2020 - The Ginger Quiff

GingerQuiff – Final lists of 2020

December 31, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Following on from my albums of the year list, the following are my final lists for 2021.

I don’t have a top gigs list for 2021 as I only went to a handful at the start of the year not realising what the year had in store. Though The Wildhearts, Backyard Babies, The Interrupters, Savage Cut and Outstandifold & the Wettygrippers were a pretty good start to what should have been a great year of gigs..

Re-Releases

Bob Mould – Distortion (1989 – 2019) – what can I say, Santa was good to me this year. What a fantastic box set this is.

… Read the rest

Last Night From Glasgow – A success story for 2020

December 31, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

My love for certain record labels is well documented with NYC based, while retaining its Scottish roots, Tarbeach Records up there amongst my favourites. A fact that is ably demonstrated by the inclusion of The Cundeez Teckle and Hide and New York Junk‘s Dreaming (shortly to be available for ordering on red vinyl) amongst my favourite albums of the year.

It is probably the only record label that I can say, hand on heart, that I own every pone of their releases. Here’s to another successful year in 2021 from Tarbeach.

Last Night From Glasgow…

This year though, one record label stands out amongst the others.… Read the rest

The Countess of Fife – album pledge

December 24, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Having been fortunate enough to witness this band live, and having watched several of their lockdown performances, I’d highly commend pledging for their debut album.

The Countess herself provides a powerfully emotive vocal backed by a tremendously evocative perfect storm of country punk noise from the band, as demonstrated perfectly on their earlier live EP – reviewed here

There are a few days left to pledge towards their new album campaign. With a fantastic range of opportunities to pledge, from signed CDs all the way through to private gigs.

if you’re still swithering over that perfect Xmas gift…here’s an opportunity. And if anyone fancies getting me a private gig, I’d be more than grateful 🙂

… Read the rest

The Ginger Quiff – 2020 review

December 23, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Albums of the year

2020 might have been a year to forget for uncountable reasons, a year many would rather forget. However, the amount, and quality, of new music that saw the light of day in 2020 was astounding. So much so, narrowing down my favourite albums of this year to a top ten was a nigh on impossible task.

Even now as I have committed to and published this list, I am still making changes in my head. To say that some of these albums were “better” than others would be to dismiss the quality of said albums. Just know that I appreciate and applaud the time and love that has gone into the recording of all of these albums.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up – Autumn

December 22, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

The last few months saw an other bunch of quality singles appearing in my inbox or facebook news feed…

Def Robot Vs Kerosene

Paul Taylor brought back the 90’s again, joining up his current band, the most prolific of albums bands of the last few years, Def Robot with his 1990s punk incarnation, Kerosene. Following up their 2019 Brexit song with the power pop punk comment on the clusterfuck that is 2020, Save Our Souls. Could be the anthem on 2021 based on the way things are currently looking…

Kerosene – Bandcamp – Facebook

Def Robot – Bandcamp – Facebook

CJ Wildheart

CJ announced the arrival of his latest long player, Siege, with the full on aural assault that is State of Us.… Read the rest

Pick of the Pops – Xmas songs 2020

December 14, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I’m hoping many of you won’t have been in the same position as me, having had the misfortune to hear three monumental fuck ups of Christmas singles. The words-fail-me-how-bad-it-is cover of the greatest Christmas song of all, Fairytale of New York by Jon Bon Jovi, talent vacuum Gemma Collins (I’m hoping most of you don’t actually know who she is, your life will be better for not knowing) duetting with Darren Day. Finally, the cheeky chappie that I wouldn’t tire of smacking in the face with a shovel, Robbie fucking Williams, and his Christmas song, the lyrics of which seem to have been written by a chimpanzee who has an extremely limited vocabulary and has learned most of their words and phrases from watching a succession of idiots on daily COVID 19 briefings, cobbling them together clumsily in a vain attempt to create a song.… Read the rest

Dead Sheeran Vs TV Smith (album reviews)

December 11, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Two COVID related albums caught my attention in recent weeks.

One of them brimming with bristling brio, the other packed with very personal reflections. Both of them, despite their different music styles, bursting with energy and anger and overflowing with punk attitude.

One of these albums is the debut from the remarkable Dead Sheeran. Draw a Venn diagram of John Cooper Clarke, Sleaford Mods and IDLES and you’ve pretty much got the picture. The other is from the grandaddy of punk, the punk rock warlord himself, TV Smith. When so called icons of the first wave of punk, like the washed up MAGA loving controversial-for-the-sake-of-it muppet Lydon are playing to the gallery, Smith has quietly unleashed a monster.… Read the rest

Lockdown Ramblings

December 10, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I recently almost killed the Ginger Quiff website. I had reached a point where it wasn’t giving me any joy, it wasn’t serving the purpose I first started it for. It felt like a chore and I was putting myself under stress and pressure to get some content up. I began to see it as an unimportant “nice to have”. And in many ways, it is. Nothing I write is going to change the world or have a massive effect on anyone’s life. Well, that’s not entirely true, it has made a massive difference to my life since I started writing.… Read the rest

Vulpynes – US Against Them EP review

November 1, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Irelands answer to L7, Vulpynes, released their latest 4 track EP on Halloween. Molly and Kaz the visceral power grunge duo preceded this EP with one of its track Sister earlier in the year.

The EP leads off with the remarkable power and ferocity of One Horse Mind. And Vulpynes journey continues apace. Molly’s formidable vocal more than a match for the sheer wave of intense noise they produce – no matter how much it “fucks with her brain”.

This Motor is Me has a highly infectious riff running throughout. Judging by the non-stop crashing drums and cymbals Kaz must have expounded a tonne of energy in the playing – her motor certainly in overdrive for this one.… Read the rest

Songs and Snippets

October 31, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

As a lover of albums, one off tracks and singles sometimes pass me by, it would be remiss of me though not to highlight the plethora of quality stand-alone tracks, singles, or album teasers that have been waved temptingly in front of me over the past weeks and months.

In no particular order…

Deer Leader

Deer Leader follow up the absorbing Four Deuces with new single Crocodile. The single is an epic taste of what the band can do and fairly whets the appetite for more from this remarkable trio. An enigmatically engaging elegiac start to the song, hypnotic rhythms, soothing and reassuring, becoming softer and lulling you into a safe quiet place ….… Read the rest