festival appearances and their debut album, due to drop later this year.

Words: Megan Leggo
Pics: Heidi Kuisma

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Wavves aka 22 year old San Diego, resident - Nathan Daniel Williams has been causing quite a stir with a few 7”s and DIY tapes…so much so that he’s recently been signed to BELLA UNION.

Williams takes his influences from everything from sunshine pop, slacker pop, surf rock, teenage suburban punk and crackling lo-fi and evokes boyish reverie and reverence of thoughtful nostalgia.

The debut album, Wavvves will be released on June 1st and tickets are onsale now for his first Scottish show at The Captains Rest on 25th June.

Earlier this year Phosphorescent released his new album To Willie, a tribute to the music of Willie Nelson. Styled after Willie’s own 1975 album To Lefty, From Willie (a tribute to Lefty Frizzell), To Willie has received glowing praise from sources as far and wide as Country Weekly and Vanity Fair to Pitchfork and Uncut. Phosphorescent lovingly renders 11 tracks pulled deep from Mr. Nelson’s catalog of song. All along singer Matthew Houck said that his tribute wasn’t just a good idea he had, but rather something he’d always known he needed to do. When preparing for the album’s release, Matthew shared his thoughts about his first memory of Willie Nelson’s music:

“I can remember being in the back seat of my parents’ car in Alabama and hearing “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” sung by Willie Nelson. I must have been three or four years old. That huge-sounding, sad, sad song did something to me. It took something out of me. Or put something into me I don’t know which. There was a gravel driveway and a gate. My father was out of the car, opening the gate and then we were driving over the gravel. Every song I’ve ever sung has something to do with this moment.”

And now a new voice has joined in the choir of high praise for the album – the voice belonging to Willie Nelson himself! Last week Dead Oceans received an invite from Willie Nelson’s Sirius XM Radio Channel, Willie’s Place (sign up for free here for 3 days) for Phosphorescent to perform as part of the channel’s festivities celebrating the 76th birthday of the Red Headed Stranger.

Also last week, Matthew Houck and his entire band of merry musicians were personally invited by Willie to come to New Brunswick, NJ to attend a Nelson performance. Upon arrival, they were invited onto his tour bus where Mr. Nelson was extremely generous and sweet, and shared some very kind words about To Willie, blogged on Willie’s site here.

You can catch the band performing songs from the amazing To Willie (‘Reasons To Quit’ below) at the Captains Rest on May 31, tickets are here!!

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Pic: Bart Photography

The phenomenal Doves (@ ABC above) are joining the already stellar line-up on the Radio 1/NME Stage on Sunday 12th July at T in the Park. The band have been rocking 2009 so far with spectacular reviews for their recent live shows and their fourth album ‘Kingdom of Rust’ which reached number 2 in the charts.

Home-grown talent Idlewild are a true T in the Park band and return for their fifth appearance on Friday 10th July to play the Radio 1/NME Stage. The band’s first visit to Balado since 2003 will see them playing tracks from their forthcoming album which has been financed solely by their loyal fans after Idlewild took the unique step of asking them to pre-order the album ahead of recording.

Bringing some Californian sunshine to Scotland, Iglu & Hartly take to the King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent on Saturday 11th July. Describing themselves as a world of hope driven by heavy synths, these energetic rap/rockers will without a doubt provide one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend with their transatlantic hit ‘In This City’ bound to have the crowd jumping.

Newly announced on the Futures Stage is the debut performances for subversive pop star Patrick Wolf. The most innovative and radical British singer in years will bring his unique and dramatic music to the tent on the Friday while Dinosaur Pile-Up join the bill on Saturday, their crunching guitars and metal-infused rock n roll is sure to engage the crowds in a serious bout of head banging.

Tickets are now available for Thursday camping – start the party early, hit the dancefloor at the Silent Disco, watch a film at the Outdoor Cinema or go wild on the funfair rides. You must already be in possession of a Weekend and Camping: Friday ticket to take advantage of the early bird campsite ticket. The Thursday camping bolt-on is available from Ticketmaster or from your original point of purchase and costs £10.

