Long Time Coming - Precious & Grace

Precious & Grace are something of an oddity amongst Edinburgh's younger bands. Their approach to pop-infused rock music with big choruses doesn't subscribe to "the current sound" in the way similarly aged Scottish guitar bands do, with a distinctly American slant that has been more or less constant since their inception years ago, despite this EP being their first major release.

Curiously, with Long Time Coming the band are drawing from their newest material, despite having amassed a considerable repertoire over time. It weighs in at a lean 12 minutes, and of its three tracks, two are brand new ones that few had heard prior to their release, certainly a bold creative decision.


Opener All America Long more or less summarizes the record- a big chorus with big echoing guitars, well-placed harmonies and twinkles of piano. It's an interestingly meticulous pop song, with various melodic and rhythmic twists that work really well. The band's songwriting is the most prevalent strong point of the EP- it's refreshing when young musicians punch above their weight, and unashamedly aim for the classic rock highs a lot of their peers would be too nervous to even dream of. And for the most part, it works well.

Generally speaking, this EP is a commendably mature and self-confident work that stands on its own two feet, regardless of the age of the musicians that crafted it. The hallmarks of a young band still trying to find their feet are visible throughout, however, with all manner of devices being experimented with underneath the unifying musical palette. From shameless wah guitar solos to gang chants, it feels as though Precious & Grace still aren't 100% sure exactly what they want to be. However, the musical output speaks for itself, and as a solid release and indicator of future potential, Long Time Coming is a successful debut.

Stewart McLachlan

People - Trashcan Sinatras

The very warm and bright studio sound puts an oil lamp glow over Trashcan Sinatras’ single People, the third single off of their 2009 album In The Music. A melancholy synth-glum Echo and the Bunnyman-influenced verse is followed by a major key love song response with a rich vocal harmony for the chorus refrain “People, people will fall in love”. It’s the sort of chorus where people join hands and sway. There’s a heart-warming understatedness to the single, which makes it easy to listen to but at the same time somewhat mundane and hollow in sentiment. However, the song progresses nicely and the instrumentation is expertly arranged; it’s a tough song to dislike.

Myke Hall

Ever/Girly - Dead Boy Robotics / The Machine Room

Edinburgh's Tape Studio have worked with acts like Amanda Palmer and have two Studer tape machines to make your inner audiophile's mouth water. They've also recently unveiled their new Singles Club. The concept for the Club is simply intermittent releases of split 7" vinyl singles featuring two local artists that Tape have worked with previously. The idea itself had enough potential to attract our attention, but the pairing of Dead Boy Robotics and The Machine Room is a match made in heaven for lovers of electronica-tinged indie.

DEAD BOY ROBOTICS - 'EVER'

Dead Boy Robotics are first up with Ever, taken from their upcoming debut album (which was recorded at Edinburgh's other great treasure trove of analogue equipment, Chamber Studios, then mixed at Tape). DBR have been plugging away for quite some time, with a slot at T in the Park in 2009, a well-received debut EP in 2010, and the album to be delivered later this year, their dark synthesis of electronic loops and guitars becoming more and more defined over time. 'Ever' is a promising glimpse at the upcoming record, strongly evoking Pure Reason Revolution's most recent material with its overlapping vocals and deep synth textures enveloping the solid core of gritty bass and percussion. The song benefits from a fairly unusual structure that stops and starts where lesser songwriters would just keep powering away. 'Ever' is a dense piece of work, at 5 minutes in length and with a deliciously dark character that makes it an unusual choice for a single in some ways, but a great song in its own right. The album it serves as a preview for can only be just as good, and we look forward to hearing it.

THE MACHINE ROOM - 'GIRLY'

The Machine Room, unlike DBR, are newcomers to the Edinburgh scene. They seem to have done pretty well so far in garnering some buzz, and attracted enough attention whilst recording their debut EP at Tape to be included in the Singles Club. Their track, Girly, certainly comes from the brighter, more "indie" shade of the spectrum, especially when compared to 'Ever'. Glittery electronics twinkle over a fairly catchy, delicate vocal line, and the whole thing is quite... well, girly. It definitely feels like more of a "single" than its counterpart, but does a lot less to grab you by the head. That's not to say it is a bad song, however; the production is punchy and the vocals sit at a perfect, inoffensive level, letting the sound fill up during the choruses for an admittedly quite powerful effect, particularly towards the end of the track. The Machine Room do sound like they would be great fun to watch live, and fair play to them to at least hold their own when back to back against Dead Boy Robotics, a unit that has been together longer and been able to really hone a sound of its own. Ultimately, 'Ever' stands out considerably as the better song of the two.

