Blackbody Vol II is a collection of lackadaisical trip-hop for 5 am on a Sunday morning. As the titles implies, it is the second installment of a triptych of EPs by Glasgow three-piece The Lava Experiments. Indistinct, distant vocals can sometimes seem like the ballads of an exhausted world-weary traveler by a campfire, and other times the chanting of monks echoing from the dark ages. Indeed the music seems to inspire metaphor contrivation. The songs are usually formed with programmed drumbeats, Moog or Moog-like synthesizers, rich bass and sometimes gentle guitar.
The opening track, Piecing Memories Together, falls flat compared to its successors, over-repeating a guitar riff and a three note synth line that is so simple it’s almost childish. Unusual, then, that the band have chosen to follow up the release of Blackbody Vol II with an EP of remixes of this track. Perhaps the band saw that the song had the most potential to be improved upon.
Luckily, the following tracks, Sun Flies, River Shape and Ring to the Dark Place are a dramatic improvement with the hypnotic quality of well-crafted progressive trance. The drum beats are active but not obnoxious, and produced to sound unimposing. Album closer The Release even brings an element of rock and roll to the mix, with a distorted guitar riff and a muscley electric bassline.
Overall, Blackbody Vol II is good music to have in your collection to have for when the right mood strikes (even if it is at 5 am). Although you might have to skip to the second track.
Myke Hall
; heralded by the scene as our current champions. Their sound was banjo and accordion type über-acoustic sounds mixed with electronic warmth and noise and backing tracks, as is the current Fence-collective inspired fashion in Scottish indie-folk. The large band, heralded though they are, failed to live up to their hype, not to mention to the status expected of a Queens Hall support act. With no banter, no personality, and a flavour of music that, in the pre-Arcade Fire landscape, may have been original and interesting, is just one voice in a crowd of similar bands. The vocals squawked somewhat irritatingly, and the well-placed (and well-played) cello was underused in favour of electronic bass sounds.
have been off touring the States, and you really did feel their genuine joy from being back in the Capitol. It was like they were at a party with old friends they haven't seen in a long time. In some ways, this was true, Edinburgh was really glad to have them back. Opening with 'The Modern Leper', a tale of drunken fights on (presumably) Glaswegian streets, the band performed with an excitement through their epic indie ballads and Selkirk voiced knees up folk rock. Although the majority of their set was drawn from breakthough album 'Midnight Organ Fight', lead singer Scott Hutchison asked nicely if they could play some new tunes. It’s clear these songs are no longer being written with the intent of being played by Scott and his acoustic in a crowded pub, but to be performed by a full electric band rocking out on a large stage. Many of the songs went entirely without bass, with up to three delayed guitars chiming in sync. Others used modestly electronic keyboards.