The second instalment of singles/tracks from November features some home grown talent in the shape of San Jose, Vigilanti, Peter Johnstone and Fistymuffs alongside songs from Hurstfall, Ditz and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs coming from further afield.
San Jose – Dirty Linen
This sprawling epic song is one of my highlights for November, perhaps the year, it feels like a musical movement rather than just a song due to the several parts that make up the track, which musically sits somewhere between the thoughtful musings of Trampolene and the rakish charm of louche rockers Fat White Family. The lyrics indicate that none of us is perfect, every one of us is damaged in some way, thats as may be, but the song itself is flawless. Clocking in at six and a half minutes of sublime aural accomplishment, Dirty Linen is a welcome delight to the eardrums with it’s series or breaks and tempo changes keeping you engaged right to the end.
Hurtsfall – Lost Souls (Driving at Night)
More earnest driving synth heavy soulful goth tinged sounds from Hurtsfall on their Lost Souls single, a band returning to the singles round up for the first time since their 2023 single, December Snow.
Vigilanti – Daddy’s Money
I recently witnessed Vigilanti kicking up a storm in Glasgow’s Nice n Sleazy as part of Scottish Music Collective 4-band Halloween spectacular headlined by Sister Madds. This song, packed with some frenetic nu-metal riffs and an earworm of a refrain, was one of the highlights of their energetic set, one which induced a frenzied mosh pit in the hot sweaty basement venue.
Peter Johnstone – The Bones of St Valentine
Interestingly, I bumped into Peter Johnstone at Some Great Reward in Glasgow’s South Side when he was handing in some cassette copies of his latest album for sale, we chatted for a while and I discovered he was recording the video for this sing the very next day! I was playing the song during a recent training course, and one of the attendees described it as “weirdly quirky but great” and I’d find it hard to disagree the song has exactly that, a quirky quality, telling a touching tale of love and heartbreak linked to the widely believed final resting place of The Bones of St Valentine in the Blessed John Duns Scotus Catholic church in the Gorbals.
Fistymuffs – Survivors Write History
A bit cheeky including this one as the song itself is from their 2020 EP We Fight, however, the band recently posted this video for the song so that was as good a reason as any for me to include in the round up. Full We Fight EP review here
Fistymuffs
Ditz – Taxi Man
The incredible Ditz pick up from where they left off after their debut album the superb The Great Regression with their dark and angular post punk sound on Taxi Man that make them sound more like they come from New York than Brighton. The single comes from their forthcoming album Never Exhale.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Detroit
I’ve somehow ignored/missed this band up until now, despite hearing good things about them. I’d sum them up, perhaps lazily, as a fine purveyors of heavy noise rock you’d like if you enjoy the likes of IDLES. This is the first new music from the band since their 2023 album Land of Sleeper. The song tells the story of “a hideous man with even worse behaviours” with all proceeds from the single in 2024 going to domestic abuse charities.
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs