Album/Single Review - The Ginger Quiff

Buzz Cutz Pt 3 – Lambrini Girls, Ex-, Big Girls Blouse, Casual Worker – EP reviews

June 5, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

Buzz Cutz Part 3 is the latest in an irregular regular series of short, sharp reviews in an attempt to catch on a backlog of releases…. so without further ado, Lambrini Girls have something to say.

Lambrini Girls – You’re Welcome EP

You’re Welcome is a lesson, nay a warning for all homophobes, transphobes, Terfs, sexists, toxic males, dinosaurs in the music industry, white van men, and generally just those who are too stupid to understand a way of life that doesn’t fit their own narrow blinkered view (case in point, extraordinary single – Help Me I’m Gay)… I could go on, you name it, they’re a target for Lambrini Girls and fuck me, they don’t miss their targets.… Read the rest

Lusty – I’m Going To Make Your Death All About Me – album review

May 27, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

If you check in regularly with the the blog, you’ll be familiar with the music of Alex Lusty. The bequiffed tattooed rapper having appeared many times in his various guises on these pages. Most recently for the farewell from rap/rock/punk crossover band Rats From a Sinking ship, and in a variety of guises from Happy Martyr to Frigid Vinegar and Halfway People..

This solo outing from Lusty, while undoubtedly a Lusty release, is an emotional punch to the guts. Musically, a massive departure from Rats From A Sinking Ship. Stark and minimalistic, with heartbreakingly beautiful arrangements, reflecting the mood and the affecting and impactful nature of the album.… Read the rest

The Magic Sponge – The Heart is a Suspect Device – album review

May 27, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

The latest album from The Magic Sponge was released at the beginning of the month. The band have featured on these pages several times over the years due to the striking nature of their albums and their unique brand of quirky leftfield guitar pop. The Heart is a Suspect Device is no exception to this, once again the band coming up with the goods, and sharing an album packed full of instant earworms, and of course captivating the listener with their usual intriguing selection of song subjects and lyrical couplets, I’m pretty sure The Magic Sponge must be the only band to have written about theologian, geologist and palaeontologist William Buckfield.… Read the rest

SLIME CITY – SLIME CITY DEATH CLUB – album review

May 16, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

Do you want some existentialist fun? Then come on and join the Death Club! The membership benefits are second to none. Don’t worry death isn’t a pre-requisite, although Slime City are here to remind you of the fact that you and everybody that you love will one day die…

On that note it should be pointed out that gallows humour is a matter of course, but just forms a small part of what you get with your membership of this singularly unorthodox exclusive, naw make that inclusive, club. Slime City has something for everyone in their repertoire. Rising from the ashes of the legendary We Are The Physics, Glasgow’s Slime City has been on the go for what seems like aeons now, after a series of audaciously sublime singles, we are finally being treated to the debut album from this sardonically anarchic band.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2023 – Part 4 – April

April 29, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

Four months into 2023 and the new music keeps coming thick and fast, so much to listen to, so much to love. As usual, there is the evil Spotify playlist at the end, try then buy….

Lambrini Girls – Lads, Lads, Lads

Ahead of the release of their EP, You’re Welcome, comes single number three from feisty punks Lambrini Girls, this time tackling the subject of lad culture and toxic masculinity with great gusto, venting their spleen with impassioned fury. Be sure to catch them when they play The Hug and Pint in June, and if you’re going south for Iggy’s Dog Day Afternoon, get their early to see them.… Read the rest

Blue Aeroplanes – Culture Gun – album review

April 22, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

My tiny mind is blown. I thought Last Night From Glasgow had reached their zenith early this year with Hifi Sean and David McAlmont. Then along came Culture Gun. I must have listened to Side A at least half a dozen times before I even managed to flip over to Side 2, the four songs on the first side offering so much, it was hard for me to take it all in on the first listen. Raw energy. Commentary on the state of society. Impassioned vocals. Tunes which veer from boisterous and rambunctious to beatific and thought-provoking. Lets face it, Gerard Langley and Co.… Read the rest

Drunk Gods – The Immortality Project – album review

April 17, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

I honestly thought after hearing nothing from Drunk Gods since their single Found the Lord & Lost My Soul/Pet Hate, back in 2018, that Ewan was on an indefinite hiatus, maybe he had found “the lord” and lost the music mojo? Thankfully this is not the case, with Ewan taking to social media at the turn of the year announcing the imminent return of Drunk Gods, this return now cemented with the release of The Immortality Project, the follow up to 2015’s self titled debut, and album title perhaps a wry observation and a hint that you can’t keep a good man down.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2023 – Pt 2 – February 2023

March 19, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

It may be nearly March and all, but shit happens, so here it is better late than never….Another bumper singles round up for February with plenty of top quality tuneage to suit every taste…I’ve used my words sparingly, I’m so far behind and have still to start thinking about the March roundup. Just give them all a listen…they’re all deserving of your ears…

If they’re on Spotify, I’ve added a handy playlist so you can try before you buy via the band links…

Millie Manders and the Shut Up – Rebound

One of the best live acts around celebrated Valentine’s month with this boundlessly energetic anthem to relationship’s destined to fail.… Read the rest

Suede – Live in the O2 Academy, Glasgow

March 16, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

Words; The Ginger Quiff All Photos: Stuart Westwood (www.stuartwestwoodphotography.co,uk)

Could there be a better way of spending a dreich Tuesday night in Glasgow than watching one of the best live bands in the country (world?) entertain a fervent and captivated sold out Glasgow crowd? I think not, and I’m sure another satiated 2499 gig goers would voice their agreement having just witnessed a superlative performance, so transcendent it will be nigh on impossible to surpass this year. Any year …

I first saw Suede live in King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in October 1992, a performance that left me gobsmacked, in no small way impacted by the antics of their engaging frontman, not just an extraordinary vocalist but a performer in the truest sense of the word.… Read the rest

Carol Hodge – Vertiginous Drops – album review and interview

March 10, 2023 By neilho27@sky.com

As I write these words, it is International Women’s Day, what better way to celebrate than to listen to one of this countries best singer songwriters, Carol Hodge, and her latest long player Vertiginous Drops (best album title I’ve heard in ages too), quite possibly her most accomplished and varied work to date, as she takes her music and songs in different directions and calls upon some well known guests on a few tracks.

I also had the opportunity to talk to my namesake ahead of the official release of the album across streaming sites this week (the physical copies – CDs and vinyl – have been available direct from Carol since the end of last year) where we chatted about taking the plunge into being a full time musician, the new album and song-writing.… Read the rest