Stewart McLachlan

The Council Wedding Band - Tam's railways

Nine months ago, edRock.net wrote about Tam’s railways official return to the stage as a three-piece, with all new tunes and a tight look. The audience and the band had a very special time together that hot, passionate night. In a way, their debut release The Council Wedding Band was conceived that evening, as now, nine months and one day later, the seeds they planted have grown into a well-developed little body of work with five healthy, pink tracks.

The EP opens with the softly delivered, new wave mid-tempo Let’s Go To Town, which sounds like it’s been recorded by a band in their 40s, and this mildness is a little at odds with the theme of revolution. In spite of this, the track actually sets the tone well for a developed and considered grouping of tunes, it's just surprising for a band who can rock out onstage like CBGB punks.

Barrel of Irony is a bouncy wee rock and roll tune that owes a lot to fellow Leith residents The Proclaimers. The lyrics have a cheeky politically-left facetiousness that, through vocalist/guitarist Leigh’s charismatic delivery comes across as charming and agreeable, especially when the kazoo solo kicks in.

With its sliding bass lines, low frequency oscillating processed guitar that sounds like a synthesiser, and dancey hi-hat beat drums, Man Up the Stairs is a groovy little ditty with an air of introspection and a faint whiff of 80s dance revival.

Cream of the Crop is a clever song, as the structure is reflected in the lyrical theme. As the song describes growing up and your life changing, the song develops through a variety of different musical styles. Careful listeners will hear The Beatles and The Beach Boys in the intro harmonies, Primal Scream-adelica in the bridge, followed by a little a bit of funk in the first verse, and it goes on. When the song gets going, it proves to be the standout track from the album.

Pregnancy jokes aside, this EP certainly represents the culmination of a deliberate relaunch for Tam’s railways, and if they proceed in this direction, these three skilled musicians will achieve the success that they have the potential to achieve. The EP is out today and the band are celebrating with a gig at Sneaky Pete's, including face painting, yes, face painting, and an aftershow party at The Store which will host the debut screening of the band’s brand new music video for Let’s Go To Town. Support is provided by The 10:04s and The Remnant Kings.

Myke Hall

Plastic Animals @ 'A Dark Spring' EP Launch - Wee Red Bar Edinburgh 8 July 2011

It’s a muggy July evening, and the audience are overheating in the Wee Red Bar in the bowels of Edinburgh Art College, but hey, the beer’s cheap! What else do you need on a night out to see some local bands?

A table of plastic toy animals greets you on entry; it’s quirky, giving the impression that something is going to be different about this band. Waiting for the band to set up, with the rumblings of Primus and other alternative bands from the 90s coming through the PA, the crowd gets in the mood for what promises to be a great set.

A promising board of guitar effects are employed and about to be used by a left-handed guitarist sporting a Status-Quo t-shirt?! What the heck is going on? The crowd are beckoned to come closer, come closer.... and we’re off! Straight into 'Fridge Buzz', a straightforward, no-messin’ early 90s punk/grunge assault reminiscent of Nirvana’s Insecticide/Bleach era with a bit of The Vaselines thrown in. Then we’re immediately into 'Shotgun', with its driving drums, and the audience clearly loves it.

Things slow down a touch for 'Grey Blood' from the band’s EP A Dark Spring (pictured), released on 1st July 2011. Images of speeding around city centres adorn the back of the stage, adding to the effect. This is a track you can lose yourself in, and the lead singer of Plastic Animals clearly enjoys the instrumental parts of this song; at times it’s clear he’s happily in his own special place with his guitar. Kudos also goes to the drummer and bass player who add some great groove-styled atmospherics. The singer combines vocals with the bass player towards the end, bringing the crowd further into that special place with them.

