Ginger Music - Maggies Chamber Edinburgh 11 Feb 2011

Ginger Music Promotions has been gathering real momentum over the last few months, and on the 11th of February kicked off a residency at similarly up-and-coming venue Maggies Chamber with local songsmith Steve Heron; naturally, edRock.net was in attendance. Before the first act had even taken to the stage, a considerable crowd had built up, and the stage was set for a strong opening night for Ginger.

Openers The Shenanigans (photo by Towserout Photography) kicked things off with their spiky indie pop. As far as the songs went, they delivered more or less the usual jangling acoustic guitar-driven "verse-chorus-solo" fare, complete with lyrics about girls and getting wasted; so far, so harmless. Of course, this style, however done to death it may be, always has its high points. In this instance, when The Shenanigans aimed more for Oasis and less for the Kooks they ended up coming out with a couple of pleasant ballads that were definitely the highlights of a set that was otherwise little more than a fun wee appetizer. The Shenanigans do, however, get points for sheer confidence, and brought along an impressive crowd. For those who are into that sort of thing, their new EP will be out soon.

The Last Knights followed up with a different colour from the same spectrum, with their pleasantly diverting pop drawing from a distinctly more American sound than The Shenanigans. The band originated as a pub covers band, and there was a certain shyness as they took to the stage, but they got it together surprisingly quickly, and cruised calmly through their set. Their songs featured melodies with elements of pop-punk, but the overall sound was delivered in a mainstream pop rock fashion; not anything totally new, but inoffensive and certainly crowd pleasing.

Main support act Sebastian Dangerfield were a man short for their set, with vocalist/guitarist/banjoist Dave Thompson away in New York, and were joined by his brother, Adam Thompson of We Were Promised Jetpacks, for a dependably solid set. Although Sebastian Dangerfield's ascent has been somewhat slower than the impressive breakthrough of Jetpacks, they have always remained true to their softer, country-tinged sound; always yielding moments of real beauty, and gorgeous songs like ‘The Sycamore Tree’, which is available on their MySpace. Though often softly spoken and understated, the band have a Wilco-like sensitivity and grasp of dynamics that makes them a real pleasure as a live act, fuelling mature songwriting with great musicianship. Their new EP is in the works.

Finally, Steve Heron modestly took to the stage. Heron's appeal, for me, has always lied with his image as a reassuringly down-to-earth, unglamorous bloke, and this has always come through in his quirky brand of indie rock; straightforward, driving and distinctly British rock in the vein of artists like The Jam and Dr Feelgood, with confrontational lyrics delivered in a way that brings Morrissey, Cursive's Tim Kasher and yes, Weller, to mind. The tunes themselves are generally as good as that sounds, with some fantastic hooks prevalent throughout, aided by the tightness of Heron's rhythm section. ‘Lie To You’ was an early highlight of the set, a studio version of which is available on Heron's Soundcloud along with numerous others. Impressively, however, the best songs of the set were all from Heron's upcoming new EP ‘Domino Mask’, which is definitely something to be excited about; ‘Marionette’ was without doubt the best song in the set. Creative drumming and some of his catchiest hooks to date were prevalent, giving the impression that Heron's best is still yet to come.

Stewart McLachlan

Your New Favourite Band - Sneaky Pete's Edinburgh 8 Jan 2011

Although Tam’s Railways (photo by Evan Wilson Photography) have played several shows since they lost their lead guitarist, Bainbridge’s 'Your New Favourite Band' marked their official relaunch as a three-piece, with new songs and reworkings of old songs to accommodate the power trio line-up.

Opening the night was Seneka, who have supported Biffy Clyro and the Bluetones with their confident widescreen rock sound. It is certainly difficult to doubt the ambitious four-piece's commitment to their songs- almost everything they played felt fully-formed and well-written, with three-part harmonies and big choruses all over the place. However, after a few numbers, the absence of a distinct, core sound started to become seriously apparent. Being a chameleon band can work (Primal Scream or Blur, for instance), but in Seneka's case it was slightly to the detriment of the songs themselves. At times aiming for Biffy Clyro aggression, at times an almost Wilco-like sensitivity, at others just aiming for flat-out Nickelback-sized rock, the result was a sound that fully attained none of these different goals. There were still many enjoyable songs in the set though, with ‘Humble & The Frauds’ and [what I think was called] ‘Salisbury Heights’ providing swooning, epic heights. Seneka aren't quite there yet, but some day they're going to be a very good rock band- check out their Myspace for some tracks.

