crooked rain.scotland's music

check our myspace site for a listen to some of the bands here

 

As noted elsewhere, I first came across afterchristmas when they supported the thermals at sleazies. It was a wild anarchic performance masterminded by their front man Cammy, who plinked and plonked away on a keyboard. Which sat on an ironing board. And whilst I may not want to sit next to this madman on a bus, he certainly grabbed me by the balls. Metaphorically grabbed my metaphorical balls, that is.

And so it came to pass that the afterchristmas EP was purchased, in the hope that they could recreate the sound on record. The sleeve is sunshine yellow with a crappy line drawing on it which you can colour in with the felt tips thoughtfully taped to the front. The actual CD was filthy, as though it were an ex demo from Tomorrow’s World which (to prove durability) had been covered with jam, dropped in a puddle then rubbed upon Maggie Philbin’s gusset more times than Cheggers.

However the hesitation caused these few points disappears the moment ‘division by photographs’ stutters through the speakers. Simply put, this song is pop genius. The bleak lyrical nature is balanced by a superbug infectious melody that jaunts merrily along.  The fade out and last line (you’ll never build that house by the river/you dreamt of that when you two were too young) would make grandaddy proud. With such a great first track, the other songs are up against it and in truth don’t quite reach the same heights. But apart from the bontempi-ness of ‘Me and Mr Fith’ the rest of the cd is pretty good. ‘Lucinda Green’ shoots Fountains of Wayne all over the place and ‘Burn the Bungalow’ is another biting yet jaunty romp.

Good on record and good live, you’d be a damn fool not to give afterchristmas a whirl.

The State Broadcasters are a 4 piece hailing from the fine city of Glasgow, playing a mellow and thoughtful brand of that which we call ‘country’

A 5 tracker, we kick off with ‘Archaeological Dig’ an unusually titled song dealing with an altogether usual theme: relationships.  The midpaced melody and excellent harmonies give it a wonderful summer pop sound. Indeed, the vocal combination of Graeme Black and Gill Fleetwood is a consistent source of pleasure on the CD. The production is excellent throughout being crystal clear and well balanced, never more so on ‘My Binoculars’ with it’s lush strings and celestial piano sounding superb.

If you heard any of these tunes on FM radio (and it’ll be no surprise if you do), the cold rainy landscape outside the window will be banished and you’ll wallow in a warm summers balm. No doubt they are playing near you soon; you’d be a fool not to check them out.

 http://www.myspace.com/thestatebroadcasters

 

Glasgow based warbler Lou Hickey brings some much needed class and variety to the city’s heavily subscribed solo scene. Whilst La Hickey’s sexy, sultry stylings may not appeal to everyone, you certainly won’t forget her. I'll go so far as to say that DB Cooper hates jazz, but Ms Hickey certainly turned my ear and made me stand to attention
The new shoes EP starts off with ‘Does it get better?’ a lovers bitter lament. The production is superb and it sounds as though the Kronos Quartet have been roped in for backing. ‘New Shoes’ continues this theme before Hickey launches into ‘Sympathy’, a cracking rag time swing number. Her sweet vocals and sumptuous melody hark of a bygone era. In fact for just a moment I imagined myself as a spy in wartime Paris sitting in a café listening to luscious Lou, with whom I’d undoubtedly be involved in a torrid affair with. Though maybe I still have issues about my script for ‘Allo ‘Allo being rejected as ‘unfunny nonsense’? The closing track ‘A Lie’ finds her in such a regretful demeanour you can almost feel her (red) nails dig into her (exquisite) palm.
As well as singing and playing, Hickey does her own recording, engineering, production and New Shoes is out on her own record label (Loulabelle). Obviously a very talented (and busy) lady, this EP should be the start of good things for her.
Lou is live on Radio Scotland, 28th june
www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/radioscotland
http://www.myspace.com/louhickey
DB Cooper

The Valor are a five piece from Glasgow who claim to have a unique blend of indie rock’n’roll. I can hear the groans from here! Alas, they do have the power in the lead singer’s vocals (Neil Ross) and the rhythm section (Drums-Ian Craig and Bass-Fraser Wallace) is top notch demanding your attention whether you like it or not. Named after a gas heater, it would seem appropriate seeing as the music they deliver on their demo CD is on fire! They are pretty blatant and they’re not ashamed of their influences as they are quite evident: Led Zeppelin and The Charlatans. Still if you’re sick of indie rock and roll, after the recent wave of the Kaiser Chief’s (whom The Valor have supported, back when they were just plain old Parva) then perhaps, it’s best to steer clear. Nevertheless if you’re appetite hasn’t quite been satisfied, then you should definitely check them out.