'Green Light', also from the band’s new EP, continues the chilled-out theme with a slightly progressive feel about it. The build-up to the bridge provides swelling harmonies before repeating “hours, hours and hours”. It would be nice to sit in a spot for hours being transported to the world of the Plastic Animals, it’s a shiny place. Green Light builds towards the end with a driving instrumental supported by an excellent bass line.

Next up is 'Gold Medallists', which sees the introduction of a llama head for one audience member. Picture this: an epic sounding melodic trip with someone dancing in a llama head – no drugs required! This is one heck of a melody-based track and definitely a highlight of the set. Plastic Animals are certainly in a league of their own with this track. Superb harmonies inform the crowd, “we keep on falling in the same way.” However, this is a local band in ascendance in Edinburgh and you can’t help but wonder what’s up next for these three not-remotely-plastic animals. Next up is the final track from the EP, 'It Fell Apart'. Again, it’s a slow burner which results in some fantastic use of the guitar board, to end things on a high.

Penultimate track 'Maybe Tomorrow' has a build-up reminiscent of 90s Swedish band Kent and their track '747'. 'Maybe Tomorrow' is one of those tracks that will remind you of how you can daydream about your life. It gives the listener hope that something better will come along tomorrow.

Final track 'Pirate DVDs' brings with it a treat of guitar effects that are never overused. It can be tricky (and tempting) when you’re a guitarist to go too far with your use of effects. Just because they’re there doesn’t mean you should use them all at once. 'Pirate DVDs' includes a well-balanced use of guitar tomfoolery. This is a track that slows the pace right down and then assaults you with a punk- infused firestorm. Superb atmospheric vocals start to loop towards the end and that llama head is seen swinging continuously. It’s almost like a pagan ritual with a llama in charge and the band providing the ultimate audio sacrifice, but hey, if this is how you’ve got to lose your soul then it’s a pretty awesome way to go!

This band are highly recommended, yet another gem in Edinburgh’s music crown. The EP A Dark Spring is available on Bandcamp at a mere £5 for a hard copy, but for that price you also get the digital download so you don’t have to wait for it to hit your letterbox. Their next gig is in Glasgow at Bar Bloc on 10th August. If you’re in Glasgow, get down there and check these guys out.

Now, where’s that llama head...

Amy

In Debt - Black International

Two thirds of Black International are Edinburgh College Of Art graduates, and that's a good place to start when describing their sound. Their debut album In Debt has a stripped-back sound that displays heavy post-punk and art rock influences.

Opener A Million Mouths sets the tone for the rest of the album, with an extended build-up that ushers in 3 minutes of unrelenting, jaggy chords. This is followed by the pounding Destruct, which offers a satisfyingly cohesive extension of the same ideas, but with a different dynamic. It works better than A Million Mouths, sounding very reminiscent of a recent The Fall track at points, with a perfect instrumental section that comes together with a darkly catchy vocal hook from frontman Stewart Allen. This darker tone continues into Dread, which ebbs and flows and creates a real feeling of tension, before releasing into a passage that actually sounds quite like Arctic Monkeys, but in a good way.

These three strong tracks highlight one of In Debt's key strengths- rather than doing as Franz Ferdinand et al have done, and fashioning these influences into a more pop-orientated shade of post-punk, the record feels more akin to the gloomier, grittier sounds of Joy Division and Wire. The former's classic album 'Unknown Pleasures' in particular can be heard throughout, particularly in drummer Craig Peebles' frantic, hook-based approach to drumming. The album is produced in a pleasingly lo-fi fashion that suits the stripped-back instrumentation and songwriting.

However, this approach to writing music doesn't always translate terribly well into the format of an 11-track album. Indeed, at points In Debt feels like it is retreading the same ground, and would very probably have benefited from a more concise tracklisting. That said, one of the band's understated strong points, Stewart Allan's guitar work, helps add longevity to the record. His cyclic riffs and chords display some real musical depth at points, for instance on Know You Exist, which echoes Joy Division's 'Disorder', and Idle Worship, which is a late highlight.

Overall, In Debt is a satisfying debut album. Whilst it arguably gets tired midway when viewed as an overall piece of work, the individual tracks themselves are concisely written and energetic, and give the impression that Black International are well worth checking out as a live band.

Stewart McLachlan

Precious Time - The Last September

Precious Time, the new single by The Last September, opens with the sound of your mind trying to work out where you’re headed and a journey of self-discovery.

