Review - The Ginger Quiff

22 for ‘22

January 6, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

In no particular order…22 bands I’m looking forward to hearing more from, albums I’m looking forward to getting my grubby mitts on, and gigs or tours I’m looking forward to attending (fingers and toes crossed) in 2022

1. The Courettes

The band that never rests is already looking ahead to what’s next. Not one’s to rest on their laurels or take a well earned break after an ecstatically received album in Back in Mono, supported by 71 dates across 9 countries, Martin and Flavia have already been in the studio laying down tracks for their follow up. Let’s hope for some more UK dates this year, Back in Mono (live in Mono!)… Read the rest

The Ones That Got Away… Karma Surround – Songs Lost in the Meantime – album review

January 5, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Karma Surround is a duo made up of Darren Roy and his brother Michael from Fife, who recently released their debut album, the remarkable Songs Lost in the Meantime. They have been releasing songs over the last year or so via Bandcamp. Towards the end of the year finally putting together their album.

This is a charmingly captivating piece of work, made up as it is of ten sublime jangly indie pop, acoustic folky slices of good karma inducing instant musical sunshine. And what is remarkable is that these were all recorded in a makeshift home studio, mixed and full band songs mastered by Alex Wharton for a sum total of £250.… Read the rest

The Ones That Got Away… The Scaramanga Six – Worthless Music – album review

January 5, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Yes, I know its 2022 now, and I’ll start to be inundated with new releases (my inbox has already started pinging…) but I still have several albums I want to cover from last year…including this belter from The Scaramanga Six.

Worthless Music may well be the title of this, the tenth, album from The Scaramanga Six but that’s where that comparison ends, this is a thunderously good collection of powerfully strident hard-edged, while sophistically artfully concocted, post punk anthems. Certainly nothing worthless here, no weak links and plenty of compelling melodies.

The band announce their arrival with the blistering defiance of Big Ideas, big on beats, big on rhythm, big on melodies, big on striking song structure.… Read the rest

The Ones That Got Away… Annie Booth – Lazybody – album review

December 30, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

I did include this album in my top 25 of the year, but hadn’t got around to reviewing it at that point. Since then I have pretty much listened to the album on almost a daily basis. If I were to be doing my end of year blog now, I would have to say that Lazybody would be in my top five favourite albums of the year. Note to self, wait until it is actually the end of the year before revealing any lists…

I Don’t Mind…Until I Mind

There is a certain stunning unique quality to Annie’s vocal that always manages to hit that sweet spot somewhere between joyous, comforting and an air of melancholy.… Read the rest

The Ones That Got Away… Filthy Filthy – Getting Away With It – album review

December 30, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Continuing in my attempt to get some last reviews in before we hit 2022, for some albums that I was late in getting to, or that were just too late to get into my end of year blog posts.

Next up its some old school punk rock n’ roll courtesy of Hull’s Filthy Filthy. Having noted that I hadn’t featured many albums that could be classified as “punk” in my top 25 albums of the year, I’ve been enjoying this and the debut from Year Zero which was also released in the latter stages of the year. More on Year Zero in another post though..… Read the rest

The Ones That Got Away… The Musicians of Bremen – Intolerance and Resilience – album reviews

December 29, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

As we reach the end of the year, there are a few albums I need to highlight that either came to me too late to make my end of year lists or I just overlooked earlier for some reason or another.

Despite what their name tells you, Glasgow based band, The Musicians of Bremen, ended the year by releasing the second part of their double header debut album Resilience, having released part one, Intolerance, earlier in the year. Like the Brothers Grimm tale from whence they get their name, their wish would be to rid us of al the thieves and liars, particularly the ones that run the country/world…

The two album title could be buzzwords for recent years as we see society split even further and intolerances increasing from both side of the divide, some of these intolerances entirely despicable created through the rise of the right (a particular visceral response to Brexit at the end of the album “We Voted NO” leaving you in no doubt where the band stands) and incompetent lying governments on both sides of the Atlantic while other intolerances totally understandable as the rest of us rail against hate, racism, homophobia, xenophobia and bigotry.… Read the rest

A Damaged Christmas Gift For You – Review

December 20, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

There are several Christmas albums that I would consider essential listening for this time of year. The 2000 compilation Its a Cool Cool Christmas for one, with a host of quality songs from the likes of Eels, El Vez, Drugstore no a personal family favourite, Christmas Boogaloo by Big Boss Man. Christmas by Low, whose Just Like Christmas appears on the aforementioned compilation, is another must listen at Christmas, while a modern classic, Ghost Stories fro Christmas (Aidan Moffat and RM Hubert) jumped straight into my all time favourite Christmas albums list on its release a few years ago.

Of course, one of the all time classics is A Christmas Gift for You, featuring the famous wall of sound in contributions from Darlene Love, The Ronettes, Bob B Soxx and the Blue Jeans and The Crystals.… Read the rest

The Bluebells and Sister John – live in the CCA

December 13, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

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 the Year – The Best of 2021

December 9, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

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

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

November 25, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

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