Next up were Montrose-based blues rock duo Ghosts Of Progress, who were interviewed last year for edRock.net. Taking to the stage with a faintly intimidating quietness, they wasted no time in launching into a brutal ‘Bitch In Heat’, the opening track of their recent LP Exchange Your Problems For Dope And Whiskey, released on Motor Sound records. Vocalist Lew Palgrave's floor drum-kit instantly turned heads, as did his howling, brutal vocal performance on the electric ‘Free Dumb’. The band held together a violent, chaotic and yet mercilessly tight set, with minimal stage banter but maximum presence, pulling no punches in showing the crowd what makes them such a unique and blistering live act. Their album is thoroughly recommended.

The evening’s headliners proved worthy successors. Tam’s Railways’ cheeky playground-punk was augmented by the use of a new band uniform (black skinny jeans all round) and their abundance of stage presence. Bassist Gordon’s fingers hop-scotched across the fret-board with grace and ease, even while singing backing vocals. Save for a few salvaged fan favourites like ‘Stay Wise’ and set-opener ‘Man Up The Stairs’, the band have written an all new set. The new tunes incorporate the use of three-part vocals, a harmonica headset used by either Gordon or lead singer/guitarist Leigh, and in one song a highly technical approach to alternative solo sections – taping a kazoo to the side of the microphone. The new songs created mixed reactions from the audience, the highlight being smile-a-long jingle ‘Cream of the Crop’, with drummer Innes providing skilful and precise use of the kit, even with a microphone in his face. Unfortunately not all of the new tunes were quite as well-defined and listenable, and some of them fell a little flat. But the band have enough technical skill and originality to continue to write great songs until their set turns a nice golden brown.

Stewart McLachlan and Myke Hall

Your New Favourite Band - Sneaky Pete's Edinburgh 15 Oct 2010

Deep Red Sky combine an indie-rock sound with some all-the-rage synthesiser parts to create a sort of modern pop fusion. The band stepped in at the last minute to replace Bainbridge darlings Underclass, but unfortunately they proved to be an unworthy surrogate. A young band, they have yet to find their own sound, and their songs are uninspiring imitations of whatever’s on the radio. Their cover of MGMT’s Kids manages only to highlight that they are scene-chasing and not doing a good job of it. The lads were far from awful, though, and they performed their uninteresting music with competence and positivity.

Jump: Press A (photo by FourthEye) have a 4:2 ratio of girls to boys. A more sexist person than I might cite this as the reason that the band have rather stylishly all dressed in various costumes consisting only of the colours red and black, and could cite the same reason for the fact that their set is plagued with technical difficulties. However, as an enlightened essayist, I would like to point out that the tech problems were with the bass and acoustic guitar, the two instruments operated by dudes, and the girls were responsible for electric guitar, electric piano, drums, and lead vocals. Between the six of them, the band create a rather full-sized, grand sound, suited to the medium-paced rock epics they perform: a sound that takes influence from glitzy polished post-grunge femme-fronted bands like Garbage and Republica, as well as components of thinking man’s indie like Radiohead or Elbow. Some highlights of the set are singer Kelagh’s Alanis Moriesette-esque melody on ‘You Are’, L-A’s classical piano sound on ‘Only The Brave Deserve The Fair’, and bright red-haired guitarist Lesley’s feisty guitar work throughout the set.

With Underclass out of the picture, the headline slot was awarded to odd pop, scene- veteran five-piece Cancel The Astronauts. Their witty, verging on silly lyrics and vocals put a smile on your face, and their bouncy Vampire Weekendy indie-pop with synthy kinks makes your foot tap. The dual guitars chime and dither through quiet drums that are sometimes relaxed and other times invoke Futurehead-like angles. Compared to the other two bands on the bill, Cancel The Astronauts certainly come across as the elder statesmen (read: they’re older than the other bands) and they have certainly carved their mark in the Scottish scene. So it’s not surprising to see a well-performed and polished performance. Perhaps they’re a little too quirky for the mainstream, but their dysfunction-pop is loveable and something that critics and music fans can get behind.

Myke Hall

The Nature Boys E.P Launch - The Bongo Club Edinburgh 4 Sept 2010

The heat in The Bongo Club plus the camouflage netting on the ceiling make the venue seem like a tropical jungle, which means when The Nature Boys (pictured) take to the stage dressed like The Lost Boys from Peter Pan, it seems apt.

Drums are provided by local super-producer Andy Howden, who keeps it heavy on the toms, adding to the jungle motif, and drawing on Adam and the Ants-style glam rock. Guitar is at times sparse, opening up the songs to the deep-rooted low-end created by booming drums and pulse rhythm bass, reminiscent of Isa and the Filthy Tongues.

There’s definitely some Sex Pistols-era punk happening in The Nature Boys sound too, and lead singer and true performer Cammy Shiels feeds the crowd his energy as they feed him their applause, in a self-perpetuating musical eco-system. Shiels’ antics include taking a lap around the crowd at the beginning of the set, getting his hairy chest out, and diving into the crowd to sing in the middle of the room during distorted guitar rock-out ‘One Way Out’, where he got The OK Social Club singer Raff to join him on vocals for the chorus (“He always does that!” comments Raff later, both irritated and flattered).

