FAMESPOTI'ING
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Exploding out of the wilds of West Lothian, four-piece FOIL look set to put the steel toe-capped boot into the flaccid jacksy of the modern British music scene.
Words: Jonathan Trew
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‘I THOUGHT WE‘D be listened to mainly by indie kids.‘ sighs Hugh Duggie. vocalist and guitarist with West Lothian four—piece lioil. ‘But I guess we‘ve got a harder edge than I thought we did.‘
Hugh proceeds to clamber on stage and unleash the kind ol‘ teeth-rattling. bowel- quakingly intense set that would make a cluster bomb seem like an angel‘s kiss. Indie kids dive for cover. grown men weep blood and the council issues a warning for pet owners to lock up their loved ones until the barrage is over.
What‘s more. they look the part. They breed them tough in West Lothian. and judging by Hugh and his chums‘ shaved heads. broad builds and general men-olll'ew- words demeanour. it wouldn‘t be too hard to imagine them ripping the heads oil puppies with their teeth. There is. ot~ course. a big. gooey. sol‘t centre underneath all the snarling. Just listen to ‘Don‘t Come Around‘ and its achey breaky heart lyrics. They‘re sot't lads really; even if it‘s not advisable to say so to their faces.
Foil have been around in one l'orm or another for the last three years but it‘s only in
'I thought we'd be listened to mainly by indie kids, but I guess we've got a harder edge than I thought.‘ Hugh Duggie
the last twelve months that they‘ve started to
really burn. Mute records signed them up after
just one gig at London‘s Underworld. ‘1 don‘t know why.‘ ponders Hugh stoically. ‘We were shocking. bill I guess they saw something they liked.‘
22 THE IJST23 Jan—S Feb 1998
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liour singles l’ollowed. as did support tottrs with Moby during his thrash metal phase and
The l‘all in their usual shouty shambles phase. 'l‘hcir spanking new album Spread It Around
kicks ass in suitably splenctic lashion. but is also shot through with a melodic core. ‘lt‘s really rather rare for an album to appear out of the blue which is this good.‘ gushed Melody Maker while NME began a recent live review with the sentence: ‘A large bald Scotsman named Hugh is shouting very loudly over something that sounds like a l'ucked~up 'Popscene‘.‘ What more could an aspirant band ask l'or'.’ Well. there‘s always breaking the US of A. the current spiritual home of all things loud
Foil wrapped up their debut album
and guitar-shaped. ‘Wc‘re touring America in February.‘ volunteers Hugh. ‘We‘re playing GAVIN which is a college radio convention in LA and doing a few dates around that.‘
Squatting in the murky dinge of The Venue‘s backstage. the glamour ol‘ California seems a long way from the rain-drenched practice garages of West Lothian. So are Foil ready to hit the big time and be mobbed every time they nip down the corner shop for a pack of l‘ags‘.’
'Oh no.‘ shudders Hugh. 'I wouldn‘t like to be recognised in the street.‘
Spread It All Around is out now on 13th Hour. Foil play King Tut's Wah Wah « Hut, Glasgow, Sat 24 Jan. ‘ r'