Singles Round-up

Loads of great singles blasting out in the Ginger Quiff towers just now. Where to start…

The Best Bad Influence

One of the hardest gigging bands on the scene just now are the phenomenally talented three-piece The Best Bad Influence. They seem to be ubiquitous currently. Every time I look on social media, I see them announcing more live dates.  If someone were to ask me to name one band I want to be huge it is this pack of young wolves, so it gave me a huge rush to see that they hadn’t only announced more live dates recently but had dropped a new single. In my eyes, this band can do no wrong and this single is a glorious affirmation of this fact.

The song ticks all the right boxes, the spectacle of their live shows and the sheer energy level they demonstrate is here in abundance. The band don’t hide their roots and as such the song is like stepping back in time. Miss Shaker is a slab of glorious rockabilly, the guitar positively singing, bass and drums the tight beating heart, Alexander Munro hollerin’ his lungs out. Bringing the classic sounds of the past to a new 21^st century audience, this band are the future. Go and download this now, check out their Facebook to see when they are playing close to you and get down the front ready to jump jive and wail.

The Carvels

Next up is another splendid slab of sax laden glam punk stomp from The Carvels NYC on Late Night Heart. The song has a certain bullish swagger about it as it bounces along showcasing Lynne Von Pang’s rich powerful vocal perfectly. The band then perform a smash ‘n’ grab raid on The Shangri La’s classic Out in the Streets, ramping up the guitars and the tempo and making it their own. Both that and Bitter Pill again feature the lush saxophone of Danny Ray, the latter song bringing the bands punkier element to the fore. Three flashes of NYC brilliance.

The Cundeez

The first of two Dundee bands in this singles blitz and it’s The Cundeez in a rollickin’ tribute to Stornoway’s musical marvels, Peat & Diesel. The sound of the waves and atmospheric hummed male and female vocals blend beautifully before bagpipes are introduced to the mix, thunderous drums herald the arrival of melodious punk guitars and Garry’s well-kent vocal telling the story of the teuchter rock n roll phenomenon, complete with a Doors Light My Fire pastiche. Cut the peat & pour the diesel, stick this on, crack a beer and hae a dram…Quality.

Spacers

Moving from the earth to space, aye? Smacking you in the face like the punch from Aldrin in the sample at the start of the single, Dundee’s favourite Delinquent David reveals, and revels in, the fun of the first single from his new Spacers outfit. Clocking in at just shy of 2 minutes, it is a shot of pure pop punk energy that is guaranteed to have you Buzzin’ for Aldrin before it ends.

Paula Frost (DJ)

Changing tack completely is a diversion in the form of drum and bass on Oxygen Tank, the debut single from Paula Frost. This release from the DJ & Vive le Rock/Louder Than War writer is not my normal listening and stretches my comfort zone quite some way. The resultant experience is not an entirely unpleasant one with the tune having a mesmerizingly hypnotic effect on me. I won’t say I’m completely converted to drum and bass, but I won’t discount it completely in the future.

Quotes of the Dead

Its back to more familiar territory for me with the new one from Quotes of the Dead. Following up last year’s Twist or Stick is Legs Akimbo which introduces its arrival with a tasty bass line and moody atmospheric keyboards, Lauren’s vocal is particularly strong on this dark tale of prostitution, showing off her range in the rise and fall of smouldering verses and chorus building to guitar backed crescendos.

Ex-

Listening to Ex-8 by Ex- will have to suffice in the wake of the cancellation of their upcoming gig supporting The Crunch in the wake of Coronavirus panic. The prolific Meek and Co. proving their worth once again with three more tracks of classy punk rock n roll. The author of countless books of verse, Meek obviously has a talent for word-smithery and astute observations on life. Kicking off with punk riffs aplenty that tip a nod to the glam genius of Marc Bolan and a mantra I’m sure we can all agree on, Guitars not Guns. Neon is a gutsy number, its sonorous driving guitar lines giving way to a punchy repetitive chorus, and a break that for some bizarre reason had me humming Carly Simon’s Coming Around Again later in the evening.

Too Much Too Soon ends this latest EP from the band in classic punk rock guitar style, mixing an element of the power pop punk by the likes of The Vapors with their NYC punk influences, though Meek has a voice that harks back to a sound reminiscent of several Scottish post punk bands of the early 80’s. One of Scotland’s hidden gems. Still need to pick up a copy of the Meek & Mowbray EP…

Artesan

Artesan recently released their debut single, Feel Like Myself Again. Despite what the baritone stylings in the vocal on this heartfelt rock ballad might have you think, this band ihttps://twitter.com/Artesan_bandsn’t from America. No, this five-piece hail from deepest darkest Falkirk. An enchanting tune that deserves plenty of airplay.

 https://open.spotify.com/track/5cdBcTlYR0cKyZCXw01TdU

Teenage Waitress

Beauty School. Strike that, one quick name change later and welcome…. Teenage Waitress. The latest project from Daniel Ash (no, not that one) following on from the release of The Lost Boys album a couple of years ago, Ash has been hard at work writing new music. This single, I Don’t Like This Party, is the first fruits of these labours. It has been worth the wait. What he has produced is a quirky energetic headrush of a song, whistling repetitive keyboards circle below an angular spiky post punk guitar line with the cherry on the top, a reverb heavy vocal. The song and video tell a story I can relate to, how much I hated house parties, I’d much rather have stayed at home and bounced around my bedroom to songs like this.