The Edinburgh-based quartet are launching their ‘Pretty’ EP tonight. The CD, for sale in the lobby, includes a sub-metropolitan take on mythology in ‘Valhalla’, the raw art-punk of ‘You’re So Pretty’, the Art Brut-style sing-speak and one chord progression repetition of ‘Upside down Sinner’, and the football match sing-along ‘Age is a Number’.

The band end their set with fan favourite ‘Girl of the Night’, where they invite all the animals of the jungle on stage with them, to “start a f***ing riot” and turn the chorus into a cacophonic mass sing-along.

Best of the Mine - Liquid Room Edinburgh 1 Aug 2010

Live music club ‘The Mine’ at Wee Red Bar is now one year old, making the oldest of several live music club brothers and sisters such as ‘This Is Not A Toga Party’ at Maggie’s Chamber, and ‘CD Quality’ at Henry's Cellar Bar, and proud parents Angus Ross and Chris Elsheikhi of Bainbridge Music are about to give birth to twins ‘Amplified’ at Electric Circus and ‘Your New Favourite Band’ at Sneaky Pete’s. To celebrate The Mine’s first birthday, the Liquid Room is filled, for the first time since it burned to the ground in 2008, with live music fans ready to rock out to a showcase of Edinburgh bands that have graced the Wee Red Bar stage for ‘The Mine’ over the last twelve months.

The honour of first band to play on the newly refitted Liquid Room stage is awarded to Tam’s Railways (pictured). As the cheeky Leith-based scamps batter through a set of upbeat rock, their sense of humour is evident in both their lyrics and mannerisms. Lanky bassist Gordo shows off some well thought-out counter melodies on the bass, which plug the hole left by their recently departed lead guitarist. Drummer Innes adds shade and intensity to the playful guitar parts, and lead singer Leigh’s broad Scots accent keeps the songs sounding urban and modern.

The trio of A Fight You Can’t Win like to thrash away on their guitars like they are scratching chicken pox. Both guitar and bass boom with mushy lumps of low-end, and the songs mix heavy metal with alternative rock and then speed it up a little, with some chromatic chord progressions that allow a film of grunge to float to the surface. Some sound issues prevent this from being quite the triumphant performance it ought to be, but the issues are smoothed out by the next band.

Hagana’s dirty rock, earthy riffs and decidedly grunge vocals have never sounded clearer than they do on The Liquid Room stage. What the regular band lack in performance skills is made up for (and then some) by the antics of Big Hand’s trumpet player, Phil, who regularly joins the band for some of their tunes, playing trumpet or stylophone. Indeed the one ska song in Hagana’s set, ‘Baltic Connections’, seems like it was written just for Phil’s trumpet riff. Another highlight of the set is ‘Shelly’; as the lightest and most compassionate song in their set, the country/indie romp shows the band have the potential to write all kinds of different music when they try.

Underclass’s set kicks off with the sound of a giant crystal statue in a forgotten desert that is suddenly split down the middle by a dual octave guitar riff. The psychedelica-meets-muscle rock five-piece produce a tight, polished sound with big sounding riffs on the axe and splashy hi-hat beats on the drums. The keyboard slides between some sparky analogue synth sounds and hot pub-rock piano. The vocals glow with Audioslave-esque strength and desire, and the lead singer performs the songs with the appropriate level of machismo. Although it’s not very macho to run off and hide behind the amps while the rest of the band set out on their eight minute prog-rock voyage near the end of the set.

Next up, the first of two headline acts, special guest stars Marner Brown, have travelled up from London. In their neckerchiefs, scarves, loose vests, tight jeans, pointed boots, long shaggy hair and bristly chins, the quintet are ever-so-stylish. Their influences come from moody indie-punk on both sides of the ocean, be it Americans Black Rebel Motorcycle Club or The Strokes, or Brits like The Libertines and The Enemy. Growling vocals or buzzing distortion on the bass or guitar give the music its edge, and their practised stage persona gives their show its punch.

In a rather similar chic, The 10:04s fill the second headline slot to the delight of a large gathering of indie scenesters. They are the best band whose name references ‘Back to the Future’ since McFly... OK, maybe that’s not a fair comparison. Like McFly, though, their riffs are catchy, and the two guitarists pass back and forth lead singer duties. Unlike McFly, however, the band pull a buoyant but edgy indie-punk sound and a leather jacket-wearing sense of style from the likes of The Strokes or The Cribs. Well-executed drums keep the band in good time even through their running-pace pulse rhythm power chord-filled tunes. This is music by indie kids for indie kids, and the crowd eat it up, especially set closer ‘About Tonight’, which has everyone dancing and joining in – and a small stage invasion!

