The Bluebells and Sister John live

The Bluebells and Sister John – live in the CCA

My penultimate gig of 2021, and my final Last Night From Glasgow double header extravaganza of the year was a pretty special night that will live long in the memory featuring the first band to re-release a classic album on the Past Night From Glasgow offshoot, Glasgow legends, The Bluebells, and the band who released my favourite LNFG release of 2021, the quite simply magnificent Sister John.

With the year threatening to end as it began thanks to Omicron and rumours of coming restrictions, there was both an sense of foreboding mixed with a n element of relief that the gig was going ahead at all, albeit with a reduced capacity.… Read the rest

Review of the Year

Review of the the Year – The Best of 2021

Yet another bumper year for new releases by new artists, classic re-issues and comebacks from some old favourites.

Despite what the salivating broadcasters and media will have you believe, there was so much more to the year than a new album by A****e, the banality of which didn’t even register on the gingerquiff seismograph such was its insignificance in the shadow of so much in the way of superb and exciting music that moved me. (Yes, I know she has a great voice, but oh so dull).

Anyway, no more focussing on negatives, There were so many remarkable albums this year that, once again, I can’t narrow them down to my ten favourites, so before I run down my Top 10 albums of the year, here are those…

In 11th Place (in no particular order)…

It was so hard to leave anyone out this year, I have loved records by so many wonderful and diverse bands and artists.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2021 Pt 14

Singles Round Up 2021 -Part 14

Never say never, but I’m pretty sure this will be the last singles round up of 2021. Some fantastic songs have surfaced this year. And there are probably even more that have passed me by. Here’s a selection of some of the one’s that have hit my inbox recenty and caught my ear…

Billy Sinclair – The One For You

Billy Sinclair’s latest single is stonking romp of a tune, if there was such a genre as glam country then this would be it. Soulful backing vocals complement the riffing with a catchy singalong chorus which lays out the protagonists case to get the girl…

Stream on Spotify now

Dreamkids – Metamorphosis A/A

Dreamkids follow up the video for the powerfully affecting It Must Be Nice and its focus on mental health with the double A side of their single Metamorphosis We Are Young a compelling grunge tinged emo rock song with a hint of Dolores O’Riordan in the vocals.… Read the rest

Middle Class Guilt

Middle Class Guilt – Perform the Songs of Middle Class Guilt EP review

Coming at you from Glasgow, via that apparent hotbed of crime, Shetland (if the BBC series is to be believed) is the gloriously ramshackle chic of Middle Class Guilt who have decided we are ready for them to lay all that pent up guilt at our doors. We should all be truly grateful to be allowed the opportunity to let this into our lives.

The four songs that make up the the EP are an eclectic and somewhat eccentric mix – a bit like The Fall meets Fat White Family meets The Amazing Snakeheads, all thrown into a magimix, with the resultant new flavour delighting the taste buds while fucking a bit with your head as you wonder just what you have experienced, but desperate for some more…

The lead song, Part Evil, At Least has a sinister edge to it, as befits a song with such a title, but despite this underlying air of menace, it also has hints of a ska melody that will give you itchy feet.… Read the rest

Keeley Echo Everywhere

Keeley – Echo Everywhere – EP review

Earlier this year Dublin based Keeley released what is possibly one of my most listened to EPs of this year in Brave Warrior. The four songs on the EP were all utterly beautiful and had me transfixed from the off.

Keeley offers an unusual proposition in terms of songwriting in that all of her songs are written with one person in mind. All of her songwriting is written around the unsolved murder of Inga Maria Hauser, a German tourist who went missing in 1988 aged just 18. When she went missing, she was en route to Dublin, one of the destinations she had most been looking forward to visiting.… Read the rest

Broken Chanter/wojtek the bear – Live – CCA Glasgow

Friday finally arrived in a week when I felt entirely discombobulated. On a daily basis I had no clue what day of the week or what time of the day it was. All I did know was that was desperate for the weekend to arrive and for it to start with another Last Night From Glasgow launch night in the impressive surroundings of Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts.

This time around it was a double whammy, with wojtek the bear’s album heaven by the back door released on the label’s Hive imprint earlier in the year (review here), and headliners, Broken Chanter new album Catastrophe Hits seeing the light of day just the the other week (review here).… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2021 Part

Singles Round Up 2021 – Part 13

We are fast approaching the end of 2021, but the songs keep on coming with no sign of a let up. Here is singles round up number 13 for the year. Who knows there may even be a 14… If I was superstitious there would have to be. With each one new song that comes out, the decision for singles of the year becomes harder and harder…

Here we go again – in no particualre order…

James Domestic – Push on Through

A throbbing hypnotic bass line pervades the air, before adding a keyboard melody and some angular post punk guitars, ad a vocal that sounds like Ian Dury has joined Sleaford Mods and you’re about there with this hypnotic alternative fucked up caffeine fried road song.… Read the rest

Jesus and Mary Chain Live

The Jesus & Mary Chain & Gaye Bykers on Acid – Live in Glasgow

After a week that, if I was being polite, could have been described as both difficult and challenging, one name was a common denominator in easing my troubled mind. That name was Mary, and they took me from Darklands to Everything’s Groovy across the space of two outstanding gigs over the weekend.

The Jesus & Mary Chain in Stereo

Jesus and Mary Chain live

Having rocked my world with their return to perform the classic debut album Psychocandy in Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom several years ago, East Kilbride’s favourite sons Jim and William Reid were due to return to the self same venue to give the same treatment to their follow up Darklands in March last year.… Read the rest

Wife Guys of Reddit

Hanya/The Wife Guys of Reddit – Live – The Hug and Pint

Monday night at the Hug and Pint

Last week my working week was due to be bookended by two gigs, Monday night in the Hug and Pint and Friday night in Nice ‘n’ Sleazy. As things transpired, there was a very different outcome to the end of the week than first expected, encompassing the highs and lows of the Glasgow live music scene from the perspectives of both music fan and performers.

My third gig in as many weeks in The Hug and Pint, and a realisation that perhaps I was out too much when the barman pre-empted my drink order when I approached the upstairs bar.… Read the rest

ingles round up 2021 pt 12

Singles Round Up 2021 – Part 12

Another round of up of singles, EPs, tracks and demos that have grabbed my attention recently. Kicking off with a few LNFG releases…

Annie Booth – Tropic

Annie releases the second offering from her upcoming album, Lazybody, which is due out on the 19th of November. The follow up to Cocoon, Tropic, is yet another slice of touchingly atmospheric and expressive alt-pop laden with stirring strings and a suitably autumnal video. Annie’s sensitive and eloquent vocal has the usual comforting, protective effect as the song reaches its glorious zenith. Annie is playing a Lazybody album launch gig on the 28th November in the perfectly intimate setting of The Glad Cafe.… Read the rest