Feature - The Ginger Quiff

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

IDLES – Ultra Mono

September 27, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I’m not sure if you’d call this a review. Its more me trying to rationalise why I’m finding it so hard to love the new album from IDLES…

I’ve swithered about writing anything at all about this album. It is a total conundrum for me. I’m having a strange relationship with this one. The first time I listened, I was underwhelmed. The second time I began to appreciate some of the tracks. Appreciate – wow even that sounds like damning praise. The next time again, I found myself picking holes. Time and again I changed my impression on various tracks.… Read the rest

More Pandemic singles…

September 27, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

The Filthy Tongues – Pandemic Pete

The real-life apocalypse that 2020 has become has fucked with The Filthy Tongues schedule of recording the third album in the apocalyptic trilogy they started with the darkly magnificent duo Jacobs Ladder and Back to Hell. To keep Tongues fans satisfied the band have just released the second of their global epidemic related tunes, following up Gas Mask Blues with the mighty Pandemic Pete.

The song is a microcosm of everything you could want or would expect from The Filthy Tongues. Colourful storytelling and characterisation. Biting lyrics with a wry dark humorous edge. The opening couplet drolly listing the ways in which an disaster that writes off a whole year might have announced itself…”I wanted zombies and diamond dogs, I wanted triffids and a plague of frogs….”… Read the rest

Letters From Lockdown – Natalie Pryce

September 12, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

If you like your humour a bit close to the bone you could do a lot worse than listen to the (so far) four Letters from Lockdown from the enigmatic Natalie Pryce. Increasingly darkly humorous bizarre snapshots of how some desperately odd and sinister characters are dealing with 2020.

While you’re at it check out their tremendous 2020 album Humans of Late Capitalism for some eerie futuristic space rock n roll. Definitely one of my albums of the year.

Letters from Lockdown 1

Letters from Lockdown 2

Letters from Lockdown 3

Letters from Lockdown 4

… Read the rest

Black Lives Still Matter

August 30, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I’ve started writing this blog several times and ended up deleting it every time. The reason? I was constantly doubting myself. Was I the right person to comment on the topic? Did I have a right to write about it? After all, I’m a white West of Scotland male, what do I know about being at the end of sharp end of racism?

Recently, the more time I spent on Facebook, the more time I spent feeling exasperated and incensed. Yes, I know Facebook isn’t the real world, and I should let it wash over me, but there seems to be an unabated increasing level of unsavoury types commenting on news stories or posting frankly exasperating statuses on social media.… Read the rest

Folk Devils – Forever EP – review

August 19, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

The most recent re-incarnation of the prowling post-punk outsiders Folk Devils recently revealed the lead track, their first new music for 33 years, from their forthcoming Forever EP. The full three track EP is due to be released on the 18^th of September on 10” red vinyl and CD

Lead vocals are provided Dave Hodgson in the current line up following the death of Ian Lowery in 2001. A shimmering intro before Hodgson provides a sinisterly gruff and effects distorted drawl, atop a muscular guitar line underpinned by heavy bass, thunderous drums and crashing cymbals. The track rumbles along with a threatening undercurrent, “remember to smile and laugh at the jokes” Hodgson warns before spitting out the line “nothing lasts forever”.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up – Lockdown Summer 2020

August 4, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Over the period of lockdown (and I admit even before that) I’ve been sent a variety of singles/songs/demos for my listening pleasure. Unfortunately, some don’t get past the delete button (not always because they are… well, you know) but because I’m overwhelmed and don’t have the headspace to deal with them.

Over the last couple of weeks when I was on holiday in between day trips (avoiding the crowds and sweating masses) and decorating, I filtered out some of them….

Katherine Aly – God Breed

Following up her previous singles, The Skin I’m Made of, Sunny Days and Misty Me, this time around the silkily angelic-voiced Katherine Aly serves up a slice of absorbing brooding electronica with her latest single, God Breed.… Read the rest

The Muldoons – Made for Each Other – album review

July 30, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I have recently been expounding my love for a certain record label, the wonderful Tarbeach Records from Astoria, NY with links to home soil in Airdrie. Another of my favourite labels is altogether closer to home. Last Night From Glasgow, and its various offshoots Hive and Komponist have not let the grass grow under their feet during lockdown, with a seemingly endless supply of announcements and releases to delight and excite.

As I’ve recently reviewed two of the latest releases from Tarbeach It seems only fair that I balance this out and expound the virtues of Last Night From Glasgow too.… Read the rest

Aw Naw – No Again EP review

July 27, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Aw Naw? The only aw naw moment here is that it’s taken me so long to get around to getting a review uploaded for the debut EP, No Again from Aw Naw.

Everything about this EP is Aw Yass. With the three tracks ranging from the sublime (Secret Face) to the mirthful (Demon Drink).

The Demon Drink tells the story of an empty at Big Stevie’s. Or more precisely, the effects of a certain type of wreck the hoose juice on the protagonist. The lyrics will have you laughing and cringing as you realise you’ve either met (or been) that person at house parties.… Read the rest