The lights go up, revealing that the Liquid Room has inexplicably been painted purple. Nonetheless, I think it’s fair to say that this venue is back with a vengeance.

Myke Hall

Gil Scott-Heron - HMV Picturehouse Edinburgh 26 Apr 2010

Gil Scott-Heron has lived a life many thug-posturing African-American artists can only write about. Establishing himself in the 70s as a formidable lyricist with poetic, political and hard-hitting soul, his later years were riddled with drugs, prison and HIV. His return to the spotlight came earlier this year with the critically acclaimed album I'm New Here, a gorgeously sparse record with an unnerving, world-weary power in its songs. Unsurprisingly, when the Chicago-born legend stepped onto the stage of a packed HMV Picturehouse, he was met with an audience electric in its enthusiasm.

After introducing himself with a tongue-in-cheek speech about how Black History Month should be in May (because it's easier to say. Or at least that's what I understood), a confident, charismatic Scott-Heron sat at his keyboard and launched into a stunning solo rendition of 'Blue Collar'. The restless, anticipating crowd was instantly silenced as Scott-Heron's voice cast the decades aside with its soulfulness. An equally arresting version of 'We Almost Lost Detroit' followed, before the first member of Scott-Heron's band, keyboardist Kim Jordan, took to the stage for 'Work For Peace'. The pair's alternating vocals built into a hypnotic climax, prompting the audience's enthusiastic approval.

"This is one of our favorite places in the world", Scott-Heron stopped to remark, to a roar of approval from his fans. The remainder of his stripped-down band (percussionist and harmonica) then emerged for a quirky version of 'Is That Jazz?' with Scott-Heron taking to the front of the stage and encouraging the audience to dance and clap along, though they needed no such persuasion. Such an engaged, participatory atmosphere has long been a hallmark of Scott-Heron's live act, and the ambiance was infectious.

Following an ecstatic, albeit slightly bizarre, solo keyboard performance from the gifted Jordan, the band launched into the classic 'Pieces Of A Man', a reminder that Gil Scott-Heron knows exactly when to bring the mood back down. Age has not withered the song's emotional impact in the slightest, and the audience response was rapturous. The band continued through 'Your Daddy Loves You' and 'Three Miles Down' before exiting the stage. In less than a minute, thunderous foot stamping and applause dragged them back. A euphoric, moving performance of 'The Bottle' provided the night's dizzying climax, and the Picturehouse transformed into an almost spiritual mass of drunken singing and dancing. This is what makes Gil Scott-Heron such a unique figure in modern music: his songs and stories will teach you the horrors of the ghetto, but rather than batter his audience into depression he lets his concerts highlight music as a catalyst for unison and recovery. His audience at the Picturehouse were moved, and left with something positive at the end of the night. Scott-Heron's resurrection is without doubt one of the great comebacks of recent years, his message as essential as it ever was.

Stewart McLachlan

Frank Turner HMV Picturehouse Edinburgh 16 Mar 2010

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

With a background in hardcore punk music, it’s rather surprising that Frank Turner’s (photo by Vikki McIntyre) solo career consists of acoustic songs, but these aren’t sit-down acoustic folk ballads; they’re stand up and sing-along acoustic belters. As his tall frame takes the stage as though climbing a victory podium, he’s flanked by a military snare-loving drum kit, embossing bass and supportive electric guitar players, who come and go at various parts of his set. Frank’s songs burst with life-affirming chants, witty rhyming couplets, and wry observations, aimed at the struggling artist that lounges in the heart of Britain’s pint drinking public. Frank is also a card-carrying political libertarian, and his songs resound with anti-Thatcher, anti-9-til-5 political themes.

His words ring with such personal truth that it isn’t hard to imagine that the majority of his predominantly male audience are also musicians and artists fighting to keep their heads above water in the entertainment business, and can sympathise with every pained word as Frank displays his bruises as proudly as war wounds.

Frank is the embodiment of the ‘try, try and try again’ attitude. Between songs he reminds the audience of his first Edinburgh gig at an empty Whistle Binkies (cheekily adding “I’m not having a go, although now that I mention it, where the hell were you all?”). His career as a failed punk screamer, and his spoken-from-the-heart lyrics, including lines about texting strangers to try to get an audience for his gigs, indicate that he really has fought an uphill battle to get to the point he is at today, but is glad to have taken the journey.

However, not all his songs reflect his career trajectory; songs like ‘Long Live The Queen’ and ‘Father's Day’ retread the oft-walked paths of family and personal relationships. While very few of his songs are “love songs” of the clichéd variety, Frank is not above picking the guitar strings to tug on the heart strings.