Green Day’s long-awaited and highly anticipated eighth studio album ‘21st Century Breakdown’ will be released worldwide by Reprise Records on Friday, May 15th. The album is the trio’s first since the phenomenally successful ‘American Idiot’ album that sold over 12 million copies, debuted at #1 on both sides of the Atlantic and earned the band two Grammy Awards.

The band commenced work on ‘21st Century Breakdown’ early in 2006 and subsequently enlisted the expertise of legendary producer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins). The album is divided into three acts – ‘Heroes and Cons’, ‘Charlatans and Saints’ and ‘Horseshoes and Handgrenades’ – and follows a young couple, Christian and Gloria, through the mess and promise of the century so far. The album’s single, ‘Know Your Enemy’, is out now.

Green Day have also confirmed their first full UK tour since the start of 2005,

October Box office

19th – Glasgow, SECC 0844 847 2487
23rd – London, O2 0844 856 0202
24th – London, O2 0844 856 0202
26th – Sheffield, Arena 0114 256 5656
27th – Birmingham, LG Arena 0844 338 8000
28th – Birmingham, LG Arena 0844 338 8000
30th – Manchester, MEN Arena 0844 847 8000
31st – Manchester, MEN Arena 0844 847 8000

Tickets go on sale from 10am, Friday May 1st from the box office numbers listed above, the 24 hour credit card hotline on 0871 2200 260 or online here. Tickets are limited to two per applicant and are priced at £37.50 for London and £35 for all regional dates.

In a busy night at Tuts we are treated to four bands and a crowd in constant flux. Strangely, when Ex-Lovers take to the stage things have quietened dramatically - which is a shame. The band deliver a set of poised and bittersweet tunes which are enriched by the dual, male/female vocals. Perhaps some do blend together and fail to live long in the memory, but there is certainly enough on show to indicate a promising young band.

And then there’s Golden Silvers. There’s a fairly simple test for how good a set is and it depends on something breaking. Before playing a note, the fantastically named Gwylim Gold announces that their sampler is broken and they might sound “a bit shit” as a result. They don’t. They really, really don’t.

Golden Silvers, more than any of the numerous others trying to do the same, carve something wonderful and unique from the 80’s sounds which are so commonly echoed these days. This isn’t pastiche and it isn’t ironic, the synths and harmonies are a means to an end rather than a tribute. ‘True Romance’ sparkles with energy and merits the airplay it’s currently receiving whilst ‘Magic Touch’ turns on the marriage of the three voices and bounces along with the easy affability of a Vampire Weekend number.

Gold, tonight at least, rather resembles Joe Strummer. The dirty, ripped coat, the slightly drained appearance and the vaguely slurred London vocals might all sit more instinctually with angry guitar pieces but have real charm against the sunny musical backdrop. They end with ‘Arrows of Eros’, extended out and building beautifully. If this is what they sound like broke, then I sure hope they don’t fix it.

Their debut album True Romance is released on the 28th of April.

Words: Alastair Mitchell
Pics: Bart Photography

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Tonight BLK JKS make their inaugural Scottish appearance at the Captains Rest in Glasgow. Signed recently to Secretly Canadian (Indiana’s label most notable for 2005’s Mercury winners, Anthony and the Johnstons) the South African quartet have already built up a fair reputation having just released their ‘Mystery EP’.

Currently touring the UK, this coming Friday (24th)  they are set to support avant jazz/drum and bass legend Squarepusher in London’s South Bank Centre before a show on Saturday with the Big Pink and The Invisible at The Camden Crawl. 

They emerge on stage announcing they are ‘Black Jacks’ (thankfully setting my mind straight over their name issue). Guitarist Mpumi Mcata proclaims that they are about to, “Take us on a trip.” They certainly stayed true to their word. Kicking off with an electric combination of urgent guitars and chaotic drum beats, BLK JKS (or, ‘Black Jacks’ as they’ll now be known) have the audience glued from the first few bars. Their avant-noise style compositions blend beautifully in and out of one another, harnessing a sound which draws comparisons from the likes of New York’s finest ‘Battles’ and Massive Attack’s latest offspring ‘Tricky’.