“I know my confusion is my own and my heart’s beating faster than before.”

The Last September are taking you on a road trip, and it’s time to saddle up and enjoy the ride. The listener is taken on a sweet car ride through America: luscious fields of corn as you drive through deserted roads aiming for a destination. The scenic picture presented is reminiscent of Americana Springsteen; you don’t know where you’re headed but you know that when you get there, it’s going to be beautiful. As the song progresses, the journey gets more colourful. Each chorus sees the pace pick up a notch and the storyteller sounds like he’s getting closer to what he’s searching for as time goes by.

Pete Deane has the kind of velvet vocals that even Willie Nelson would shed a tear over, and Precious Time gives a fine introduction to the band.

The single is from the forthcoming album 'As The Crow Flies', and if Precious Time is anything to go by, then the album will be incredible, and well worth a hearty listen. If you like your music meaningful and heartfelt, then The Last September are the band to watch.

Amy

The First - Her Royal Highness

A first listen on PC speakers is not the way to hear this album. Get yourself a bassy set of cans and slap in a jack for some cyber-Thai punk rock beats dusted down with a sprinkle of Goldfrapp.

Opening track Canary gives you an indication of what you are in for. There’s a lot of styles going on here; think Adam Ant in a blender with some drum n’ bass thrown in and Blondie on steroids – that would be some party. No doubt this image alone would make you sing like a canary. After being audibly beaten with a very large stick, Her Royal Highness take you straight into another stomper: Cherry on Top. Bands don’t like to be compared to other artists, but this one just makes you think of Goldfrapp getting jiggy with Marilyn Manson, an image most of us don’t really want but oddly can’t turn away from. This is a stand-out track with some great bass lines going on and you can see this being a real crowd-pleaser at gigs.

Things slow down for You’ve Got Something and it’s got a nice variation of synth sounds going on; perfectly placed on the album to break up the pace from the first two tracks. It’s almost like a soundscape that you’d expect to find in Blade Runner... or a film about kitsch Thai robots trying to take over the world with their visceral pop sounds, whichever you prefer! Then we get to One Night in Berlin. It reminds me of the time I went to see the ‘Rhythm Drum and Dance’ show at the Fringe Festival last year. I went for the drum element but ended up being assaulted with the trashiest Euro-pop combined with disco lighting; it was like a timewarp! One Night in Berlin opens like a sequence from that show, so it seems that was HRH’s plan. They’ve certainly captured that Berlin feel but the lyrics weren’t really capturing anything more.

I’ll be honest, I was a little apprehensive about reviewing HRH; mainly because this doesn’t tend to be a genre that I know a great deal about but, having said that, I can feel the quality present on this album. It’s a brave step for most bands to want to do something different and break traditional band setups without a drummer in tow. It could well be the case that to fully experience HRH, you would need to see them live, which is true for most bands. I’d be interested in witnessing that event as I do believe that HRH have something to offer. The First has given a good introduction to the band and is a testament to the ever-increasing Edinburgh music scene. I look forward to seeing Her Royal Highness ripping up the dance floor in a venue soon.

Amy

Amy

Merit/Privilege - Notebooks

Stirling's Notebooks first surfaced in 2010 and have been plugging away diligently since, on the back of a reassuringly back-to-basics model which seems to be working quite well for them. The Notebooks’ agenda is quite simple: gig mercilessly, sell t-shirts and CDs, play dark and heavy modern hardcore. And a year or so down the line, their work has culminated in their debut EP Merit/Privilege. The CD is sharply packaged and clocks in at just 17 minutes, concise in every way. Beginning with Network, featuring a sample from the film of the same name that quite neatly sums up the whole record, and blasting through five tracks of pure intensity. Merit/Privilege never lets up but never overstays its welcome, which is always a big plus.