Its is only when HMV Picturehouse staff make it clear Frank isn’t allowed back out, by turning up the Tannoy music and getting bouncers to usher out the crowd, that the audience finally gives up their cheering and leave the venue. Nevertheless, a lucky few are treated to a few more songs later that evening at the Vat and Fiddle next door.

Myke Hall

Copy Haho - Sneaky Pete's Edinburgh 5 March 2010

A version of this review is also published in The Journal.

It’s not very often that you go to a rock gig and have to cram closer to the stage to hear the band playing. But solo artist Debutant’s music is just that quiet. The picked guitar is bathed in effects: chorus, reverb, delay, slow attack, all designed to create a soft, glowing, otherworldly presence. The vocals are few and far between, and incomprehensible as they are also drenched in reverb. Despite the low volume, everyone is transfixed on the solo artist. You could hear a pin-drop.

Following a similar suite with quiet, slow, picked guitar and quiet vocals are follow-up act eagleowl; utilising less effects and a little more folkiness, and of course the biggest difference from Debutant, a second member of the band playing a thundering double bass. However, eagleowl failed to capture the audience’s ear in the same way and the bar is quickly filled with babbling chatter.

Tonight’s headliners, Copy Haho (pictured) are guitar-driven indie/rock/pop. The four piece are made up of a drummer with impressively speedy high-hat beats, a Stephen Malkmus sound-a-like singer/guitarist, a lead guitarists who’s riffs and licks like to go for casual strolls on the high strings, and a bassist, who likes to go for casual strolls in audience with his radio lead; although the wireless wonder learns that this is not always a practical party piece when his woolly hat is stolen by a member of the crowd. Keeping the use of overdrive to an impressive minimum, the melody of the lead guitar and the melody of the vocals dance flirtingly and unashamedly atop the rhythm instrument’s sturdy sonic platform.

Although many of their songs are unmemorable, some stand-out tunes near the end of the set get the crowd grooving, such as the penultimate number, rock-out tune 'Pulling Push Ups', where the bass breakdown and elevating outro part push the song a head above the rest.

Myke Hall

Lostprophets - Edinburgh Corn Exchange 19 Feb 2010

A version of this review is also published in The Journal.

The phenomenal Ilan Rubin left Lostprophets last year to play drums for Trent Reznor on the apparent last ever Nine Inch Nails tour. Lostprophets (picture by Andrew Moore) are now on tour now with their new drummer, Luke Johnson, out to prove to the world that they don’t miss him.

The Welsh six piece play high energy emo-tinged nu-metal, coating each track with a sharp biting guitar overdrive and diet metal drums. Their set includes songs from throughout their decade long career, as well as a cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’. Lead singer Ian Watkins’ voice seems perfectly crafted to sail through the noise without gruffness, without strain, never struggling to hit high notes. Balancing him is synth player Jamie Oliver, whose metal screams add the required aggression when the song requires it. But aggression isn’t this band’s primary motivation. Tunes ‘Rooftops’ and ‘Last Train Home’ not only get the vast Corn Exchange audience pogoing like 70s punks, but prove uplifting and inspiring. Lyrics like “But there's still tomorrow/ Forget the sorrow/ And I can be on the last train home” breath optimism into a genre too often overfilled with depression and negativity.

As the end of the set draws closer, the band are killing time. Throwing bottles of water to a dehydrated and grateful audience, and pouring on the praise as bands always do “You guys are pissing all over Glasgow”, but eventually they get to the point and close the set with the broken beats and staccato guitar riffs of their first major hit ‘Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja’. Extended cheering leads to their reappearance, but the encore tune, a song called ‘The Light That Shines Twice As Bright...’ from their January album The Betrayed, is slow, atmospheric and eerie, leaving the audience somewhat bemused by this stylistic sidestep. To come full circle, the song was rather reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails.

Myke Hall

Spoon - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut Glasgow 14 Feb 2010

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

American college indie rock is a well-explored genre in the States, but the barrage of t-shirt and jeans bands rarely seem to bleep on our radar. Two such examples are Spoon, who hit their stride in the mid-naughties, and White Rabbits, more recent scenesters.

White Rabbits’ light rock guitar songs are made especially eerie and dancey as their six-piece line-up includes a percussionist as well as a drummer, who thundered drums and cymbals alike in spite of a rather nasty-looking cast on his arm. The band’s broken-beat Dirty Projectors-style harmonies, subtle use of piano and gritted-teeth lead vocals can be used to create either strange little pop oddities or off-kilter post-rock epics. Add their warm booming basslines and you’ll be following White Rabbits into Wonderland.

Spoon (pictured) are much more rough around the edges, with some spiky guitar clashes, staccato piano and laid-back but agitated vocals. The Texan four-piece’s songs are often made up of minimalist riffs and uncluttered drum parts, allowing the instruments to stay well-separated, creating a sort of hollow space in the middle range for you to listen to the song from. Lyrically, they float between odd and sometimes unreadable metaphors, and sentiments that ultimately convey a general discomfort with the world they inhabit.