Dakota Filou

http://www.thevalor.co.uk

The Valor play g2 on 29^th April

“The Heebie Jeebies? You can just dance to it, or listen, you could tap your feet along to the beat. Have a beer or maybe two and some crisps to eat. Later on, all seems still. You’re in your bed, then like a distant siren you hear the moog from the night before, we live inside your head…”

This is The Heebie Jeebies in their own words… personally, it sounds a little wanky but perhaps they are still young and have yet to be corrupted by the men in suits, drained of their over-active imagination, fuelled by too many nights on the piss and copious amounts of grass (it’s doubtful they’ve graduated to cocaine yet). Still their self titled EP consisting of three songs dealing with the subject of being ‘cool’ (The Coolest Trainers in the World), wanting to be an art student (Art School Students) and not being man enough (Little Disease) leave the listener wondering, are they slightly bitter that Franz Ferdinand beat them to it?

This will most definitely appeal to their mates, and probably those who hang out at the art school and don’t actually go there but want to be art school students.. did you see what I did there?

Dakota Filou
http://www.theheebiejeebies.co.uk

At times we appear to be bursting at the seams with singer song writers,  so you need to do something to stand out from the acoustic rabble. This isn’t lost on Glasgow songbird Ms Nugent, whose 4 track demo displays some nice inventiveness. For example, Pink Carnation kicks off with an intro by the wee mice from Bagpuss, and when the song starts proper she shifts channels on the guitar and keyboard. I liked it, not everyone will, but you will remember it. She has a great voice, most evident on Precious Things, a slow, strong and soulful number which lingers in the memory. Her carefully crafted lyrics come across as more credible than many a chanteuse does, I reckon it’d be pretty hard to beat her at scrabble too.
Caragh plays frequently in Glasgow, check here for details 

When Waldo and Lambert embarked upon their honky tonk goose chase, I told them there’d be no favours from this hack. Then Waldo let slip about the photos of me looking like, and dancing to, Leo Sayer at a school disco. Kwenchy cup stained mouth and everything. So here we go…

This 6-track demo recorded at Carlton Studios intends to showcase the all-new Scuffers. Having started as a solo project by Gavin Wallace some years ago, it’s taken until now for him to get the finger out and rope in some other players. With a full time drummer, bassist and fiddler/banjoist accompanying Gav’s vocals and strumming, The Scuffers have taken on a new dimension.

Opening song ‘You’ve Got Troubles on Your Mind’ gives us a flavour of the new sound. It’s a terrific rolling country song, upbeat in tempo if not in lyrics. Gavin’s love life, or lack of it, appears to be the central theme on all 6 songs. I’m sure a haircut and shave would go some way to correcting this, but who wants to hear a smug bastard sing? Stay unlucky for the sake of the band, Gav. The addition of Claire Tierney on banjo and fiddle really gives the group something extra, especially on ‘6 AM’ The last track ‘Those Lovesick Blues’ is my favourite, a gentle down home number with some Dolly-esque backing vocals from Claire.

It’s quite incredible to see two friends do something worthwhile with their previously futile, gormless lives. Not as worthwhile as having a web site rightly proclaimed as ‘Scotland’s Premier Musical Almanac’, but worthwhile nonetheless.
http://www.thescuffers.co.uk

Dropkick dropped us a line and kindly posted us their self-produced album, 'Music to Watch Sheep By' for a wee listen. And the verdict is good.

The boys adopt a style similar to Ballboy with their distinct Scottish-ness and dead pan songwriting style. There are an array of instuments with brothers Alistair and Andrew Taylor covering no less than 15 instruments between them! (And it's not often you hear a bouzouki!). Influences appear to include BMX Bandits, Belle and Sebastian, The Sundays, The Jayhawks (and especially Ballboy), plus a slice of country (on a couple of songs the boys could be backing for Lucinda Williams).

The playing and the prouction is slick. Best tracks are 'Complicated', 'Two Steps Back' and 'I Had to Dump Avril'. Crooked Rain gives Dropkick the Thumbs Up - oh, and the bouzouki playing is excellent! www.dropkickmusic.co.uk

Lambert Butler

The French Quarter are a 4 piece outfit from the Stirling area. They cite Wilco, Interpol and The National as influences and that comes through clear on this 3 track demo. 'Direction', 'Low' and 'Naesayers' all have a similar pace, maudlin some may call it, but are different enough to remain interesting. Decent song writing, well played tunes and good production. Look forward to some more!
check them out at http://www.thefrenchquarter.co.uk

Capt Kennedy are a 5 piece from Northern Ireland who draw upon Shakey and Proud Mary among others, to forge their brand of country rock. The 3 track EP kicks off with ‘Sweetest Friend’, a great acoustic tune. Singer Ciaran Lavery has a really good sounding gravely voice. And he’s only 18. Bastard.

Next 2 tracks up the pace a bit. ‘Hard to find’ is a gently rolling tune with a nice country twang, then Capt Kennedy go all rock on ‘Bill Bussa’s Blues’. A nice closer, with a really heavy, filthy guitar sound.

This is a very promising start, it would be nice to hear some more of them, and hopefully they could make it over here for a gig or twa.

Farmfoods McCoy
http://www.captainkennedy.co.uk

mail for details
info@crookedrain.co.uk