Pop punk - The Ginger Quiff

Duncan Reid and the Big Heads Don't Blame Yourself

Duncan Reid & the Big Heads – Don’t Blame Yourself -album review

May 16, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

Every now and again in your chequered and bumpy journey through life, there are special bands that come along. Ones that help you along that road, helping to smooth the bumps, to make the uphill parts of that journey a bit less exhausting and carry you across the massive potholes and dodge the unexpected sinkholes.

Duncan Reid and the Big Heads is one of those bands.

When music is such a massive part of your life, you have unbounded admiration, even love, for loads of bands, many of them holding a special place in your heart, and you attend countless gigs filling your life with the sights and sounds that bring you pleasure, it is a nigh on impossible task to pick favourites.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up

May 11, 2020 By neilho27@sky.com

During lockdown, music is one of the things that is keeping many of us going, the postman has been busy delivering some fantastic new albums on CD and LP, but I’ve also been catching up on several cracking singles and EPs – both physical and online releases.

The following is a select few of the tracks and singles I’ve been enjoying, I’ve added them all to my Ginger Quiff 2020 Spotify playlist (if the’re on Spotify of course…) featuring bands and artists I’ve reviewed or featured on the blog or for Louder Than War this year.

Garlands

First Up and it is the sublime indie guitar heroes, Garlands, who have released two singles during the current lockdown period, The New Weird at the end of March and their new one Where Things Belong displaying their distinctive melodic alternative rock.… Read the rest

Def Robot – Sabbatical album review

October 7, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

5 months, 5 albums

I’m playing catch up with a burgeoning inbox of new music, and in doing so I am too slow for prolific band Def Robot. As I prepare to write some words about their 4^th album, Sabbatical, they have announced the release of their 5^th album, Play This When We’re Gone next week.

Based on the album release rate by other bands you may be forgiven for thinking I am way behind with this one, but if I tell you that their first album was released on 24^th of May, with the 5^th due on 18^th of October, you can maybe cut me some slack…

Filler or killer?

… 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

Cockwomble – album review

July 25, 2019 By neilho27@sky.com

Cockwomble?

First let’s tackle the elephant in the room. That name. Cockwomble. It seems to divide opinion. After sharing videos and links in the past I’ve had several people say to me the name is ridiculous. I’m not totally going to disagree; the word in itself is ridiculous. But as Adam Ant once said, ridicule is nothing to be scared of…

cockwomble (countable and uncountable, plural cockwombles)

(Britain,slang,derogatory) A foolish or obnoxious person.

21st Century weirdness

This 21^st century created word is a by-product of the weird times we find ourselves living in, creating a new word is not entirely unusual, all generations have created their own words and insults.… Read the rest