Friends Again – live at The Old Fruitmarket – Celtic Connections 2026

February 2, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I went to my first gig in 1986, February 27th to be precise, to see Simple Minds on their Once Upon a Time tour. This means that Friends Again had been and gone like a fleeting shadow before I even thought about going to my first concert…

I was clearly slow on the uptake when it came to gig going (I’ve more than made up for it since) as my second ever gig was to see a certain James Grant & Paul McGeechan in their Love and Money guise play Level 8 in Strathclyde Universities students union in October of ‘86 (with Thrashing Doves supporting according to my notes, for any useless fact fans, a band whose career was probably cut short when the milk snatcher claimed to enjoy the video for their single Beautiful Imbalance on an episode of Saturday Superstore…) I developed an unhealthy obsession for the music of Love and Money the result being they were a band I went on to see too many times to mention over the years, and as such they were my gateway drug to the sublime music of Friends Again, and of course the glorious atmospheric sounds of The Bathers.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – January – Part 4

January 29, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The final part of this month’s singles round up runs to 21 songs, bringing the total to 57 brilliant new songs for the first month of the year, 23 of these from Scottish bands/artists, a cracking start to the year I’m sure you’ll agree. Part 4 of the singles for January includes new singles from 3 bands that feature on the forthcoming New Sound of Scotland CD namely Cowboy Hunters, Vanderlye and The Froobz, and with Oedipus and the Mama’s Boys being on Part 3 of the round up, it’s already stacking up to be a great year for new music from the bands on the CD, the next couple of months are shaping up well with singles on the way from pedalo, Martha May and the Mondays and Sister Madds to name but 3…

As soon as I get the CDs delivered, I’ll post details on how to get your hands on one… it’ll be a case of when they’re gone, they’re gone…

First up on this part it’s the somewhat eery and menacing Dr Love from Would Be Goods, be well warned by the spookily haunting melody and don’t let the name fool you, this Dr Love is not there to heal you or mend your broken heart, rather he will pull the rug from under you and rip your heart to shreds.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – January – Part 3

January 28, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Another batch of January’s singles with a heavy leaning towards new music from young Scottish bands but with a smattering of the old guard too, starting off with this new classic in the making from The Bluebells…

A Monochrome Set is the follow up to The Bluebells commentary on the rise of the right No Pasaran and this time they are in reflective melancholic mood, with lyrics that match the mood of the elegantly laidback melody perfectly and instil a feeling that is like a yearning for simpler times gone by,

Siblings Natalie and Sean aka comfort are back and stronger than ever with new single Appear Offline which has them at their frenetic best with Sean’s potent staccato drumming matching the pacey bleeps and beats of the programming and Natalie’s intensely fervent vocal polishes things off

Sirens Call My Name is the latest single offering from the all female/non binary Hen Hoose Collective from their forthcoming album The Twelve, named to reflect the twelve musicians Susan Bear, MALKA, Inge Thomson, SHEARS, Carla J Easton, Frances McKee, AMUNDA, Djana Gabrielle, Emma Pollock, Jill Lorean, Cariss Crosbie and Ray Aggs involved in it’s creation.… Read the rest

The Just Joans – Romantic Visions of Scotland – album review

January 25, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

I cant believe it’s been nearly six years since the band’s last album, the wonderful The Private Memoirs and Confessions of The Just Joans, but believe me, the wait for Romantic Visions of Scotland from Scotland’s answer The Smiths meets The Beautiful South (…and yes I know the current incarnation of The Beautiful South includes Scot Rianne Downey) has been well worth the wait. What is on offer here on this tongue in cheek titled album is eleven aural equivalents to Allan Bennett kitchen sink dramas, each individual vignette is an everyday tale of life in the world of The Just Joans and in turn each is a perfectly formed and utterly relatable microcosm of the day to day realities of life in the West of Scotland.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – January – Part 2

