Review - The Ginger Quiff

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

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

Katherine Aly – Sunny Days – new single/video

August 29, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Katherine Aly follows up The Skin I’m Made Of with new single and video for Sunny Day.

Another charming slice of bewitching piano driven pop genius. The initially sparse hypnotizing vocal layered with harmonies and piano, rising to a crescendo this beguiling tune once again showcases Aly’s mesmerising vocal.

I for one am looking forward to an album’s worth of these tunes.

Watch the video here.

Katherine Aly – website

Katherine Aly on Facebook

Katherine Aly – twitter

Katherine Aly – soundcloud

Katherine Aly – Spotify… 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

The Kaplans – Sesiones De Primavera – EP review

August 21, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Hot on the heels of reviewing their album, Urban Elephants, for Razur Cuts (street literature magazine) the latest EP from The Kaplans dropped through my letterbox recently.

A very welcome addition to my CD collection it is too. As a recent convert to the music of the band, I find myself lapping up every new tune I hear from them. The three tracks on this EP provide me with much more to love about this band.

Yes Means No

The first track is introduced with a sample from (what I assume to be) an intro on a Mexican radio station to the playing of one of their songs – I base this purely on the words Mexico and Glasgow in the sample.… Read the rest

Friday I’m in Love… The Cure live in Glasgow

August 17, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

What follows is part social commentary, part mental health awareness and part gig review…

Life’s Rich Tapestry

Friday the 16^th of August was a stitching together of several threads of the complex tapestry that makes up life.

I’m sure I’m not alone in having a job that, for the most part you enjoy and get an element of satisfaction from what you do, however, it can be also infuriatingly frustrating and stressful. One that involves weeks where you put in hours of extra effort that involves massive inroads into your personal life. But you do it because it is who you are, you are the type of person who want to do a good job and have a dedication to doing the best you can.… Read the rest

Walter Lure’s L.A.M.F. live in Glasgow

August 9, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

I almost don’t know where to start.

When you return to work after a chilled out two weeks off to four of the most stressful days you’ve had in a long time, and you seriously consider not going to a gig because of your headspace.

But you realise.

And I’m going to use two of my most hated overused words.

Iconic Legend…

You realise the gig is one that features an iconic legend. There. I said it. I used both words, and adjacent to reach other!

But I mean it. It hit me when I was standing taking in the second support of the night, Hateful (and a mighty fine set it was too…), and I watched Walter Lure, or more affectionately Waldo, walk in the door and into the minimal band space in Glasgow’s Audio venue.… Read the rest