Future of the Left @ Powerup - Studio 24 Edinburgh 5 Jun 2009

On paper, 1" Volcano have a pretty good style. Hard rock riffs, with some groaning vocals. The bass has a great rattley punk sound, and the guitars go from distorted power chords to shiny picking with relative ease. The band are lacking in two departments though. The first is live performance. Entirely unentertaining to watch, the band barely move as they go from song to song like they're collating spreadsheets, which it isn't too hard to imagine these men doing. The second is originality, the music they produce has been done before by every guitarist who's ever put up an ad on Gumtree saying "lets start a kick ass rock band. I like AC/DC and The Pixies." Also, I'd rather not contemplate the connotations of their band name too long. That being said, the last couple of songs in their set had more of a foot-tapping enjoyability.

There's definitely aggression at the heart of Degrassi's music, taking in two metalheads and a bassist who looks like he plays for Weezer, the band are an odd power trio to look at. In a way, this reflects their music, which is two parts tough-guy power chords, but with a shot of college-radio inventiveness. In performance, however, the band are one voice. Their maturity and togetherness pays tribute to their experience. Their dirty, grungey rock was well executed. The only issue was a lack of catchiness - these weren't really songs to sing along to.

Future of the Left (pictured) rocked the Studio. The three-piece are two Welshman and a Geordie singer. The guitar and bass are both heavy, deep and distorted, while the drums are tight and rocky. As the set develops, the two frontmen's banter begins to strengthen; starting with some ill-conceived comparisons to Glasgow, and building up to humourous anecdotes and audience participation. For some songs, they replace either the guitar or the bass with a dirty Roland Juno synth. The vocals are screamy, the melodies are good but not too memorable, and the lyrics are difficult to decipher. If the singer could relax his neck muscles a little when singing, they'd be a truly terrific grunge band. As it is, they're falling short of metal due to their limited personnel.

The performance, though, is undeniably brilliant. From the charismatic comedy duo at the front with their crowd interactions and funny accents, through their purposeful riff hammering, they never stoop to egocentric posing. The stand out track is the angular synth-and-bass Manchasm. During the final song, the bassist joined the crowd, slamming his instrument while pogoing in the mosh pit, then crowd surfing around the room for a while. Meanwhile, onstage, the singer was moving the drummer's kit, one piece at a time, to the front of the stage, while it was still being played. Never a dull moment with these chaps around.

Myke Hall

My Latest Novel - In-store @ Avalanche Records Edinburgh 5 June 2009

Preluding their official album launch gig that night at Sneaky Pete's, My Latest Novel treated us with the time honoured tradition of the in-store performance. Avalanche Records was filled to overflowing with perhaps half a dozen pleasant and polite fanatics who knew each and every song like it was the back of their refrigerator.

In fact the smooth indie-flavoured folk music of the quintet, shortened to a four-piece for this performance, is ideal for stripping down, as much of their music already involves acoustic guitars and fiddle.

The singer, a little uncomfortable without a microphone and instead clutching a can of lager like a security blanket, sang introspective songs in a small but rich voice. His understated subtlety was juxtaposed well with the energy of the louder, confident vocals of the guitarist, who is short in comparison and ginger, and may have felt he needed to make up for it by stealing the show. A feat he would have just as easily achieved with his guitar work, with which he exquisitely shouldered all the dynamics and moods of the songs.

The violin provided a meandering counterpoint to the melody, with smooth strokes and some occasional backing vocals. And the tapestry was weaved together by some rich chords from the standing-accordion at the back. If it wasn't for this final touch, the music may not have had the Cure-like magic touch.

The tune worth checking out is probably 'Dragonhide', and the finest moments of the set came when the whole band were singing in harmony.

Of course this miniature set is just a snapshot of the bands full live potential, but the intimate poster-lined walls provided an interesting view on the Greenock band.

Myke Hall

News: The Edge Festival line-up announced

This years line-up for The Edge Festival (formerly known as T on the Fringe) has been announced. The headliners are David Byrne, of Talking Heads, and proto-punk legends The Stranglers, and among the 18 acts announced are indie stars The Bluetones, Edinburgh band Broken Records and edRock.net favourites Frightened Rabbit and Malcolm Middleton. DF Concerts promise us that there going to be around 30 events in total, plus support still to be announced, in the festival that runs side-by-side with the Edinburgh Fringe to bring us the best music over the month of August.

View Calender

Tickets are available now from Gigs in Scotland or by calling 08444 990 999, and you can sign-up for the latest information at The Edge Festival.