January 22, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Part two of an already strong month for new singles and another smorgasbord of songs from bands old and new from harmonious folky melodies from Amy Duncan and M. John Henry through to in your face punk from Dropkick Murphys and Gogol Bordello… Part three still to come with some more outstanding songs…

First up in this part is Ghost Reverb, the lead track from the Post Punk No Wave EP from Novelistme the alterego of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Price and in which he leaves behind standard verse chorus verse song structures to create a one take improvisational commentary on life, it’s often a bleak and uneasy listen.… Read the rest

Bela and the Lugosis – International Radio Star – EP Review

January 20, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Tune your analogue radio dial to the wham bam glam of the 1970s and the dark sweeping goth of the 1980s and ready yourself for a gloriously heady extravaganza in the form of the goth/glam fusion from everyone’s favourite purveyors of Bowiehaus, Bela and the Lugosis. If you’re already familiar with the band, the International Radio Star EP is going to be a welcome addition to your burgeoning collection of the bands effervescently boisterous and hugely entertaining goth songs with more than a smattering of glam sugarcoating. 

That old familiar squeal & fizz of radio static as you tuned the vintage dials on your old radio fills the airwaves as the EP’s title track kicks in, and it feels like it’s the band’s Radio Ga Ga moment.… Read the rest

Awful Eyes, Oedipus and the Mamas Boys, Citizen Head & Vacant Pavements – live in King Tuts

January 16, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

All Photos courtesy of Dale Harvey

What should have been my third gig of 2026 turned out to be my first one, and it was a belter with four very different bands all ploughing their own furrow in their chosen genre, or indeed just by ploughing their own furrow full stop and in doing so defying pigeonholing…

The first band on the bill were a case in point, when I previously saw Vacant Pavements supporting Tanzana in McChuills I was late to the venue and only caught the last song of their set, which was more than enough to whet the appetite for more, I’m disappointed in myself that it’s taken until now to fix that.… Read the rest

The Twinsets – Peel Sessions 82-83 – Album review

January 13, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

Precious Recordings of London have excelled themselves once again with the latest of their album length session releases, this time celebrating Edinburgh sisters Gaye and Rachel Bell, aka The Twinsets, in compiling all three of their Peel Sessions. This release may also attract a whole new set of fans following their inclusion in the excellent Since Yesterday documentary.

Forty odd years on from the airing of the three sessions this feels like the debut album the band never got the chance to release having only ever released one single, Heartbeat, on cassette which also included their cover of The Shangri-Las Sophisticated Boom Boom, the Peel Versions of which both appear here.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2026 – January Pt 1

January 11, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

A couple of weeks into January and things are already bright in terms of new singles, with plenty of action from bands close to home, a cover from a forthcoming cover versions album and the return of a few indie legends… The first couple of songs in the first part of the January round up are from home grown talent both with French titles.

I’m surprised Fraser McCallum has time to write his own music given his status as sought after guitar for hire in the Scottish music scene, taking on the mantle of a young version of Douglas McIntyre… But indeed he has made the time and the resultant impassioned single where he takes on a persona of Serge Gainsbourg L’eau à les yeux is a masterstroke, a song that is so swathed with affecting pathos in it’s sound and delivery that it could easily be a Morrissey song, in a time and place where Morrissey songs were to be celebrated.… Read the rest

Count the Days Backs Against the Wall EP cover

The New Sound of Scotland – Count the Days – Backs Against the Wall – EP Review

January 7, 2026 By neilho27@sky.com

The first feature for one of the bands appearing on the You Are Here – The New Sound of Scotland CD coming out shortly is an EP review for Count the Days and their debut Backs Against the Wall. This review comes on the eve of their headline performance as part of King Tuts New Years Revolution alongside Comfort Girl, Dalmatic & The Noise Club, a tasty line up if ever there was one.

The five track EP includes their 3 singles to date Above You, Springbank Road and Get Up! alongside new song Kings and Queens, and an acoustic version of Springbank Road.… Read the rest

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