Writing - The Ginger Quiff

Bikini Body/Water Machine/Jock Fox/Sacred Noise – First Footing – live in The Hug and Pint

January 8, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

This gig was brought to you by 432 presents. And COWBELLS!

In my world you can never have too many cowbells so this gig felt like cowbell utopia.

All joking aside, the abundance of cowbells that ran throughout most of the bands sets tonight was only a small contributing part of what made this the perfect gig to start my music year off with a bang.

Tonight was the perfect tonic for the January blues. Despite being known as Mr Christmas in some quarters, I didn’t really “feel” Christmas last year, so there wasn’t the usual post Christmas comedown, just a general feeling of malaise and relief that the shitshow of 2022 is now in the past.… Read the rest

Review of the Year – 2022

January 7, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

If I don’t get my arse in gear, it’ll be February before I publish my round up of 2022. To be honest, I’ve still got a (virtual) pile of albums still to review… as a result, some of my favourite records of 2022 will be in the lists but remain unreviewed!

Singles of the Year

I already published my top 15 singles of the year (well actually I published a list of 80 songs…. but my top 15 were as follows:

15 – Dumb Poets – Magic Happens

14 – Dream Wife – Leech

13 – Syvdoh – As I Lay Dying

12 – The Bobby Lees – Monkey Mind

11 – Collars – Baby I’m Bored

10 – Keeley – Shadows on the Hill

9 – His Lordship – All Cranked Up

8 – Brontes – First Hand Arrogance

7 – Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something Easy Peelers

6 – Sacred Noise – Part of Me

5 – Junk Pups – Miss Behave

4 – Horsegirl – Anti Glory

3 – Pizza Crunch – Wilting Youth

2 – Water Machine – Hot Real Estate

1 – Monica Queen – What is Home?

… Read the rest

Introducing Water Machine – Band Interview

January 7, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

On the eve of their first gig of 2023 and following a series of much talked about gigs towards the end of last year, I caught up with Water Machine to talk about the band, their music, gigs and their upcoming plans. The band were in high spirits when I met them, after a rehearsal prior to their gig with Bikini Body in the Hug and Pint, their good humour and infectious sunny disposition entirely contagious and a much needed tonic, so I was keen to find out more about the band members and how the band came together.

Introducing the Band

Jimmy: I did this solo thing for years called Passion Pusher, we done an album, I wasn’t happy with it, we did a tour and only played one song from the album, I took a long break from music and now I do this and I’ve just started a band called Goodbody with Rachel and we’re going into La Chunky at the end of the month with Paul Thomson to do tape loops and stuff.… Read the rest

The Claudettes – Go Out – album review

December 31, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

With a title that reflects the long yearned for post pandemic freedom, Chicago’s The Claudettes have once again hit the mother lode with a selection of new songs packed with the extraordinary musicianship I’ve come to expect from Johnny Iguana and co. The ten songs on Go Out pack an hefty emotional punch too, by virtue of the elegantly alluring and impassioned vocal delivery from Berit Ulseth.

Go Out opens in style with a song of unrequited desire and love, the subject of the desirous affection observed from afar. Berit’s wistfully plaintive vocal delivered atop an equally melancholic melody driven by Johnny’s heart-rending piano playing, Michael Caskey and Zach Verdoorn layering gloriously textured instruments to create an incandescently pulsating climax.… Read the rest

Water Machine – S/T Demo Tape

December 21, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Water Machine have recently been making waves in the Glasgow music scene, currently bubbling under and fresh from what I gather was a superb support slot at Monorail’s birthday bash supporting Gerry Love, if there is any justice, 2023 will see the band reach boiling point and explode like a geyser.

Enough of the shite water puns. The band’s music deserves better than my lame attempts at humour.

I’ve recently been conversing online with Jimmy from the band, who are a bit of a Glasgow music scene supergroup, and was half joking about creating a family tree to trace all the connections.… Read the rest

Anti Social Worker – Annual Report, Q&A with Paul Wellings

September 26, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

(Courtesy of guest contributor Craig White)

Early Spring saw the release from out of nowhere of ‘Militant Business And Grime Poetry’, an album, as the title would suggest, of street poetry recited to a mix of urban and hip-hop sounds – It’s a very good collection of hard hitting tunes, the words likewise at times, but also autobiographical and tender as well. I produced a very favourable review, amongst others as positive, including one from his old colleague Attila The Stockbroker. It has received useful radio exposure, and he has taken his poetry to a number of festivals, appearances which drew much praise from contemporaries and audiences.… Read the rest

Return to Returned from Sea – Sister John live in the Glad Cafe

September 24, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

glad (adjective) “feeling pleasure or happiness”

I have to say that after a few weeks of feeling little pleasure or happiness, last night, The Glad Cafe was an appropriately named venue for the fifth birthday celebration of Returned from Sea, the gloriously emotional debut album from Sister John. Nights like this should be available on prescription. the power that live music can have over me cannot be emphasised enough.

I think I can be fairly sure I’m not just speaking for myself when I say how special this night was. A quick scan around the venue during Sister John’s set and I observing rapt faces entirely transfixed by the perfect performance from the effortlessly cool quartet of Jonathan (complete with broken finger), Amanda, Sophie and Heather.… 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

DITZ – The Great Regression – album review

April 21, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

The second great album of 2022 that I’ve picked up from Alcopop! Records so far. On the back of January’s superb release This is My World from Helen Love, comes the debut album from DITZ, in the shape of The Great Regression, an album title which is unerringly accurate for the dystopian post Brexit times we are currently living through.

Brooding

An entirely different beast from the Helen Love album, DITZ produce an unsettling blend of abrasive post punk, mixed with often vicious and seemingly threatening metal guitar grooves and riffs, nigh on industrial in places. Elsewhere the mood is much more brooding, on the likes of Instinct, with a low key vocal backed by an equally low key, but incessant guitar line, the song does, however, rise to a cacophonous clamouring finale.… Read the rest

Introducing the Band… Sacred Noise

March 21, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Sacred Noise, one of my ”22 for ‘22” recently released their second single Part of Me, and are due to play their debut live gig in Glasgow’s Bloc+ on Thursday this week (24th March).

Unfortunately, having followed the band since their inception, I am missing this debut as I am out of the country with work… That doesn’t stop me encouraging the rest of you to throw caution to the wind and get your glad rags on and head over to Bloc+ on Thursday for a cracking night’s entertainment.

Sacred Noise indulged me and agreed to answer a few questions by way of an introduction to the band and their music…

Introducing the Band

GQ: I feel as if I’ve been on a journey with you as a band, following your social media for some time and hearing you grow.… Read the rest