Feature - The Ginger Quiff

Goodbye Mr MacKenzie/Lola in Slacks/Callum Easter – live in Barrowland

June 18, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Who knew that after the last time Goodbye Mr MacKenzie played Barrowland in 2019 we’d have such a long wait until they returned, but return they did and boy was it worth the wait. The gig in The Garage in 2018 was special because it was a gig I thought I’d never see again, the heightened emotions from all in attendance meant a night that will live long in the memory, as will the return to Barrowland the following year, another special night. How would they be able to follow such a pair of remarkable Glasgow gigs?

Before I reveal all, I can’t omit the support bands.… Read the rest

2 Sevens – Back on Track – album review

June 17, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

No Guitars were Harmed in the Recording of this Album*

John Kenny is known for launching his guitar during a live performance… 2 Sevens launch their debut album Back on Track on an unsuspecting public today. I’ve witnessed pictures of his broken guitars and In a broken Britain (there is a slight irony on the album title given current circumstances) the album is a much needed tonic, its a lot of fun, one of these albums that you put on to blow the cobwebs away and just blast out some good old punk rock n roll.

With a name like they have, you can probably work out where their key influences come from, and without meaning any disrespect to the band, that is exactly what you get on Back on Track.… Read the rest

The CundeeZ – Geeez it! – album review

June 16, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

If you looked in as an outsider, The CundeeZ are one of these bands who are always labelled as “punk”, but when you peel away the layers there is much more than that. What does punk really mean anyway? Bring half a dozen old punks into a room and they’ll all have a different view of what it means to them… Never a band to conform to the norms (I mean, a punk band with bagpipes that wear kilts onstage?) the latest album, Geeez It!, like its predecessor, Teckle & Hide, while undeniably the sound of The CundeeZ, dips its toes into a variety of genres, this time taking in rockabilly territory, as well as other genres like new wave/post-punk and folk.… Read the rest

Tulsaqueen – Tulsaqueen – debut album review

June 14, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

It feels like a lifetime ago that I talked to Catriona about her solo project under the guise of Tulsaqueen (interview here). Having been a well known face around the Glasgow music scene for several years now, with Curdle and Dorothy Hale, her hotly anticipated superb country styled (with a twist) solo album is finally being unveiled with a launch gig in The Old Hairdressers on Friday (17th June)

The album (on Double A Side Records) will be available to stream from all your favourite platforms on the same day, but, being the impatient sod that I am, I pestered Angus and Catriona for a sneak preview.… Read the rest

The Fabulous Courettes – Live in McChuills

June 12, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

There is no reason to go to another gig this year.

There is no reason to go to another gig ever again.

I jest of course.

You can never get enough live music, but can it get better than The Fabulous Courettes in Glasgow’s McChuills tonight?

This band is the essence of what a live gig should be all about. If you could bottle the vital energy, positivity and a sheer vibe of pure unadulterated joy that permeated the atmosphere in this intimate venue tonight, you’ve got the way to world peace… ok, maybe the natural pheromones in my brain are still in overdrive, but at least for a couple of hours tonight, I and I’m sure a room full of people in a small corner of Glasgow felt invincible.… Read the rest

Keeley – Drawn to the Flame – mini album review

June 9, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Drawn to the Flame… an excellent description of the music of Keeley. From the moment I heard their first track, The Glitter & the Glue, I have been drawn to the hypnotic quality of the indie dream pop music and specifically to the burning passion lead singer and guitarist Keeley Moss has for the subject matter of her songs.

Keeley is an extraordinary and unique recording artist in so many ways. None more so than the fact that the subject of all the songs she writes is German backpacker, Inga Maria Hauser, who was murdered on her dream trip between Scotland and Ireland in 1988, somewhere between leaving Scotland and arriving in Ireland.… Read the rest

The Courettes – Daydream

June 9, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

The ”Fabulous” Courettes hit McChuills in Glasgow this weekend for what is certain to be one of the most explosive gigs of the year. Prepare to be blown away by the wall of sound that is sure to be served up by husband and wife duo Martin and Flavia Couri.

If you haven’t got your ticket yet, or indeed for any of the other remaining dates on the tour, what the hell are you waiting for?

Ahead of the gig, the band have released a video for the lead track on their recent mini album Back in Mono B Sides and Outtakes reviewed here

Flavia Couri: ””Daydream” is a living picture of our state of mind in the last couple of years.… Read the rest

Katherine Aly – Shadows Are Made of Light Too – album review

June 8, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Katherine Aly is on the rise and rise. One of the brightest musical talents Scotland (via Greece) has to offer her dazzlingly glowing light shines through the shadows bringing together glorious singles like Glow & Ignite, Pariah , Rules and Pariah with four other songs including her latest single Hype Up and in doing so creates a glittering prize for the listener.

Shadows Are Made of Light Too is a veritable cornucopia of blisteringly beautiful alt-pop anthems, nothing throwaway here, with addictive pop rock and hypnotic electronic rhythms mixing perfectly and lyrics, both thoughtful and celebratory, tackling a cross section of topics ranging from prejudice linked to race, gender and body image to mental health and then through to celebrations of sexuality and being who you are.… Read the rest

Run Into The Night/Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something – live

May 29, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Sometimes things are worth the wait.

in a week where I personally had an intense release of pressure after finally delivering the pilot of a training programme that has been delayed for years not months due to COVID, Run Into the Night and Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something finally got to play their gig in Broadcast. And what a gig it was to, a celebration of all that is good about live music, a coming together of like minded souls, a common stream of consciousness if you like, basically, with an emphasis on having a good time.

We arrived too late to see the first support Fog Bandit, who appeared to have gone down well with the assembled throng.… Read the rest

Cathal Coughlan – A Unique Talent

May 23, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

I’m getting to that age now, many of the bands and artists I idolised as a young man are going the way of all flesh. Unfortunately many of them have been taken too young, Stuart Adamson, Bill MacKenzie, Joe Strummer, Prince…All of whom I’ve mourned in my own way, as many of us have. People that made music that had a massive impact on us, with songs that take us back to memorable times of our lives.

I’m not a young man anymore, so I was taken by surprise today just how hard I took the announcement of the death of the uniquely talented Cathal Coughlan, ex-frontman of Microdisney and Fatima Mansions, an artist who stood head and shoulders above his peers of the time, and one of those who you could say they broke the mould of when they made him.… Read the rest