Describing the music as “indie” by British definition is way off. There is little to nothing in common with Britpop or art-rock or the Madchester scene or any of the other things we class as indie in this country. This is music that will make most sense at 1AM to tired students going over their revision notes for the hundredth time. Interesting, then, that it cast a similar spell from the darkness of the King Tut’s stage. Highlights of the set included new single ‘Written In Reverse’ (below) and the sombre but dramatic ‘The Beast and Dragon, Adored’.

Myke Hall

Myke Hall

YRock - Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh 13 Feb 2010

Casino Queen (pictured) make a lot of noise for just two lads, be it Connor Doherty's growling grizzly bear voice, his biting blues guitar, or Stewart McLachlan's juggernaut drum thrashing. Playing dirty delta-blues-rock, the duo verge on what The White Stripes would sound like if Meg was a better drummer. Guitarist Conner plays complex Mississippi style riffs effortlessly, at one point even having an onstage conversation with drummer Stewart while executing a solo, all without missing a note. Stew's rise and fall from subtle accompaniment to crashing explosions add dynamics to his counterpart's strums.

Edinburgh trio Radiokills play rock tunes along the lines of young American bands, drawing on the emotionality of the emo scene to play alternative rock melodies. Where they get interesting, though, is their use of multi-effects boards on both the bass and guitar. The power trio are able to create synthetic but energetic sounds reminiscent of modern progressive indie rock bands like Muse and Radiohead.

The crowd really swelled, though, for the evening's headline act Genetic Radio. The blue-eyed pretty boys are an indie-rock/Britpop four-piece. While they clearly draw a lot of influence from Oasis, as noted by their cover of the Gallagher brothers' 'Falling Down', there's evidence of artists like David Byrne and Edwyn Collins in their remorseful pop rock. This was only magnified by their charming onstage personalities and smiling faces, which the crowd ate up like chocolate drops.

Myke Hall

The Red Stripe Music Awards - Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh 3 Feb 2010

A version of this review is also published in The Journal.

The winners of the Red Stripe Music Awards will get to play at The Great Escape festival and get a load of Fender equipment, so it’s not surprising some of Edinburgh’s finest bands signed up for the Edinburgh showcase. The evening starts with Carrie Mac, a singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitarist accompaniment. Carrie’s songs might start from folky roots, but grow into pop saplings with branches into funk and R&B. Her voice is unbelievably powerful and pitch perfect throughout. Let’s pray we can enjoy her raw performance for a while longer before the big record label bosses can turn her into an over-produced pop princess.

The Fire and I’s lead singer/bassist Gordon is joined only by drummer/ backing singer/ keyboard fiddler / drumstick twirler Hooligan. The duo create dirty, rough grunge/rock with angry Scots vocals. The fuzzy distorted bass sound never fails to make guitars seem obsolete, and Hooligan fills every space with drum fills or cyberpunk synth noises. With a never ending supply of energy, they are the Irn Bru 32 of bands.

Pose Victorious prove the least innovative band of the evening. With their traditional five piece line-up, their Brit-pop inspired songs of laddish antics, equal parts Oasis, Stone Roses and Kasabian, are paths that have already been re-tread by every indie band around since the early 90s. Donning scarves and skinny jeans, their show may be stylish but lacks spirit.

Rather unusually, power trio Come On Gang's lead vocal comes from the girl behind the drum kit. Sarah’s voice is folksy, which is something of a juxtaposition next to the dance-tempo rock music the lads play. Guitarist Mikey plays chiming trebley riffs while bassist Trev plays a thick, slightly distorted bassline.

Strangest yet are funky, hippy-pop ensemble The Banana Sessions. Their lineup is made up of female vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, tuba, and brushed drums. Their songs include an ode to the favoured drink of neds (‘Buckfast Gets You ****ed Fast’), but their party piece is a 10 minute Prodigy medley, turning songs like ‘Out of Space’ and ‘Smack My ***** Up’ into psychedelic summer meadow romps.

Myke Hall

Chew Lips - Sneaky Petes Edinburgh 27 Jan 2010

A version of this review is also published in The Journal.

The show opened with Leith based outfit My Tiny Robots, appropriate to the electro-disco genre of the other bands in name alone. The band gave a rather awkward and self-conscious performance, switching between instruments at every opportunity: including guitars, bass, synth, drums, trumpet, melodica, maracas and ukulele. Unfortunately they seemed to think a variety in instrumentation could make up for their lack of performance skills. Only their lead singer had the charm and charisma to warrant the audience’s attention.