By the third song, lead singer Lindani Buthelezi has lifted his acoustic guitar, this time approaching their songs with a softer, psychedelic touch, allowing bassist Molefi Makananise to showcase his frankly incredible skills. The tracks still swoon in and out of rushed, disjoined and complex instrumentation, however with an acoustic in play, the songs rise and fall to perfection. Midway through, the band play their single, ‘Lakeside’ (below). Upon announcing this, a few cheers are heard from the crowd and it’s easy to see why; arguably the highlight of their set, the track lovingly flows up and down with delightful assistance from Buthelezi’s vocals. His howls and whistles can’t help but make the hairs on my neck stand to attention as the quality and overall passion of this band simply cannot be overlooked. They conclude with a 5-10 minute instrumental ‘riot’ which essentially left the crowd in awe.

I purchase ‘Mystery’ on my way out and bid a fond farewell to The Captain’s Rest for another evening. The lure of another gig across town was indeed tempting upon my exit, however I decided against it. Not due to tiredness. Not due to plain laziness. But due to the simple fact I couldn’t wait to get home and play Black Jacks some more. (4 times through to be precise)

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Words: Jonathyn Smith
Pics: Euan Anderson Photography

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Bringing the delights of New York to their bright melodies, The Virgins,  a band with growing international fame played their first headlining Scottish show on Saturday at a rammed out King Tuts in Glasgow.

Support came from Brooklynites Amazing Baby and Chew Lips who really impressed. Signed to Kitsune the London band, fronted by super sprightly Tiga are already getting the NME in a tizzy, single Solo and Salt Air made me curious to take a trip over to their to their myspace for a listen, a most rewarding affair.

Offering a rock’n’roll edge to the indie music scene, The Virgins gave a fresh and energising performance. Their music is danceable and full of a vitality that sets them apart from some of their British counterparts. Their enthusiasm gave the performance a buzz, marking them out as a great live act. This dynamic band seemed to be having an even better time than the crowd, not easy to do in Glasgow!

Frontman Donald Cumming arrives wearing a huge parka looking like he’s about to climb the Eiger. Off comes the coat and he prances round the stage with a confidence that will easily make the leap to the bigger venues. Highlights of the night were ‘Teen Lovers’, a catchy and poppy tune that had the floor bopping; the hits just keep coming with ‘Rich Girls’, a very danceable tongue in cheek portrait of NYC’s “uptown bitches”. ‘Private Affair’ was up next sounding a little like Franz’s ‘This Fire’ crossed with the Cure, swaggering just nicely. For the closer they pulled out a rendition of Squeeze’s ‘Up The Junction’, a memorable finale and tribute to one of their major influences.

Only treated to one encore, the crowd were left calling for more but with rumours flying round the band were catching a flight back to NYC post gig for a Manhattan photoshoot there wasn’t much chance of that! Apparently they were getting straight back on a plane to play Newcastle the very next night!

Their album is currently streaming on mypace and you can catch them at T in The Park in July.

Words: Claire Cameron
Pics: Bart Photography

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The Twilight Sad herald the arrival of brand new material in the late summer with a FatCat Records showcase at The Great Escape and a short run of dates, including three Stag & Dagger events in London, Leeds and Glasgow on Saturday May 23rd, tickets are here.

Currently putting the finishing touches to their eagerly anticipated follow up to 2007’s astonishing ‘Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters’ album, the band take to the road with Mogwai in the US ahead of the UK dates.

Look out for a first taster from the as-yet-untitled new album in May when a track from the forthcoming album will be made available.