Edit 19 June 2009: Update

Myke Hall

Cryoverbillionaires and The Void @ Duty Free - Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh 4 Jun 2009

"Good evening, we're Smashing Pumpkins", began Lions.chase.tigers, in tribute to the backing track playing before the band. The dry humour is unsurprising from a band whose foremost instrument is swooping sentimentality. The standard two guitar quartet are from the Snow Patrol school of songwriting. Pulse rhythms and teensy indie riffs that build up, with lots of reverbs and whaling cries of passionate emotion. The lyrics sometimes crossover into emo, but the Scottish accent keeps it sounding heartfelt. The band have a strong presence without indulging in showmanship, and a tightness that keeps "epic" from becoming "shambolic".

With a little less seriousness and a lot more overdrive, cheeky four-piece The Void (pictured) play overdriven power chord alt-rock. With elements of emo and pop-punk, not least of which are the hoodies and faded jeans they sport, the band have a good humour and a loving fan base. Employing vocal harmonies, and a start/stop, staccato/legato, jagged/flowing juxtaposition to their angsty music and lyrics, their tone is more intelligent and more danceable than their genre would have you believe. The highlight of the set is the heavy rocking 'Reunion'.

Over The Wall follow a much rarer template.... In fact I’m not sure they’re following a template at all. The guitar and keyboard two-piece break the mould. Unlike most bands that employ a laptop for bass and drums, the moustachioed Glaswegian duo play delicate indie-folk, a genre that Scots continue to dominate. The keyboard, which is usually set to glockenspiel mode or similar, plinks in accompaniment to the rich guitar plucking of the lead singer. Occasionally they also bring out a harmonica or a trumpet. The laptop is really there to fill in the gaps, and isn’t even always needed. Bands missing live drums often have a hard time winning over an audience, but the sweetness and ease of listening of Over The Wall's songs keeps them accessible and puts a smile on your face.

The final band, Cryoverbillionaires, bring the night to a disappointing anti-climax. Failing to bring the catchiness and excitement of their recordings to their live set, the Edinburgh lads strum their gentle rock without too much confidence or personality. The songs got better as the set went on, each one getting catchier and more fun, they were able to turn their seeming lack of focus into more of a deliberate psychedelic aura that hovered around some exciting drum parts and moany-child lead vocals. One assumes they were just having an off-night, but Cryoverbillionaires do need some better songs and rethink of their delivery.

Myke Hall

News: The ATP Film at Edinburgh Film Festival

All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival are debuting their new film, aptly named ‘All Tomorrow's Parties’ at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this year. ATP is an alternative to the muddy, rock and pop, mainstream festivals. It showcases experimental, avant-garde and underground music and weekend attendees get a chalet with a warm bed and a shower at a Butlins or Pontins holiday camp. The other twist is that each weekend is curated by a well known act, who choose which bands to book, or turn it over to the fans to vote for which bands they want to play.

The documentary, described as “a kaleidoscopic journey into the parallel musical universe of the cult music festival”, will feature bands like Belle And Sebastian, Iggy and the Stooges, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Grinderman, Seasick Steve, and of course Mogwai, who curated the first event and shaped the musical style of the event. The material comes from over 200 different sources, including filmmakers, fans and musicians.

The film debut, which is rather cheesily titled ‘The Night of Musical Delights’ takes place at Edinburgh’s HMV Picturehouse on 24 June 2009. In addition to the screening, the night will feature a DJ set from Chris Geddes (of Belle and Seb), Northern Soul dancers, bingo (yes, bingo), a “lovely legs” competition, and a musical performance by a still secret headline act.

Tickets for the full show are available from the Edinburgh International Film Festival Box Office.

If you can’t make it to the show, the film will be released on DVD on 21st September 2009. Keep up to date on the film’s website.

Myke Hall

The Breeders - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut Glasgow 19 May 2009

While the band strap on guitars and reposition themselves in a somewhat uncomfortable manner, I almost expect lead singer Kim to announce that this is their first gig. Instead she mutters something about a drum, addressing their drummer, and between them they rather limply attempt to convey what they must consider the humourous story of buying a drum from a homeless man for $5.

This is hardly what you'd expect from the spin-off project of Kim Deal, a hero in the grunge world for playing bass in stadium-filling alternative rockers The Pixies, now struggling with issues like guitar-strap twisting and microphone positioning. The band have appeared on stage for their first of two performances at a packed-well-beyond-fire-safety-limits King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, with both equipment and crew borrowed from Scots indie daddies, Teenage Fanclub, and no support act. It will be a few songs into the set before the crowd grow accustomed to the erratic but none-the-less charismatic and adorable stage presence of the Deal sisters and their band, The Breeders.

The powerful bass and splashy drums get the sardine-packed venue dancing in the square foot of room they have each to move. The distorted vocals, guitar slide and new wave catchiness of 'Cannonball' definitely makes it a fan favourite. The otherworldly vocals on 'Safari' are a demonstration of the Deal sisters' musical imagination. The band also perform 'Tipp City', the one single released by Kim Deal's third musical project, The Amps. And of course there is a great response to the appearance of Kelley's violin to perform the halting call and response riff on 'Drivin' on 9' - gimmicky but pleasant.