Conversely, every member of Glasgow four-piece Boycotts was a well oiled indie-disco machine. The female vocals had the toughness of alternative rock, without being angry or angsty, and were backed by very snappy high-hat beats on the drums, overdriven, fidgety guitar, and disco-funk rhythms on the bass. The songs are designed to get the heart pumping and the foot tapping, and succeeded.

By the time London based Chew Lips (picture by Edmund Fraser) came on stage, Edinburgh’s smallest venue was packed sardine-style. The band is made up of lead singer girl, Tigs, centre stage, flanked by her two musical lads: Will Sanderson and James Watkins. The drums and most of the bass is pre-programmed and sequenced. The boys play synthesisers most of the set, sounding very 8-bit and glitchy, but will sometimes pick up a guitar or bass to add some buzz. Tigs’s vocal parts are poppy like Little Boots or recent Kylie Minogue.

More than any other instrument, the use of drums can affect the on-stage energy of a band, and although programmed drums blend well with synthetic music, the atmosphere ultimately suffers without having someone banging the kit. Fortunately, that’s the only area where the band lacked energy. The singer skipped happily to cyber-bleeps, while the boys convulsed to the beat like they were receiving very well timed miniature electric shocks.

The stand-out song from the set was ‘Salt Air’, whose uplifting melody is a refreshing in contrast to the dance-punk claustrophobia of the rest of the set.

 Myke Hall

Them Crooked Vultures - Edinburgh Corn Exchange 15 December 2009

Article originally published on Is This Music?, and is therefore their copyrighted material:

I can’t imagine Josh Homme was too popular with the Corn Exchange staff, who are more at home doing wedding receptions and corporate events, when he told the sold out crowd they were welcome to climb on peoples’ shoulders, drink heavily and crowd surf.

Probably even less popular when he handed his half-necked bottle of vodka into the crowd for them to pass around.

But this “we’re going to do it anyway” motto is one that Them Crooked Vultures (photo by Trixta Photography) seem to subscribe to strongly. It’s clear that the band are playing the music they want to play. Clearly written in jams, it seems very little thought has been put into mundane nuances like catchiness, commerciality and accessibility. Instead the band favour concepts like ‘edge’, ‘balls’, and how fun the song is to play.

The three piece are the very definition of a hard rock supergroup, made up of Josh Homme, of Queens of the Stone Age and Eagles of Death Metal, on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Grohl, of Nirvana and Foo Fighters, playing the drums, and John Paul Jones, of Led Zeppelin, playing the bass; three household names in the world of rock music.

That effectively gives them license to do whatever they want (and apparently encourage the crowd to do the same), and what they’ve decided they want to do it play riff-driven tunes with lots of heavy guitars, noisy bass parts and keyboard parts.

While the songs often flirt with some brilliant riffs, they seem to go off on sonic adventures and lose focus. Most of their tunes probably go on too long to be radio friendly as well. However, you can’t fault the band on their variety. While at times they play White Stripes-style dirty blues, at other times they experiment with high doses of psychedelia, and then they fall into some alternative metal and come out of it dripping with distortion and feedback.

It will be surprising to some to learn that Josh Homme is the only one of the gang who is on microphone duty. Not even Dave Grohl, who is completely confident in front of the microphone in his own band, interacted with the audience at all. He just hid behind his long hair and massive drums, just like the Nirvana days, and supplied the occasional harmony.

John Paul Jones’ contribution was indeed significant. Playing some electric piano, as well as riff bass and stretching the instrument to play sub-bass, the elder statesmen of the trio held his own against the young bucks. Although there is really no excuse good enough to get away with coming on stage with a 12 string bass.

The fourth corner of the square is Alain Johannes, who is joining the trio for the tour. A virtuoso guitar player, the band even gave him a chance to perform some solo blues guitar. As he slid and jammed all over the fretboard, Johannes held the crowd in the palm of his hand, and he’s just the session player.

Overall, as rule-breaking as they may act, Them Crooked Vultures are not re-writing the book of rock, but the audience went there to see three of their heroes rock hard, and that’s what they got.

Myke Hall

Franz Nicolay and Mark Eitzel - Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh 4 Nov 2009

In an interview with Stereokill, Franz Nicolay(pictured) is quoted as saying, "I think musicians had two business models for thousands of years: the Troubadour, where you had to travel from town to town and sing for your supper, or the Patron, where you courted the favour and worked at the pleasure of the idle rich."

It’s clear from his performance, if not directly from his music, that Franz Nicolay really is a man from another time. On stage he's more of a cabaret performer than a musician (appropriate considering the venue title). Between songs, he tells stories from his travels and makes jokes, smiling broadly from behind his Mario Bros moustache and his black suit and hat.

