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

News: New Releases Mar 2011

Keyboard-fronted trio The Marvels release their new single on 18 March 2011. With a title from a Japanese video game mistranslation internet meme, 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us' is a moody punk foot-stomper with a piano riff that is the sleek European monorail to rock and roll’s clanky steam engine. The track will be available for download on iTunes and Spotify and the B side is catchy New Romantic-inspired ‘Kisses and Breathing’.

Following their critically successful 2009 EP, Sleepless Nights, Homework are back with a new single, 'Why Oh Why' released 23 Feb 2010. 500 copies will be available as a free download in exchange for an email address until 31st March when it goes on general digital release.

Psycho-rock duo Birdhead drop their debut EP ‘Talons’ on 16 March 2011 with a launch party at Electric Circus. Edinburgh bands Emelle and The Young Spooks, plus DJ Kris Wasabi (Wasabi Disco), will support.

Band/Arts collective FOUND release their new single, 'Machine Age Dancing', on 7 March 2011, ahead of their new album, 'Factorycraft', on 14 March 2011. These will be the group’s inaugural releases through legendary Scottish indie label Chemikal Underground, with whom they signed a deal in September 2010. These releases are available to preorder now on the Chemikal Underground online shop. Both releases will be available on vinyl or MP3 download, and Factorycraft is also available on CD.

Prog rockers Underclass released their double A side single ‘Bruised Eyes’ / ‘Sheep’ on vinyl on 26 February 2011. The record is available now at Great Junction St Music Studios for £5 and comes with a download code for the MP3 version.

The new Stanley Odd EP ‘Pure Antihero Material’ is available from 21 February 2011 from the six-piece rap collective’s Bandcamp page. CDs can be ordered for £3 while stocks last (400), and they come with a free signed A2 sized band poster. The songs are also available in MP3 form, but at a higher cost of £3.95.

Finally, Supermarionation’s EP ‘On The Fly’ is out now and available for £4 on CD through their website, or at Edinburgh’s Avalanche Records or Elvis Shakespeare for £2.99.

Myke Hall

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

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

Promo: Open Til Midnight Season 2

Starting 16 February 2011, Open Til Midnight is back on the internet radio. Tune in every Wednesday from 22.30 til 23.30 (well, it's almost midnight!) on FreshAir.org.uk to hear Myke and Danielle chat about movies and music.

But as well as the usual film banter, Open Til Midnight will be bringing you some new features, including a 'Track of The Week' chosen by edRock.net. The track will represent some of the finest music Edinburgh has to offer, it will be played live on Open Til Midnight, and will be available to listen to all week on the edRock.net homepage.

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