Instead of the usual Set/Encore breakup, Kim requested a five minute break three quarters of the way through to "splash some water on my face". The band's casual 'living room' performance style made for a comfortable audience. Although critics may point out a lack of professionalism, showmanship, technical skill and overall tightness of the band, there was definitely a lovable relatability to the group as they made friendly but meaningless observations to the audience and to each other, reminiscent of parents at their children's high school "soccer game". The informality allowed for audience members to shout out their requests. Most of which were ignored, except for one man who added "please" and got his song played right away.

Myke Hall

ATP vs. the Fans: The Fans Strike Back 2009

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Kinda like hitting the demo button on a Casio keyboard, but not as good. Rather dull, think I may have preferred it if he didn't sing. Though I have to say the last few tracks when he was joined by the full band were pretty fun. I may have danced.

Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard
Some really cool music and some smile-inspiringly clever lyrics, were somewhat spoiled by Jeffrey’s whiny nasal voice. I liked his battered, stickered, overdriven acoustic guitar though.

M83
A guy and girl looking at each other over an array of synths, sequencers and other gadgets. Mostly instrumental. Very stylish and dancey. I especially enjoyed when the brought in low-end guitar riffs.

Devo
At the time when Devo were first popular, prog-rock was something new and futuristic. The silly hats, costumes, and dance routines fit with the quirky originality of their music. Nowadays, especially at ATP, their music seems mainstream and dated. The lyrics are quirky and pointless, culturally irrelevant or lack real depth, and... Let’s call a spade a spade; they're a bunch of middle-aged guys dancing around in their boxers shouting "whip it good".
Still, full marks for effort, they were damn entertaining. And the tune 'Uncontrollable Urge' really stood out for me.

Pink Mountaintops
This is apparently the solo project of the guy from Black Mountains. Although why the chief-songwriter and co-lead singer needs a solo project too is beyond me. These guys were actually really good. Mixing some Western and southern rock (South Western?) with some experimentalism and some great guitar-play. One of my favourite acts of the weekend.

Cave Singers
Rootsy western of the style of Seasick Steve, but there were three denim-clad rednecks up there. Still pretty minimalist and usually acoustic, they had a sincerity that is achieved through the rawness of their tunes.

The Acorn
The Acorn are a soft, folksy group whose' understated music is likable but (evidently) forgettable.

Grizzly Bear
A bit catchier than The Acorn, the tunes are bouncy and the vocals are ethereal. Like psychedelica but a bit tougher and edgier but equally floaty and intelligently constructed.

Beirut
Strong, classical vocals over trumpets and accordion. Definitely some eastern European folk-dance influences. The frontman is lovable and some of the songs are particularly romantic.

Errors
Definitely good to see Scottish bands on the bill. Their slightly tongue-in-cheek electronic post rock didn't have quite the kick I was hoping for, but certainly had an atmosphere.

Jesus Lizard
A little bit punk and a little bit grunge, the band clearly loved themselves to pieces. I did not share that love, they were OK.

Shearwater
Somewhat indie, moody, fantasy experimentalism. Nice way to start a Sunday. Kind of a male equivalent to Bat for Lashes.

Future of the Left
My discovery of the weekend. Hard rocking, microphone screaming, sweets tossing, instrument thrashing, crowd surfing, banterous, Welsh/Geordie power trio. Loved them. "There's a band on the other stage called 'chik chik chik' (!!!). I'm not making this up, that is actually their chosen moniker!"

!!!
Funky and groovy. Synthy in a kind of 80s underground kind of way. The front man was a bit too Har Mar Superstar for me, but the rest of the band were great to watch, and the entire room was dancing. The beat wasn't too intense but it was powerful enough that you feel stupid standing still.

Parts & Labor
Indie and electronic sounds, with a healthy dose of crazy too (see the rock-out that is New Buildings). The vocals do kinda let the side down on this, which is a recurring theme this year, but these guys were enjoyable to listen to.

Spiritualised
Definitely chillout music, it’s hard to get excited about it, but the swells and treads of this many-instrumented post rock is unquestionably the soundtrack to lying in the grass. Or in the case of this particular festival, lying on the green felt carpet.

School Of Seven Bells
Fairly decent tunes, Interpol support veterans, hot identical twin girls. It sounds good but their live show left something to be desired. It’s called performance.

The Mae Shi
Take musical toys, synths and guitars and a sparkling sugar high and mix them all together. You get The Mae Shi. I would like to see more of these guys.

Top Five Recommendations:
5. Cave Singers
4. Beirut
3. !!!
2. Pink Mountaintops
1. Future of the Left

Myke Hall