Franz’ voice is as rich as the red wine he drinks straight from the bottle, and has the air of professional vocal training. He plays some songs on the guitar, and others on the banjo, both of which he can handle with ease. Fans of The Hold Steady will know there are few instruments Franz hasn't mastered. His style can be applied to rock, folk, even ragtime tunes, but most often he employs it for stirring, inspirational ballads.

Through the content of his lyrics, it’s clear Franz has not only a fistful of life experience and a worldly view on life, but also a cultured taste. Though he appears to be a man of the past, he also seems to be able to predict the trends of the future; one of his songs references 'Nick and Nora'. It’s not clear whether that's a reference to the 1934 book The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, one of the six films, the TV series or the radio show that the novel spun off, the 1991 Broadway musical based on the same characters, or the novel 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' that was inspired by the characters. Whichever it was, the characters have recently been seen on cinema screens in the 2008 adaptation of 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'. So has Hollis Mason, subject of Franz's song 'The Ballad of Hollis Wadsworth Mason Junior' and narrator of the 1986 classic Alan Moore graphic novel Watchmen and the 2009 film adaptation. For a man who seems to be from the past, he certainly does seem to see into the future.

Despite appearing without his backing band of indie all-stars, Major General, the coup de grâce of an excellent solo set was his performance of the hard rocking Jeff Penalty, a song about the now-grown-up punk scenester’s relationship with the Dead Kennedy's front man. Franz performed the song with enthusiasm, slaughtering his guitar strings and stomping his foot resoundingly on the hard wooden floor, lost in the energy of the song until about two thirds of the way through, where he embarrassingly filled a quieter bit by explaining "this is the part where there's usually a guitar solo".

There are some stark contrasts between Franz Nicolay and his touring partner, Mark Eitzel. While the San Francisco man, formerly lead singer of American Music Club, also sports a Fedora, a suit and facial hair, their music and performance style differ greatly. Franz bubbles over with positivity, showmanship, and an entertainer's spirit. Mark Eitzel is a different breed. His is a self-deprecating dark humour, and his stories, he contends, intriguing as they may be, are situations were he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's almost too shy for the stage, but it would be such a shame if he didn't get up there and tell his crazy stories and sing his beautiful tunes.

Mark is an old fashioned crooner. With just a piano accompaniment, his rich, deep, somewhat throaty voice glowed like hot embers. Mark reminds us of how powerful music could still be long before rock and roll existed, and how a great singer and some piano are sometimes all you need for a moving performance.

Some of his most memorable pieces included his rendition of the classic 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco', which his style took to a dark, regretful place, and the song The Blood on My Hands, during which he was joined on stage by Franz Nicolay for accordion and backing vocals.

Myke Hall

Nine Black Alps and Sucioperro - Electric Circus Edinburgh 28 Oct 2009

Sucioperro have brought intelligence to a genre that demands nothing but passion. The guitar and drums have been carefully formulated to compliment each other very well. The guitar itself is usually highly distorted, but also makes use of muting and bright picking parts in order to provide a wide variety of sounds to Sucioperro's range of tunes, meaning their sound can stretch between uplifting power rock ('Don't Change (What You Can't Understand)') to grunge-metal ('Dirty Dirty Sick Sick'). Sometimes the use of guitar goes a step further to a level of some serious creativity; there are some very interesting sliding and harmonic sounds in 'Liquids,' for example.

The bass is strong throughout, playing root notes when required, and playing more playful riffs that parry the movements of guitar and drums when there is room to. The drums are consistently tight and snappy. The vocals do sometimes suffer from ‘Transatlantic Syndrome’, that is, a Scotsman trying to sing in the American accent of the band he's inspired by, but this is not true of every track.

On stage, the Ayr trio have no problem executing complex songs without breaking a sweat, and are watchable without being cocky.

The other comment to make about Sucioperro is their colour co-ordination. All in black and red, with armbands and crosses, matching the drum kit too. There were no such stylistic concerns when Nine Black Alps (pictured) took to the stage.

Nine Black Alps’ first album was hailed by grunge fans for picking up where Nirvana left off. Screamed vocals, angry lyrics with dark metaphors, and chromatic overdriven major chords typified their songs, and a dishevelled, brand-free dress sense and unkempt hair characterized their image. Since then, they have expanded their sound, taking lessons from post-Seattle sound bands like The Vines and Bush.

Now on their third album, the four-piece haven't gained much in the way of commercial success. But their performance has the heart of a band playing what they love, and there is still enough of an audience there to keep them going, which is all any musician really needs.

The two guitars match each other, countering each other's heavy riffs and elevating the song, instead of just copying one another. The drums have the right amount of violence to keep the audience rocking out; while still being controlled enough contribute to the architecture of the whole tune, rather than just the foundations.

The band gave an exuberant performance with an unstoppable spirit, really feeling every chord they struck and I look forward to the next time they’re in town.

Myke Hall