Pic: Tomas Hermoso

Edinburgh band Young Fathers dropped by King Tuts last night, signed to Leith label Black Sugar Recordings I first heard their single ‘Straight Back on It’ (below) in January and have been trying to catch them since. People from Edinburgh cant rap can they!? This is an unusual combination and with a sound sound somewhere between Jay Z and TV On The Radio deserves further investigation. They jump on stage with no guitars, no drum kit and stand posing stationary awaiting the first beat on the PA, it’s fair to say there are a few cynical faces in the audience. Fortunately it’s not long before their charm wins over the crowd, including even a hardened News of The World photographer who’d turned up to snap Esser. Battling through some sound problems they are entertaining and a big hit with the ladies, don’t let that fool you though the tunes are there and single ‘Straight Back on It‘ is just as infectious live as on record. Booked to appear on the BBC Introducing Stage at Sonar in Barcelona and rumoured for Glastonbury, you might need to start associating Leith with hip hop after all!

You can catch them at MACSORLEYS for an 8pm gig on the Friday of the HiNTERLAND FESTIVAL next week!

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Pics: Euan Anderson Photography

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On stage at the ABC2, under the lights and full of energy, Findo Gask are sounding absolutely incredible. Their songs are complicated and smart, a breath of fresh air and something truly worth celebrating. Every one sounds like a single; the rhythms are strict, the chords angular and the pace frantic. It’s not just Glasgow thats sitting up and taking notice of this lot. There’s recently been some label folks over from Japan to watch them play. Don’t be surprised if the next few months sees more label interest. Even arriving halfway through their second song, the band sound great from the lobby.

To paraphrase an Arctic Monkeys album, everything that Findo Gask are Bombay Bicycle club are not. For a start, they look about ten years younger, which they aren’t, but they ooze youth from every pore. Where Findo were slick and tighter than tight there’s something rather rough and messy about the BBC performance. Yet that’s what they’re going for, and oftentimes it works. On ‘Evening Morning’ the stop-start chorus delivers in a big way and, coupled with a driving bass line, works wonderfully live. Others miss the mark and lack the charm to overcome their misgivings but they succeed more than they fail.

BBC’s recent reputation is off the back of new single ‘Always Like This’ and playing it late in the set, the anticipation followed the reaction allow it to stand out. There’s something wonderfully relaxed and almost lazy about it, a song that refuses to go where you expect it to, but there’s strength in that restraint and hopefully a glimmer of the bands true talent. Certainly not the finished article, but an enjoyable set and enough on show to leave us wanting more.

Words: Alastair Mitchell

Still flying high in the charts this week with ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’, Noisettes and their winning formula of funky grooves and joyous 60’s twists will ignite the King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent on Saturday 11th July at T in the Park. I last caught this band at a co -headline gig with Mystery Jets back in 2005 at New York’s Mercury Lounge, since then they seemed to have disappeared but now Noisettes vocalist Shingai Shoniwa is fast becoming a style icon and she will be joined by another striking soulful sensation at Balado as V V Brown brings her charismatic, high definition, high concept pop sounds to the Futures Stage on Saturday.

Southend rockers The Horrors blew away the T in the Park Futures Stage audience in 2007 with sounds from their debut album ‘Strange House’. Making their eagerly awaited return to the music scene with epic new album ‘Primary Colours’ on May 4th, the band will take to the Radio 1/NME Stage on Saturday 11th for what promises to be an awe-inspiring set as the UK music press hails ‘Primary Colours’ as one of the most accomplished and stylish sophomore albums from a British band in years, if you cant wait for TITP they hit King Tuts on May 29th.

Expect a typically lively set from The Twang who will return to the site of one of their favourite festival shows to date with a new album in the wings. The Birmingham lads, whose debut album ‘Love It When I Feel Like This’ catapulted them to fame, will take to the Futures Stage on Friday 10th.

Currently recording his debut album in Edwyn Collins’ studio in London, Orange Unsigned Act winner and home-grown talent T Reilly will join his hero on the T in the Park line-up for his own debut set over the weekend – stage and day details to be confirmed.

Finally, the Futures Stage will introduce more new names to the T in the Park faithful with debut performances from Aussies The Temper Trap who also happen to be playing King Tuts on May 12th, tickets are here!