Tomorrow’s music today. This issue: Crash My Mode/ Car
There are seemingly two types of band; the fashion-obsessed fad- followers and those genuinely in it for the long haul. One act who refreshingly wouldn’t know one end of a gIo-stick from the other are Crash My Model Car. The Glasgow-based trio formed from the ashes of Poor Old Ben 18 months ago (an outfit famed for mixing indie pop and traditional Scottish folk) and their debut EP Maybe finds them re-energised and boasting a keen ear for soaring melodies and clattering guitars.
So, Iain Morrison (vocals/guitar), still dabbling in traditional sounds? Not this time around. Our music as Crash My Model Car is much more a three- piece driven thing —- poppy but brash. in the vein of The Lemonheads. On a deeper level however, growing up on Lewis has definitely made an impact On our attitude as a band. We have an ingrained belief in ourselves and have always felt a bit out of it which means we don't care about some of the more cliQUey. too cool for school sides of the Glasgow music scene.
You attracted a huge live following with your old band. 00 you reckon Crash My Model Car can inspire the same devotion?
Well, our King Tut's gigs always sell out and we hope that the gigs further afield on our December tour will be just as popular. I love being in the studio but going on the road is the ultimate. For me. going to a show is about a band putting their hearts on the line and leaving people feeling a bit better about the world and inspired and that's what we try to do. (Camilla Pia)
I Bannerman's, Edinburgh, Sat 9 Dec; ABCZ, Glasgow, Sun 70 Dec.
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64 THE LIST 30 Nov—14 Dec 2006
ROCK
O.B.E.
White Heat at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Thu 9 Nov 000
And here was me thinking The Fratellis were playing in Glasgow this evening. So. I don't wish to nail O.B.E. as absolute copyists. but comparisons might easily be drawn between the two bands. Scruffy and oh-so- contemporarin indie — a major label tactic these days which. of course. has nothing to do With independence — they both create rowdy pop-rock anthems to y0uthful foolishness and adventure.
Our case in point: the possibly intOXicated girl who leapt onstage. grabbed the mic. and proceeded to rant something about us not being a Top of the Pops audience. O.B.E.'s singer ‘Stitch' looked mighty embarrassed at this turn of events. but she succeeded in inspiring guite a few dancers — though. actually. that might have been the band. who mix a hyperactive old—school rock pose With decent electro rhythms a la The Rapture on songs like ‘Disco Dancer” and ‘Sex Offender'. Any success they achieve is well-earned: at least until their target audience discovers there's a Whole Wide world of music out there. (David Pollock)
POP MIKA
Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, Glasgow, Fri 17 Nov 0...
First mentioned in the same places as fellow Quirk-pop doyens Lily Allen and The Pipettes. it's unlikely that the Beirut-born. London-raised Mika Will be playing many more venues as intimate as Sleazy's. As he played here. he was also making his national teleVision debut before the nation on Later. . . The main superlative already flying around is 'the new Freddie Mercurv'. and — much like Freddie and another similarly crystal—veiced troubadour. Antony of ' . . . and the Johnsons' fame — Mika is a singer you will either adore or despise. 23-years-old and ganeg of frame. he's like the slightly awkward school muSicai prodigy. a more than
LABEL SHOWCASE SAY DIRTY RECORDS XMAS PARTY Classic Grand, Glasgow, Sat 2 Dec
capable pianist and a pyrotechnic singer. His repertoire ranges from sensitive ballads to theatrical pomp- pop. but it's the latter that Will no doub propel him to huge fame. “Grace Kelly" is a truly original song. all vaulting falsetto and dynamic chord changes. While ‘Big Girl (You Are Beautifuli' is an (apparently unintentional) descendent of ‘Fat Bottomed Girls'. He and Freddie have plenty in common. it seems. iDaVid Pollocki
LCLECTIC
FENCE RECORDS ALBUMS LAUNCH
The Village, Edinburgh, Thu 3 Nov
As bonny a gaff as The Village happens to be. the constant clatter coming from the Zi(l]()llllllg bar area made trying to listen to this predominantly acoustic Fence Records dual album launch futile at times. Candythief 000 do a smart line in country pop that was at least given a boost over the racket by some tidy drumming and keys work. The Pictish Trail‘s 00 short set didn't fair so well though. comprising a handful of pretty. Wistful songs of the sea. let down by too much nerw, in- ;oke heaw banter. Barbarossa
000 aired a few kernels of intuitively tWisted folk from his neW LP Chemical Campfires that would have been. delightful were they more. well. audible. Armed With electric guitars and a drum machine. Northern Alliance .000 at least brought The Noise. debuting the swelling post rockness of their new album For the Grains of Sand. Which. With any luck. left a few ears ringing next door. iMalcolm Jack)
In the cold. dark commercial freeze of the festive period. quality music tends to hibernate as obligatOry best ofs and naff novelty singles fill the shelves and ainvaves. It's this that makes fledgling Glasgow label Say Dirty Records' first Christmas bash all the more welcome — particularly as a timely reminder of the fact that indie's remain the industry's still beating ethical
Launched in early 2006 on a little dole money and a lot of disillusionment. label bosses (and identical twins) BjOrn and Erik Sandberg initially started the venture as a means of releasing music by their own band — dandy pep four piece Wake the President. The roster was soon added to when first Glasgow melodic indie rockers Endor, then Icelandic solo lolkster Bela proved too irresistible discoveries to leave unsigned.
Relentless campaigning has seen all three artists clock up modest successes — singles and an album from the latter pair respectively have been warmly received. and WTP have recently been selected as Stow College's Electric Honey protect for 2007. This Christmas party doubles as a one-year birthday celebration and opportunity to showcase the talents of all involved. alongside special guests including power punks Room to Let. solo singer songwriter Ross Clark and all girl Swedish DJ collective Dolly Mixture.
‘We feel we're a different label from all others.‘ says Biern. ‘We're like a family: Wake the President were Bela's backing band on his record. his pedal steel player is the label's photographer, myself and Erik run the label. and I manage Endor. Our motto is: "because we're small enough to care".' How's that for a seasonal heartwarmer’? (Malcolm .Jackl