The first "proper" song on the EP, Sorrow, serves as a nice introduction to the band's sound: a breathless rush of aggression that collapses into a brilliantly heavy groove with the furious roars of vocalist Chris Gregg unrelenting throughout. Gregg's vocals are one of Notebooks' strongest assets; they are devoid of the melodic-to-unmelodic shifts that are common in metalcore. While these shifts are not always a bad thing, staying away from this style prevents the songs on Merit/Privilege from ever falling into overly melodramatic, scene-orientated pitfalls. The songs on the EP play on the band's grasp of straight-up, deeply confrontational aggression. The structures are fairly simple and riff-driven, which does lead to structural and dynamic repetition at points. On the other hand, this allows the emotion of the songs to bleed through, putting emphasis on Gregg's passionate song writing and the sheer heaviness and darkness of the band's music. It's good to listen to a band that encroach on a scene that too often veers towards what's almost self-parody, yet emerge proudly brandishing their songs with their own sound and credibility firmly intact. The EP's highlights include the pummelling Four Walls and Being Human’s brutal, head banging intensity.

As a body of music, Merit/Privilege serves as an immaculate portrait of exactly why Notebooks are here. Whilst sounding very much like the work of a band still finding its feet, everything from its presentation to its songs indicate a young band who already have real depth and integrity in their grasp.

Stewart McLachlan

Feel Safe Small - French Wives

‘Happy indie pop’ best describes French Wives’ new EP, Feel Safe Small.

The Glasgow band kicks off the EP with Big Brave Boy, an upbeat track containing clapping and a decent rhythm; the sound is a bit like being on holiday. The vocals may seem slightly irritating at points of this song, but fear not, it doesn’t last. Moving on to Purple Hell, the vocals are a lot stronger and are reminiscent of an early Maxïmo Park. This poppy, summertime sound continues in Covered In Grace, a tune that could be played at indie discos across the country.

The EP is saved from being trite indie pop by the final track. Wrapping up the record is a sweet, melodic ballad, Confidence, the EP’s strongest track. The violin, harmonies and atmosphere show the band’s potential; the song seems to have more depth and originality than the others.

The EP overall is definitely worth a listen, but isn’t groundbreaking. The array of music instruments is enjoyable; however, the violin is sometimes too dominant, although this may be down to production.

Although the whole sound is a bit too much like what has been floating about the indie scene for the last few years, the band show promise overall.

Dani Rowley

In a World Full of Madness, the Simple Joy of Melody Can Pull You Through - Delta Mainline

Delta Mainline do have a bit of an eclectic streak running through their psychedelic rock anthems. The seven-piece (yep, seven) seem to draw influence from sources as broad as Mississippi Blues and Britpop, and this is certainly celebrated on their wordily-titled EP ‘In a World Full of Madness, the Simple Joy of Melody Can Pull You Through’.

Here Comes The Light has a warm evening country glow despite its somewhat cold The Coral-esque lyrics and melody. As the sun sets, the song moves into slightly creepy discordant trumpet fights and blustering theremines.

Hope/Grace is a gentle boat ride down a river made of reverby guitars, ride cymbals and synthesiser, with just a hint of punk screaming escaping near the end. Sheltered Life is built like a straightforward The Eagles-style country rock guitar ballad, building up as the song goes on with guitar slides and choir backing vocals.

Holy Slow Train is a much darker sonic affair. The band play with tempos a bit in this tune, leading you clattering down distorted and echoey sonic corridors, taking you to a place where all the Lou Reed lovers like to explore, the world of noise, and at 7:14 it takes its sweet time. There’s also a background noise in there that sounds like the transporter from Star Trek: The Original Series.

Between their room-filling sound and the steady rock undertone behind their experimental brush strokes, Delta Mainline have written an E.P of songs that sound good in your record player, but could also entertain live. Surely that’s a goal achieved.

Myke Hall

VM1 - Verse Metrics

Glasgow four-piece Verse Metrics don't waste any time. Their first gig was less than a year ago, and yet here I am sitting listening to 'VM1', their confidently presented debut EP, looking at a tightly designed, and straight-to-the-point website with a whole host of glowing media reviews that drop names like Biffy Clyro and Mogwai. Well played, sirs.

