Music Feature - The Ginger Quiff

Natalie Pryce – HUMANS_OF_LATE_CAPITALISM – album review

March 18, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Haud the bus (or the train…)

Fuck me, where has this music been all my life…

I got that feeling today.

That one you get when you don’t really know much about a band, but you get their new album to listen to.

You have no expectations one way or the other.

You’ve been sent some info about the release, but you don’t read it.

You press play.

Then that feeling hits you.

That is how Humans of Late Capitalism, the new album by Natalie Pryce hit me.

Innocently standing on the platform at Cathcart station, I was waiting for the train to work, wondering how many more of these journey’s I’d be making before I’d be confined to barracks.… Read the rest

The Bikini Bottoms – Inversion/Mental Records – Graveyard Tapes Vol 2

March 9, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

If you haven’t already made yourself familiar with them, there are a couple of compilation/companion albums you need to get yer lugs round.

The Bikini Bottoms – Inversion

First up, the companion release to one of last year’s top albums, Bikiniland from The Bikini Bottoms. Inversion is available to stream and features seven tracks; demos and live versions of songs that ended up in their polished form on the final cut of Bikiniland.

I’ve been stung before with albums that purport to be a document of the bands’ roots or sold as some amazing unearthed and unheard before demoes. On listening you realise they should have remained unearthed as you vow never to listen again to the grainy tinny shite recorded on a C90 on a battered old mono tape deck.… Read the rest

Singles Round-up

March 5, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Loads of great singles blasting out in the Ginger Quiff towers just now. Where to start…

The Best Bad Influence

One of the hardest gigging bands on the scene just now are the phenomenally talented three-piece The Best Bad Influence. They seem to be ubiquitous currently. Every time I look on social media, I see them announcing more live dates. If someone were to ask me to name one band I want to be huge it is this pack of young wolves, so it gave me a huge rush to see that they hadn’t only announced more live dates recently but had dropped a new single.… Read the rest

Jonzip – Blueprint – album review

March 3, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Glasgow punk legend Jonzip has recently been making a name for himself as a talk show host. His genial demeanour and general display of welcoming bonhomie making him perfect for the role, talking recently to IDLES frontman Joe Talbot and Southside musical empresario Alan McGee.

Fans of Jonzip the musician needn’t fear though, following on the heels of last year’s The Zips release Huh? comes a magnificent Jonzip solo release in the shape of Blueprint.

The ten tracks on offer are culled from a variety of sources from his illustrious career, different versions of songs, some appearing before in one format or another, others appearing on CD for the first time.… Read the rest

Rudebeard – Wideos on the Rise EP review

February 10, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Live a Bit.

That is the opening mantra on the new Rudebeard EP, and I couldn’t agree more. The older I get, the more important this becomes. This declaration of intent sets up the remaining tracks perfectly. A feel-good song that will start off with you tapping your feet before just wanting to jump up and dance.

Live your own life. Thrown Away skanks along at pace bemoaning wasting the best years of your life working for The Man before you are no longer of any use and you are dumped on the scrap heap.

The feel-good ska sound continues throughout the six tracks, but a warning, Rudebeard don’t hold back on their social commentary – pick your place for blaring out the tunes.… Read the rest

Dogtooth – Cut – single review

February 6, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

In terms of new music for 2020, you could do a hell of a lot worse than look out for the new single from Dogtooth due to drop on the 22^nd of February.

Despite still being in the first flush of youth, they have already been around for aeons. Like Ash and Silverchair before them, releasing music in their early teens, their “A Way of Life” EP coming out in 2015. The CD cover spoke “mod” and their original track A Way of Life had a sub David Watts rumble to it as they espoused a similar tale to The Red Eyes This is My Life.… Read the rest

Garlands Outstandifold Savage Cut Nice N Sleazy

Savage Cut & Outstandifold & the Wettygrippers – live

February 2, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

A sneaky extra gig this one. One of these will I/won’t I nights that ended up as an I will. I was on drop off and pick up duties for Strictly, so it was only a partial gig, having to leave before the headliners, but as the now vegan Meatloaf once said, 2 out of 3 isn’t bad. This was living on the edge for me – gigs three nights in a row. Jeez I’m 50-man, ma lugs can’t cope.

So, three bands on offer for a fiver. Can’t say fairer than that. Especially not in a week when I re-mortgaged the house in order to get tickets for Guns ‘n’ Roses.… Read the rest

The Interrupters – Live in Glasgow

February 2, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

One of the questions on my mind had to be, how do The Interrupters follow a gig as good as The Wildhearts?

It didn’t take long for them to answer my question.

First up though it was the turn of Buster Shuffle and The Skints. We arrived just as Buster Shuffle were finishing – though I heard enough to tempt me to investigate more of what sounded to me like a Chas n Dave meets ska mash up. The Skints impressed me musically. Some cracking bass lines and laid-back tunes – and you can’t beat a bit of sax. A lovely version of Dawn Penn’s You Don’t Love Me into the bargain.… Read the rest

The Wildhearts & Backyard Babies – live review

January 31, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

The Northmen are coming…

The Norse Gods were smiling on Glasgow tonight, offering up not one but two of the premiere purveyors of punk-tinged sleazy rock ’n’ roll in the world today. (For all I know it could have been three, but due to early doors/stage times I was unable to make it in time for CKY)

Unlike historic visits from the Northmen, this time they came in peace. Well I say peace, but they created an unholy racket, the pillaging and destroying down to convincing guitar shredding and a thumping rhythm section.

Son of Ragnar

Looking like a son of Ragnar, with hair shaved at the sides and a long-braided ponytail, Nicke Borg kicked proverbial arse alongside guitar hero Dregen, bass beast Johan Blomqvist and powerhouse Peder Carlsson took to the QMU stage to a warm Glasgow welcome.… Read the rest

Ones That Got Away – Outstandifold & the Wettygrippers & Garlands

January 29, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

First (maybe even last) in a random series of albums that got away. Ones from last year that I maybe didn’t get around to writing about or that for whatever reason never really got to listen to properly.

Bit of a double whammy this one – and it may, or may not, have something to do with both bands appearing on the same bill in Glasgow at Nice ‘n’ Sleazy this Saturday (1^st February).

Outstandifold & the Wettygrippers

The unusually monikered Outstandifold followed up their last (and rather good) album Box with their (who would have guessed) fourth album. Go Fourth, sees them metaphorically do just that.… Read the rest