Lola in Slacks

Goodbye Mr MacKenzie/Lola in Slacks/Callum Easter – live in Barrowland

June 18, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Who knew that after the last time Goodbye Mr MacKenzie played Barrowland in 2019 we’d have such a long wait until they returned, but return they did and boy was it worth the wait. The gig in The Garage in 2018 was special because it was a gig I thought I’d never see again, the heightened emotions from all in attendance meant a night that will live long in the memory, as will the return to Barrowland the following year, another special night. How would they be able to follow such a pair of remarkable Glasgow gigs?

Before I reveal all, I can’t omit the support bands.… Read the rest

Review of the the Year – The Best of 2021

December 9, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Yet another bumper year for new releases by new artists, classic re-issues and comebacks from some old favourites.

Despite what the salivating broadcasters and media will have you believe, there was so much more to the year than a new album by A****e, the banality of which didn’t even register on the gingerquiff seismograph such was its insignificance in the shadow of so much in the way of superb and exciting music that moved me. (Yes, I know she has a great voice, but oh so dull).

Anyway, no more focussing on negatives, There were so many remarkable albums this year that, once again, I can’t narrow them down to my ten favourites, so before I run down my Top 10 albums of the year, here are those…

In 11th Place (in no particular order)…

It was so hard to leave anyone out this year, I have loved records by so many wonderful and diverse bands and artists.… Read the rest

Lola in Slacks – Moon Moth album launch

October 24, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Saturday 23rd October finally arrived. The date for the launch gig for the wonderful album Moon Moth from the alluring five piece that is Lola in Slacks (album review here). It was a busy night for gigs in Glasgow, a most welcome sign given the last 2 years, with the likes of Billy Bragg, Mickey 9s, Calva Louise, The Last Great Dreamers and Powderkeg, amongst others, competing for the ears of the discerning music fans of Glasgow. On any other given day, I could have been at any one of these gigs, but tonight, there was only one gig for me.… Read the rest

Lola in Slacks – Moon Moth – album review

October 20, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

It seems somehow appropriate that I am sitting writing this review just gone midnight, with everyone in the house asleep bar me. The music of Lola in Slacks is ideally suited to late night listening. I feel something is missing though. Ideally, I should be in some sophisticated smoky wine bar in Paris, brushing shoulders with poets, artists, authors and musicians and other such classy and stylish bohemians. I guess late night in Glasgow’s South Side with only cats as company and a wee bourbon and coke as refreshment will do for now. Until this incoming Saturday that is…

If, like me, you have been waiting with barely contained excitement in anticipation of Moon Moth, you won’t be disappointed.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2021 – Part 11

October 10, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Another bumper batch of singles, demoes, or tracks that have somehow made their way into my slightly detached world . I’ve been trying desperately to keep on top of all the new releases and singles that keep catching my eye/ear, evidently I am only human and there are loads I’ve missed, and some probably included here that have been out for a while but I’m only getting my lugs around them now.

As always, these are in no particular order and where available, they’ve been added to the Ginger Quiff 2021 Playlist.

First up, its a bittersweet song…

The Jazz Butcher – Time

Many of us will have been shocked and saddened by the sudden passing this week of one of independent music’s most highly respected and talented free spirits in The Jazz Butcher iconoclast himself, Pat Fish.… Read the rest

The First Big Weekend…

September 13, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

My return to live music kicked off in style last weekend with Hugh Reed & the Velvet Underpants in the Bungalow Bar in Paisley. This weekend was what you could call the First Big Weekend (copyright: Arab Strap) of my 2021 gig calendar with not two but three consecutive nights of live music. Bring it on. (Not sure if I should be apologising to my family or whether they were just glad to see the back of me for three nights…)

I’m not going to deny, it wasn’t without some trepidation that I was returning to gigs, and not just due to COVID and everything that goes along with that, but also the being around people in general, and social anxiety aspect of it all.… Read the rest

Singles Round Up 2021 Part 7

July 20, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

It’s mid July and I’ve got about a hundred reviews semi written, but not finished, so instead of finishing them, why not waste several hours putting together another singles round up while sitting by my home built garden bar drinking some IPA or other..

I’m going to kick off with perhaps my favourite single in the last couple of months, from my most eagerly anticipated album in an age…

Trocchi’s Canal blends the wondrously sultry vocal talents of Lou Reid with Brian McFie’s exquisite guitar playing to create a dark noir pop masterpiece, roll on October for the album Moon Moth.… Read the rest