A couple of weeks into January and things are already bright in terms of new singles, with plenty of action from bands close to home, a cover from a forthcoming cover versions album and the return of a few indie legends… The first couple of songs in the first part of the January round up are from home grown talent both with French titles.
I’m surprised Fraser McCallum has time to write his own music given his status as sought after guitar for hire in the Scottish music scene, taking on the mantle of a young version of Douglas McIntyre… But indeed he has made the time and the resultant impassioned single where he takes on a persona of Serge Gainsbourg L’eau à les yeux is a masterstroke, a song that is so swathed with affecting pathos in it’s sound and delivery that it could easily be a Morrissey song, in a time and place where Morrissey songs were to be celebrated. Let’s just quickly move on without mentioning his new song…
The second French titled song in the round up is Folie à Deux from Burnt Log. Literally translated as the madness of two, most will be familiar with the phrase from the second Joker movie featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, while others may be familiar with the bizarre tale of Swedish twin sisters Ursula and Sabina Eriksson. Always one to run with compelling and intriguing subject matter in their songs, Folie à Deux makes absolute sense as a little understood phenomena for a song, and Burnt Log takes the subject and runs with it, and in doing so creates a miniature masterpiece, packed with as much earnest sorrow and despairing passion as McCallum’s is with dramatic pathos.
Welcome to the Island is the “only outtake” from His Lordship‘s last album, Bored Animal, and the fervent clamorous discord and fever dream lyric of “welcome to the island – sorry about that” matches the current irrationally confusing and fucked up dystopian world we live in mainly thanks to the actions of one idiot despot whose power hungry actions defy all logic and humanity and those closer to home who are obsessed with small boats, flag shagging and painting roundabouts.
The third single from The Cribs new album Selling a Vibe is this upbeat track Never the Same, it’s jangly guitars and buoyant mood suggest a band who are still riding high with confidence and a sanguine pep in their step twenty plus years on from their debut.
More indie legends in the shape of Heavenly with their new single Excuse Me from their forthcoming album Highway to Heavenly coming February, Like The Cribs, this single has Heavenly in bullish spirit, the vivacious fuzzy guitars and sprightly energy in the vocals hiding the embarrassment of the red-faced school days encounter.
A double whammy from Jo Carley & the Old Dry Skulls who have shareda new song with the world in the sax heavy Only When the Moon is Full with Jo coming over all Patti Smith, & also sharing a new version of their song The Zombie (Reanimated), interestingly, I’m writing this having just watched 28 Years Later…
A eerily piercing squall of noise announces the arrival of the brilliantly enthralling new single The Best of Me from Foreign2 a single which you can’t help but being draw in by, in equal parts due the edgy tenseness that you feel given the sense of threat and menace coming from the brilliant musical arrangement and also from the utterly hypnotic and engaging vocals from lead singer Charlotte that cut through the intensity of the instruments with ease to soar through the ether.
No stranger to these singles round up’s is Galway’s pMad, the project of Paul Dillon whose familiar brogue over crunching goth guitar lines is always a welcome sound. This time on new single Blood he expresses a sense of grief and desperation at the state of the world in the 21st Century “they have come for your blood” seems all the more prescient given the actions of ICE agents in the increasingly Gilead-like USA. The single comes from their newly released album 1 + 1 = -1.
Taking inspiration from Bowie, Pin Ups is the forthcoming album of cover versions from The Dandy Warhols including covers of songs from the likes of The Cure, The Clash and The Cramps and the lead single, this cover of the classic Kiss Off from Violent Femmes with Zia taking on lead vocal duties.
The second single previewing the new album It’s The Long Goodbye from The Twilight Sad due out in March, the dramatic arrangement of the instruments on Designed to Lose match the intensity of the familiar vocals from James Graham with lyrics telling the tale of a tempestuous relationship, “I can’t teach you how to love me” pleads an increasingly emotional Graham as the song comes to its unresolved conclusion.
There is also a certain intensity to the earnest shoegaze stylings of Blankspace from Whitelands, the lyrics exploring the themes of grief and loss – “I was faced with mortality and very difficult things,” he (lead singer Etienne) says. “I’m still not sure how to talk about it.” The single comes from their new album Sunlight Echoes out at the end of the month. The band play Glasgow’s Hug and Pint in February
Here’s a handy Tidal playlist of the January Singles to date… more to be added as they are released