Of course, knowing how to market yourself is only half the battle, so on to the music. 'VM1' is nothing I haven't heard before- its sound has been in circulation for some time and is arguably beginning to define the Scottish "alternative rock" scene; Horoscopes features stuttering drums, melancholy, chiming chords, soft vocals and yes, a xylophone, before building up to a climax and letting itself back down, before doing it again. On paper it's a formula I hear all the time. In practice, the results are admittedly pretty. In fact, they are quite beautiful. That is what grabs me about Verse Metrics: they're doing what a lot of bands are doing, but they're doing it well enough to be better than most of them. The musical maturity and dark Interpol-esque tension in songs like lead track Tired Lights hold a certain promise. It feels like the work of a band focused on the long-term rather than some scenesters jumping on yet another bandwagon. The relatively hyperactive Fractions features clattery, dissonant chords without descending into any tech-for-the-sake-of-tech math-rock attempts, showing some reassuring versatility in the band's dynamic range. Husker then brings the overall mood down into a defeated-sounding, gloomy waltz, with Sad Bones providing a pulsing, almost euphoric finale (I have a funny feeling it's about drowning yourself and the world not really caring, but I'll still say it's euphoric. On second thought, it's quite depressing). The overall result is a complete-feeling, focused EP that demonstrates a band with a whole load of real potential. Whether or not Verse Metrics disappear with changing trends is something only time will tell, but 'VM1' hints at a band that are here to stay.

Stewart McLachlan

Are You Home Yet? - Hold The Suspect

Hold The Suspect’s debut E.P ‘Are You Home Yet?’ has this in common with the Y2K bug fiasco – it starts with a lot of excitement and danger, but has a disappointingly unimpressive conclusion.

The four-song release begins with title track Are You Home Yet?, an upbeat rock-out with pinches of classic rock guitar licks stirred in with some red-walled overdrive and Biffy Clyro-inspired epicness. The deliciously produced bass sound has both the snapping tanginess and the warm smarminess needed for the different dynamics of the song.

Dive Into the Sun swings pendulum-like from a metal punch chorus to a soft yet angular verse, creating a parallel with the caged frustration expressed by the lyrics. It’s a balance understood by bands like Incubus and Deftones, and it is captured fairly well by the Livi’ boys.

The E.P falls down, however, on Glass Half Full, where the band stretch for a sadness and emotional depth that is simply not believable in the tone of the music they play, or the singer’s voice, even with the help of a female backing vocalist. The use of glitch beeps two thirds into the song, while an interesting moment, does not save this “obligatory slow song” from sounding forced.

Similarly, E.P. closer Society brings us a melody that verges on ridiculously cheesy, like a sketch show making fun of an advert. The 80s hair-band tune doesn’t match the Iron Maiden-meets-Foo Fighters guitar parts at all, and the lyrics don’t seem to say anything. The chant-along section in the middle is kind of cool, but this song definitely misses the mark.

Hold The Suspect are clearly a band with a great deal of talent at their respective instruments, and this E.P shows that they are able to record and produce studio-quality songs. What they are lacking is boundaries – knowing when a song goes from emotional to cheesy – knowing when a lick goes from impressive to showing off. Still, the brief uses of electro beats and football chant vocals show the band have more in store. With any luck, the follow-up E.P will be an all-round enjoyable piece of music.

Myke Hall

That Howden Sound - The OK Social Club

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

Now into their third EP, you’d think it would feel like business as usual for Edinburgh four-piece The OK Social Club. Named after their producer, Andy Howden, 'That Howden Sound' collates three different songs of jagged indie-punk.

The fraction of a second of feedback at the start of opener Getting Away With It is like being allowed a tiny breath before having your head thrust underwater at the deep end. The song is a Libertines-inspired track for people with a short attention span. The fast-paced guitars start and stop and the drums rush, with none of the sections lasting more than ten seconds before a change. The breaks in the song feel like moments where the runaway train has caught air, before it hits the ground again with a crash.

The hook of Little Broken Bones is a call and response between guitar licks and vocal punches over snare-rolls, with a very Strokes-y chorus melody. The bass rattles and oozes through its punky riff. The lyrics sing of a rose tinted look at school day antics. The joy in this song, though, is in the razor-edged, distortion-drenched “rock out” outro.

RMT (Radio Days) is mostly an acoustic song, with a “la la la” chorus and sweet harmonies, but near the end it bursts into a red-walling distortion session.

In only eight and a half minutes the EP is over, leaving the listener definitely wanting more. But with three differently presented songs held together by straightforward songwriting, The OK Social Club have avoided any unnecessary sections or redundant repetition. They have simply cut out every ounce of fat from the tracks, presumably to help them slip into their skinny jeans.

