NEW SCOTTISH BANDS
Less is
MORE
It's novel for a band to come to our attention fully- formed with mind blowing songs and minus the usual hype. Doug Johnstone basks in the incandescent glory of The Twilight Sad, arguably Scotland's finest new band
\'er the last eouple of _\ear.\. it ll;t\ sometimes seemed like the end «ii an era l.()l' Setittish indie mtlsie. Starting with the amieahle split of the seminal Delgadox. and. more reeentl}. the demise ol' l‘alkirk's :\rah Strap and underrated noiseniks :\ereogramme. a generation ol' our most respected and lliliti\'ull\c
alternatn e l‘;tlltl\ lia\ e seen their natural lite spans eome to an end.
But. as al\\a_\\. it \L‘Clllx. with this eountr}\ L‘lltllL‘\\l_\ ei‘eatixe muxie e} ele. there are brand
next hands eager and willing to take the plaee ol'
the old guard in otir hearts. and to hlaxt our iiostalgie heads \\ith aiiia/ing. lrexh llL‘\\ \titllltl\. .\t the ll'tilll ol’ the paek are lour unassuming )titiiig men l‘rom Kll\}lll. outside (ilaxgoxx. \xho go h} the name oli'l‘he 'l'xx iliglit Sad.
Virtuall} unheard ol' in their home eountr}. or an} where else l'oi‘ that matter. until ahout nine months ago. James (iraham l\tit‘;tl\l. .v\nd_\ .\lael‘ar|aiie tgtiitari. (‘raig ()r/el ll\;l\\l and Mark l)e\ ine ldrumsi ha\en't e\aetl_\ heeoine litHhL‘litiltl names _\et. hut lellT has seen them huilding tip a ll‘L‘lllt‘litltith reputation and a momentum that seems uiistoppahle.
Most ol' llll\ started in the \pl'lllg'. \\ ith the quiet release ol' the band‘s groundbreaking and ol‘ten
jaw—dropping!) good debut album. fourteen .‘llllllIHIIX and fifteen ll'i'iilt'rx. on the \ltittll hut
t'L‘\[k‘CtL‘tl Bl‘lgliltili—littw‘tl ititlie littl (all Rt‘e‘tit'th. the label \\ hieh li;t\ brought the likes ol' Sigur Ros
to the attention oi the maid lx‘eeeniiig iaxe i'e\ie\\\ in the l K and expeeiall} iii the l S. \xheie inlluential \\e‘l‘\ll\‘ l’itehtoik ealled it ing ti'.iii\eeiideiit'.
llll\ ieeoid \\a\ the eatal_\\t toi \l\ iiionth~ ol mm more populai h\e \llt\\\\. \upeilatixe \tie\\ii iexiexxx and geiieial haekxlappiiig oi the highest oidei
'\\e‘i'e all piett} ehutted .tl‘iilll it.' xiv \lael'ai'lane \\|lll t_\pieal iiiotlt'\t§ ‘lhingx ha\e ieall_\ \taited to piek tip. expetiall} iii the States. and people aie latehiiig onto ll. its inst kept on ginning and giouiiig \\e'\e lieen o\ei tout lllllC\ \iiiee last \o\enil\ei_ and it‘s iuxt got l‘t‘llt‘l and better. Ilut otii \l\.l\ haxe iiiii out now \o \xe‘xe got a \xee l‘ll ot tiiiie haek hoiiie.'
\lael'ai'lane\ Iiiotle\l_\ l‘lt'\t‘lll\ hiiii lioiii mentioning that llll\ "nee hit oi tiiiie haek home ha\ in\ol\ed lieiiig totii \uppoit loi .i ieeentlt reloriiied Siiiaxhiiig l’tinipkinx. ax \\ ell ax .i liltilllllilt‘llg' iaum aiouiid the l l\' \\llll ltllt‘\\lltl .»\iid \xhile those ltllll\ ha\e I‘ll‘\ltlt'tl \oiiieuhat helated L‘\[‘H\lllt‘ on home \Hll. it's o\ei iii .'\lllL'l'lL';t that lhe |\\i|ight \ad ai'e teall_\ happening
'l’laeex like New York and ( 'hieago .iie aiiia/iiig loi' tl\.. \a}\ \lael'ai‘laiie. ‘lliat \\a\ a ieal \lll[\ll\L‘ the lirxt time it happened. \\ e lust didn‘t e\peet it at all. it \\a\ quite mind hlott iiig. 'l'he last time \\t‘ pla_\ed \eu York \\a\ in a hen \eiiue. I'he .\ltI\le Ilall ol~ \Villiaiiixhurg. and lhuixtoii \Iooie pltned it the night helore. \\e \xeie like. "( )h in} (iiitl. \\ C liL‘atlllltL‘tl lllL' \illllk' plate ;1\ lllllln.‘
Moore's is an appropriate naiiie. heeauxe lhe luilight SadK sound I\ at tiniex i'eiiiiiiiseent ol the art—roek iii;i}lit‘iii ol Some Youth or perhaps the ineeiidiar} noise ol' .\l_\ Blood} \aleiitiiie at their peak. Indeed. what is striking aliout iheii deliut alhtiiii is that it \k‘L'lllx \oniehoxx laiiiiliai )et \llllllllttllctilhl) eompletel) new and original.
.'\lltillit‘l‘ olixioux iiil'hieiiee on the hand I\ the
12 THE LIST ‘5—-.‘:"