Scottish Punk - The Ginger Quiff

We’ll be coming, we’ll be coming…

June 1, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

…when you hear the noise of the Cundeez and Rudebeard boys, we’ll be coming down the road.

Remember the old days, remember the O’Jays… no, I’m going down the wrong cut de sac here. Remember in your youth (if you are of a certain vintage) when Scotland qualified for competitions with clockwork regularity? Only to crash out to some minnows in the group stages right enough, but qualified none the less.

Even if you weren’t a football fan, you knew we’d qualified. Who can forget being on the march wi’ Ally’s Army and Andy Cameron in 1978 when we all thought we were really going to come home from Argentina as trophy winners only for our dreams to be crushed.… Read the rest

GingerQuiff – Final lists of 2020

December 31, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Following on from my albums of the year list, the following are my final lists for 2021.

I don’t have a top gigs list for 2021 as I only went to a handful at the start of the year not realising what the year had in store. Though The Wildhearts, Backyard Babies, The Interrupters, Savage Cut and Outstandifold & the Wettygrippers were a pretty good start to what should have been a great year of gigs..

Re-Releases

Bob Mould – Distortion (1989 – 2019) – what can I say, Santa was good to me this year. What a fantastic box set this is.

… Read the rest

The Cundeez – Teckle & Hide – album review

October 16, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I’ve been immersing myself in some Dundonian culture lately thanks to Teckle & Hide the latest, and strongest, album from The Cundeez

An Intoxicating Heady Brew

100% proof claims the album cover, and its claims are not wrong. The sixteen tracks served up are an intoxicating heady brew. The Cundeez cementing themselves as a North East Scotland powerhouse. One minute offering an ultimate good time party anthem, guaranteed to have any party jumping as they provide the raw unfiltered craic, once again promised on the album cover. I’m not going to lie though, the party might get messy, there are no guarantees how things might end up.… Read the rest

Reaction – The La Chunky Sessions EP Volume 1 – review

July 21, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

There are dozens of independent record labels that are a cause for celebration. The one’s that, when you hear they have a new release coming, it is almost guaranteed you will love it. I’m not going to start listing those. Suffice to say that Tarbeach Records based in New York but with roots still attached to the heart of the West of Scotland is one that holds a special place in my music collection. I own all the releases to date. So far there is not one I don’t like. So, it gives me great pleasure to be reviewing the first of three tree-mendous releases (the pun is intentional) coming your way now.… Read the rest

The Cundeez – teaser

July 10, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I’ve been lucky this week to hear an exclusive track from The Cundeez. Hot off the presses and the latest track recorded for their up and coming album “Teckle and Hide” (due for an Autumn release). I will admit when I saw them teasing a clip of it on their Facebook page recently it was a bit of an eyebrow raiser and something I certainly wouldn’t have expected.

If you’ve heard the last few songs to come from The Cundeez camp over the last coupla years, you’ll know they’ve been on fire.

Take their split single with Texas Mod Crushers that came out on Tarbeach a while back.… Read the rest

The Godfathers – I’m Not Your Slave/Wild & Free – review

July 6, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I’m slowly but surely picking away at the mountain of e-mails in my inbox. Despite the apparent wasteland that has seen empty streets over the last few months and kept people confined to barracks, this hasn’t meant a barren wasteland of new music being produced judging by the number of emails. 2020 has been a great year for new music so far from bands old and new.

So, I finally get round to picking up on the double A side released in mid-June by an old band, with a new line up.

Old Band, New Line Up

Releasing the first tracks since being joined by ex-Heavy Drapes/Baby’s Got a Gun pair Billy Duncanson and Richie Simpson following the tragic, untimely death of charismatic and inspiring frontman Garry Borland, The Godfathers revealed two new songs.… Read the rest

David Delinquent – Better Yourself

July 6, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

David Delinquent’s latest song Better Yourself has been available via bandcamp for a couple of weeks now. This isn’t really a review, as I feel that the song, the lyrics and David’s message speak for themselves. Suffice to say, I’m in the process of writing a piece for my blog that mirrors the sentiments contained in David’s lyrics. We can all be better people.

Please head over to Bandcamp and name your price, all proceeds from the sale of the song go to CRER (Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights) Scotland and Stop Hate.UK.

David Delinquent Bandcamp

I will leave the rest of this blog to David himself (taken from his Bandcamp page)

I chose this artwork for a couple of reasons, first and foremost to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the events currently taking place in the US and here in the UK.

… Read the rest

udebeard - As You Walk Away e.p - front cover

Rudebeard – As You Walk Away review

July 5, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

My last two blogs have been rockabilly and country focussed respectively, in the spirit of fairness and variety, next up it’s a bit of pirate ska. This time, courtesy of Rudebeard and their follow up to the Wideos on the Rise EP

Incorporating Liquidator style keyboards into the welcoming introduction to As You Walk Away, the lyrics kick in with a less welcoming message. The typical Glasweegie farewell “Don’t let the door hit you on the arse, as you walk away”. Having said that the laid-back mellow groove of the track is most relaxed and easy-going. A great wee vibe to kick-off the three tracks.… Read the rest

Ex- Ex-Tracts – The Complete EPs Collection

May 19, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

I have recently been enjoying the new EP from Meek and Mowbray (see last singles roundup I posted), The “Meek” of the duo is the never resting and highly talented CT Meek, poet, author, raconteur, lyricist, musician, entrepreneur, feel free to add your own descriptions to the list. The man seems to have an inexhaustible creative streak, judging by the copious amount of high quality material he endlessly produces. Countless of his own books and now into editing the 14^th volume of collaborative book of poems and shorts stories, For the Many, Not the Few.

This work rate is also reflected in the output of the band Ex-, with 7 EPs and an album to their name.… Read the rest

The Countess of Fife – Live EP – review

May 17, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

The quality lockdown releases are coming thick and fast. With the lack of ability to go crate digging in these times, I’m relying on one of my favourite people just now, the postman, to bring me my regular fix.

This week has seen a few quality releases drop on the doormat including the new 4 track live EP from The Countess of Fife. The EP dropped hot on the heels of their debut online live performance, and arrived with me just shy of last nights second such event. This was one of the best online sets I’ve seen since I started attending remote gigs…

Powerful rich vocal

I first heard the band when they supported Goodbye Mr MacKenzie on their triumphant return to Glasgow’s Garage last May when I wrote: “The Countess of Fife, the band fronted by Fay Fife of Rezillos fame, still drew a substantial crowd.… Read the rest