Myke Hall

There Will Be Fireworks - There Will Be Fireworks

There’s definitely a theme here: 'Columbian Fireworks', 'I Like The Lights', 'Guising', 'We Sleep Through The Bombs', 'Headlights', 'We Were A Roman Candle', There Will Be Fireworks.

The debut self-titled album by There Will Be Fireworks is undoubtedly themed. The four Glaswegian musicians make use of broad Scottish accents, which go from hushed harmonies to desperate screams as the dynamics of the songs rise into the air and then fall back down in an explosion of sound and colour (see what I did there?). The delicacy and understated-ness of certain sections of this album are hard to ignore, with some very moving piano or acoustic guitar, streaking into overdriven or delayed guitars, Arcade Fire-y crashing drums, and insistent bass.

The flow of the album is also carefully crafted. The songs contentedly and calmly collide into each other, as if written purely for album release, giving the impression of an epic rock opera. Beginning with the spoken word poetry of Colombian Fireworks, softer slowburners So The Story Goes and Guising, mid-tempo melody Midfield Maestro to the epic yell-along Off With Their Heads, an unforgettable tune that is the highlight of the album, and onwards through an anthology of other songs, no two sound quite the same.

The bass guitar playing can be best admired on Waltz-timed A Kind Of Furnace, where it dances (waltzes even) underneath flute flutters and oboe sounds and drums played with beaters rather than sticks, while at other points it happily undercarries the excited strobe light guitar.

Unfortunately, the second half of the album does not maintain the rocket-high quality of the first half, with the whiney lead guitar riffs and strained vocals beginning to annoy the ear. But this is still an excellent example of how an album should be written. Recurring themes in both lyrics and music, variety of instrumentation and arrangement, but all tied together with similar production. Each song easily snaps onto the last and the next to create a complete piece, as well as a collection of individual tracks.

Also, try not to be holding any hot drinks when you listen to We Were A Roman Candle; you might get a fright when the loud part kicks in.

Myke Hall

Sleepless Nights EP - Homework

Why anyone would name their band after the worst part of going to school, I don’t know. I’m getting ‘Nam style flashbacks just thinking about it. Thankfully I have the band’s charmingly agreeable tunes to chill me out.

Homework’s well-structured five-track debut EP opens with the title track, Sleepless Nights, a song whose jaunty guitar-indie sound propels steadily onwards like a canal boat made of Stratocasters. One of the defining features of Homework’s music is the unashamedly Scottish accented vocals – a rising trend in Scottish music, which is sadly still under-utilised in favour of a damp trans-Atlantic manner. You’ll get none of that nonsense from these Edinburgh boys.

All I See opens with a sleek and sexy production of atmospheric synth, reverb-heavy guitar and strong bass that would make Garbage or The Cardigans proud, and proceeds to trot on with a steady pace as the catchy chorus comes along: “LIFE-style, NO style, MEAN while, MORE MORE money”. Possibly the catchiest song on the EP, All I See shows that Homework’s music has some humour to it too.

Aside from its swooshing progressive middle-eight breakdown, third track Forget About Everything continues with the synth beeps and swirls, the 90s guitar effects, the mid-tempo canter, and the bass, as thick and meaty as a salami, of the previous tunes. However, the closing tracks take on a more epic quality. With vocals and lyrics leaning more towards the ballad side of rock, and a structure that builds up to a peak in the third act, 'Havana' and 'We Should Not Regress' grasp the listener, hooked by the catchy first songs, and lift us out of the water with urgent drums and ringing guitar.

As Havana elevates, the quirky guitar riffs become clangy chords, the drums become more urgent and excited, the bass becomes funky and reminiscent of Flea in recent Red Hot Chili Peppers works, and the vocals become more intense, as it closes in on its climax.

The climax of We Should Not Regress, however, is more like a clapping-your-hands-above-your-head, save-the-world power ballad. The tune begins by playing analogue beeps, like a confused payphone, against a piano part, and then climbs steadily to its crescendo, and ends on an echoey voice sample.

The Sleepless Nights EP sits comfortably between the worlds of art-pop indie-rock and that epic sound that Scotland loves, without ever resigning to either side, and without ever suffering for it.

