Music Feature - The Ginger Quiff

The Reverse Cowgirls – Bag O’ Bones – album review

September 18, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Should you have come across the music of The Reverse Cowgirls, you would have been forgiven for assuming their origins were the Southern States of the US instead of the environs of the Dear Green Place.

I am shamefully late to the game when it comes to The Reverse Cowgirls, having recently seen them supporting Reaction in McChuills and being blown away by their set. I have always been aware of the name and been in attendance, in body at least, at a gig where they played before but the less said about how I ended that evening the better.… Read the rest

The Zips – IOU

September 14, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

The Zips , arguably the finest Scottish punk band to emerge from the first wave of punk, and definitely, and defiantly, the most vital and valid to this day, just listen to Hear Hear from Down With The Zips, a more perfect analogy for the debacle that is Westminster you will never hear. Jonzip is a prophet.

Another prophetic announcement arrived this week in the form of the artwork for The Zips new album due later in the year. The artwork is a collaboration of Strummer/Clash fans, the band and local talented artists Stephen Scott. Stephen has produced a number of paintings of The Clash over the years (a print of one of these takes pride of place on my living room wall).… Read the rest

Quotes of the Dead – Twist or Stick – new single

September 13, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Today sees the release of the new single and video from Glasgow’s Quotes of the Dead. The song Twist or Stick is a gloriously feisty three and a half minutes of alternative/indie guitar rock with a sinister undertone.

Seemingly telling the seedy tale of several unsavoury characters and their unconventional habits after dark… “welcome to the party where the rooms are painted red, bring a plus one and join me in my bed…” The song is both intensely dark and uncompromising while retaining an upbeat groove. Animated riffing and high-spirited melodies form the backbone to the track as the guitars soar and the resounding roll of the bass verges on ska phrasing on occasion.… Read the rest

Spotlight on Curdle

September 12, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Curdle

Curdle is a 4 piece Glasgow-based band playing their unique blend of riot grrl infused goth horror punk with lashings of 1960s trippy pop psychedelia for good meassure.

The band consists of:

Wiggy – Guitar, Bass, Theremin, Vocals
Sarah – Guitar, Bass, Synth, Vocals
Clare – Drums
Lucy – Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals

Their mesmerising debut album is receiving a vinyl release later in the year on the wonderful Double A Side records. (I recently revisited this for a review on the site). The band kindly took some time out of their busy schedule to speak to the Ginger Quiff.… Read the rest

Carol Hodge – Hold On To That Flame – album review

September 9, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Carol Hodge (great name ) – and I make no apologies for writing about an album that came out last year. Unfortunately, I only heard it for the first time earlier this year otherwise I’m positive it would have featured in my end of year lists, as it is an album I keep coming back to time and again.

Stop the World…

From the piano of the opening bars of Stop the World in its Tracks through to the affecting close of the deeply personal and raw Bear with Me, I am overwhelmingly emotionally invested in the album. Music is nothing if it doesn’t grab you and fill you with emotion, it doesn’t matter what that emotion is – joy, anger, sadness… anything that engages you, allowing you to lose yourself in the music and feel your skin tingle with raw emotion is alright with me.… Read the rest

ElectraJets Transatlantic Tales album cover

ElectraJets & Fur Dixon – Tarbeach Records new releases

September 2, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Vox

I have just finished reading a disturbing novel, Vox by Christina Dalcher, a frighteningly dystopian view of a future America where men have taken away all women’s rights, limiting them to speaking 100 words per day in the process.

Thankfully, we are currently in a place where strong women are celebrated, a situation reflected in the latest two releases on New York’s own Tarbeach records.

Fur & Cynthia – Bass legends

Bass playing legends of the alternative music scene Fur Dixon (The Cramps, The Hollywood Hillbillys) and Cynthia Ross (The “B” Girls, New York Junk) feature front and centre and as usual both are loud and proud, Fur on a new 7” single, preceding the vinyl release of her magnificent WTFukishima/Return 2 Sender album later in the year and Cynthia on the imminent Electrajets debut album release.… Read the rest

Tenement & Temple – album review

August 27, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Tenement & Temple aka Smillie and Queen, highly sought after legends of the Scottish music scene, have released what is set to be possibly one of the most heart-meltingly beautiful albums of 2019.

Thrum

In one of their previous incarnations, Thrum, they delighted with songs like So Glad & Illegitimate Clown, and a magnificent cover of Crying (more about magnificent covers later) gigging regularly and generally being an abundantly talented pair, resulting in them being sought after for many collaborations over the years. Recently contributing in no small part to two of my favourite albums of the last few years – Daniel Wylie’s Cosmic Rough Riders Scenery for Dreamers and Reaction’s Keep it Weird Keep it Wired.… Read the rest

5 minutes with…The Best Bad Influence

August 27, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

In 2019 so far, one of the bands I am most excited about is a young trio who take their influence from the rockabilly scene, playing a mix of their own songs alongside some classic covers.

I finally got the opportunity to see The Best Bad Influence live in the flesh, and I’m delighted to report that they do live up to my expectations. The buzz around the band is phenomenal, feedback from those who had already seen them was glowing, reaction to their performances on their social media posts including some impromptu busking sessions was through the roof for a young, relatively new unsigned band, the views and shares was astounding.… Read the rest

Fragile Gang - A Plausible and Desirable Future

Fragile Gang – A Plausible & Desirable Future (album review)

August 23, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Fragile Gang is a band from El Paso, Texas, their new album A Plausible and Desirable Future takes its name from the novel Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. The songs on the album share some of the book’s topics. As you may expect from a band from their location, the socially conscious songs are influenced by a number of subjects, including migration.

Indie/Noisy Pop/Shoegaze…

The band describe themselves as “indie/sometimes noisy pop/shoegaze” a description that pretty much accurately sums up what I hear when I listen.

Good to Go opens the album opens with a vibrating electric hum, pulsating with energy, building and crackling before it bursts into a mellifluous combination of driving guitar, crashing drums and sonorous melodic vocal.… Read the rest

Run Into the Night ft Martin Metcalfe Mon Cheri

Martin Metcalfe and Co…

August 23, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

There has been a flurry of activity from Martin Metcalfe and associated acts this week.

The Filthy Tongues

First up, the Filthy Tongues dropped a clip of a new song at the start of the week. Mummy Can’t Drive sounds very Bowie-esque to me. Featuring Marie Claire Lee who has been ably filling Shirley Manson’s shoes on recent Goodbye Mr MacKenzie dates, is this a little taster of what is to come from the third album in the trilogy? I hope so…

Goodbye Mr MacKenzie

Talking of Goodbye Mr MacKenzie, Good Deeds and Dirty Rags finally has an official release date and a flourish of promotional activity announced that this week.… Read the rest