PIS; i-‘i’ POST-PUNK/INDIE COUNTRY
SCARFS GO MISSING «o The Mill Live @ Oran Mor, Glasgow, Wed 5 Nov Glasgow quartet Gdansk claim to do ‘melodic post-punk explorations of literary pop' and that's about as apt a description as you could ask for. Song one. line one yields the words ‘taciturn' and ‘dilettante' — reason enough to believe they're sufficiently well read to be handy in a Scrabble match. The music is malevolent. bold and thunderously loud. and singer Andrew Campbell's murky baritone recalls all the best low-voiced gloom-mongers from Paul Banks to Matt Berninger.
Fellow ‘wegian Ross Clark has been around as an alt.country/pop/folk soloist for q while now, crying out for an ‘and The Somethings' to back him. The Scarfs Go Missing are it — an electric band augmented by occasional mandolin and trumpet cameos. They have a tendency to overcook their tunes. smothering nice melodies and stories about girls, girls and girls (what else?) under lashings of distOrtion and howling. If a Scottish Ryan Adams and the Cardinals is what Clark and co are reaching for though. they're close. at least in terms of endearing self- assuredness tempered by a lack of quality control. (Malcolm Jack)
80 THE LIST 13-27 Nov 2008
.73 :-: 2: PUNK ROCK ELECTRONICA DRUMS OF DEATH
Playdate at Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, Sat 25 Oct .0000
If this is the future of music. then it's loud and frightening. switching between grime. booty bass and a kind of sophisticated approximation of hardcore techno with a ferocious BPM which doesn't relent for two hours. All played on laptops by a yelling. rapping man in full-on Mexican Day of the Dead white skull-effect face paint. A man from Oban. Mummy, I‘m scared.
Not really. Colin Bailey should be a well-known face among Glasgow scenesters from his time in the city (where he helped run the Admiral's monthly Kaput! night. which ends this very month). He‘s been relocated in London for a while now. and a blend of his sheer production ability and Ozzy-influenced showmanship as DOD have seen him signed to Greco- Roman. guesting at the very best parties around the (:0untry (including this one) and touring the US with his spiritual mentors Hot Chip. Every single track played here is either his own re-edit — highlights included a medley from Peaches. with whom he has worked. and a truly era-crushing version of Black Sabbath’s 'War Pigs‘ — or a sneak preview from his hugely anticipated debut album. due in early 2009. (David Pollock)
Tomorrow's music today. This issue: The Phantom Band
The latest in a long line of great discoveries by Chemikal Underground Records, Glasgow sextet The Phantom Band mash a coarse mix of influences — Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Can and the theme to Crocodile Dundee among them - into a fine experimental kraut-folk pulp. Their debut album ‘Checkmate Savage’ is due in January and is destined to be hailed as one of the label’s best releases. Guitarist Duncan Marquiss talks. Mogwai, Arab Strap, Aereogramme, De Rosa - you’ve joined a rich lineage at Chemikal?
Yeah, it's nice. It‘s a label we all bought records from when we were younger. I just hope we don‘t put them in debt or anything. Describe your sound for the uninitiated.
We all like lots of different music. so there's six people pulling in lots of different directions. It's basically rock. but it's got the imprints of a lot of folk stuff. We like kraut rock and a lot of film soundtracks. The music comes from us improvising together in the studio.
You played under a variety of different names including Wooden Trees and Robert Redford before settling on your current moniker. Why so?
We couldn't agree on anything. so we changed the name every gig. which was good. because if you played a bad gig it didn‘t matter. We played one gig in this pub that had a noise limiter. so as soon as we went over a certain volume the whole power cut. It was the only
(Malcolm Jack)
as FOLK ROCK ESTHER O’CONNOR Brel, Glasgow, Wed 29 Oct .000
An ethereal vision in a white lace corset. voluminous cotton skirt and flowing red hair. you could easily be forgiven for thinking that Esther O‘Connor had stepped either out of a painting or off the set of a period drama on to the stage at Brel.
But there is an unmistakably modern twist to her music. and she flits effortlessly between upbeat. husky poppiness on the likes of ‘Saturday Man'. to wonderfully mournful country torch singer on a sublime duet with Sam West of Fortunate Sons. and later on in tonight's set. a soulful. stripped down and spine-tingling cover of ‘The Look of Love'.
She also proves herself to be a self- deprecating host. admitting that her set-list was written in eyeliner and that her backing band consists of her husband. brother and dad. She also manages to give Barras market stallholders a run for their money by wrny offering a range of deals on her merchandise.
Dedicating 'Hope' to a girl of the same name she met in Africa. Esther thanks her for giving her a more grounded worldview and leaves the audience with a welcome warm glow on a bitterly cold night.
(Emma Newlands)
gig Wooden Trees ever played. and we only got one chord out of it.
I Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 75 Nov; ‘Checkmate Savage' is out Mon 26 Jan on Chemikal Underground.
3: ELECTRONIC POP MAX TUNDRA
Carling Academy, Glasgow, Sun 2 Nov 0000
The Max Tundra live experience is a million miles away from the home listening headphones one. as I discovered. Max was made to perform live. and perform he does. throughout a one-man. all-singing-aIl-dancing-shovv. He's a man truly enthusiastic about his own work. a duality he shares with Har Mar Superstar. along wrth an unpredictable stage persona and seemingly endless energy.
Whilst smacking the piano like some kind of jazzy church organist. throwing shapes. glockenspielling and synthesising like it was 1982. it seemed like Max might be about to smoke and spontaneously explode. however his accomplished voice softened the blow.
He conveys a great understanding of his craft. making high-energy electro pop that could SOundtrack a computer game utilising a colOurful array of Children's instruments. all Of which, no matter how silly, was well received by the audience. He rounds up his musical jOurney with a quirky version of ‘So Long. Farewell' from The SOL/rid of Music. What might come across initially as aural harassment is actually a delight for eyes and ears and enjoyable by anyone who needs a good Max- strength pick-me-up. (Annika Rieleyl
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