Myke Hall

Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus

The self-titled debut album by Stephen Malkmus, lead singer of recently reunited Pavement, may have one man’s name and one man’s face on the cover, but the band who recorded the album with Malkmus went on to tour with him as Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and fans consider this that band’s first album.

From minute one the technical musicianship, complex production and instrumentation put The Jicks in a different category than Pavement. Retaining Malkmus’s trademark lo-fi and occasionally dissonant guitar licks in places, the use of synthesiser sounds, a variety of rhythm guitar styles and crystal clear bass defined a sound that characterise The Jicks as a band in their own right.

The most striking thing about the album is the lyrical content, rich in stories set in all kinds of romantic settings, such as 19th century Imperial India or Ancient Greek islands, or interesting characters, like Turkish pirates, an Alaska fisherman, and most bizarre of all, actor Yul Brynner. The joy is in the poetic nature of the scenarios, as the stories rarely resolve, and are more like detailed and poetic reflections of people in places, be they modern or during minor historical events. The lyrics flirt with morals, but abandon them, leaving you to write your own conclusions. 'Jenny & The Ess Dog', perhaps the album’s peak, focuses on a strained relationship between a college student and her older boyfriend, in parts told through the eyes of their dog, Trey, who is the only living creature who can witness them alone together.

Well-produced arrangements see guitars pitted against synthesiser, vocals, or more unorthodox instruments like steel drums or xylophone, while installing out of place instrumental or vocal samples in a rhythmic way to add character to an already charismatic set of songs.

Stephen’s voice is weedy, and never strong or confident, and he tries to hit notes that are too low to be heard or too high for him to sing. But his voice fits well atop the overall kookiness of the music. In some cases another instrument will play the melody line along with him, whether this is to reinforce his voice, or just to underline the melody.

Another notable feature is the appearance of ‘mini-songs’ after several of the tracks. A mini-song is about five to ten seconds long and has the same instruments from the track playing an independent little section, treating the listener to a little pace-changing tune between full length numbers.

Malkmus displays his lyrical genius and poetic depths here in ways he never did with Pavement; this album is the flourishing of an artist held back by the limitations of his environment, suddenly unleashed with full studio and musicians who would do what he told them. While it doesn’t have that awkward college radio magic that made Pavement the cult legends they are, it is instead digestible, beautiful, and glowing with a sorcery of its own.

Myke Hall

The Bobby Masicks EP - RBRBR

During the launch party for RBRBR’s The Bobby Masicks EP, the five-piece band is joined on stage by a dancing ninja. Two conclusions can be drawn from this fact. The first is that the band members don’t take themselves too seriously, and the other is that they are not afraid to do things that are a little outside of the box.

Opening track Maff’s hook is a descending distorted vocal part, and its joy is a catchy bass loop, which plays against peppery saw-tooth wave synth parts. The overall effect is something like Hot Chip with better and more Scottish vocals. The title is a reference to the tired US cliché phrase “do the math”, which also acts as the chorus refrain for this song.

Golden Tomorrow makes healthy use of natural bass and guitar sounds, and then layers synthetic loops over the top. The influence of 70s disco and soul is seen here in the drum beat and high-pitched backing vocals. The song’s downfall might be the medium tempo, which makes this song difficult to place; it’s too slow for dancing, but too fast to fully absorb the texture of all the sounds involved.

On the third track, an artificial voice states that he has “27 Russian Friends” over and over; the band play with a set of artificial voice samples while the music twirls chaotically but in perfect time like a gothic clockwork flea circus. It’s on the back of this song that the band has earned a reputation as the cheeky chaps of indie-electro.

Masicks' Blues, a call back to the EP’s title, is a Kraftwerk-esque electro piece that flirts with dissonance and Red Hot Chili Peppers-style guitar work, without ever really settling. This track would be well-placed at any strobe rave, and while not as memorable and catchy as the other tracks on the EP, this is the one that’ll get the hips shaking and the glow-stick jewellery out.

For a long time Edinburgh's electro club scene has flourished, while the live music scene has fought to keep its head above the water. It's bands like RBRBR, who are entirely comfortable in both environments, that can thrive in our oft-harsh cityscene.

Myke Hall