Tomorrow's music today. This issue: Herman Dune
Further eroding that old preconception that the best of Swedish bands begin with Abba and end with the Hives. the obscwe. eccentric and really rather lovely Herman Dune will be helping ease 2006 into the gig-going way with a low-key winter's show of suitably seasonally-affected music.
Who is Herman Dune?
Or rather, who are the Herman Dunes? Swedish brothers David-Ivar and Andre Herman Dune are the singing and guitar playing heart of the band. and have been ever since they ventured across the pond together to America and discovered the alterna—folk sOund of peOple like Will Oldham. Smog. Cat Power and many others. With the band now based in Paris. the line-up is completed by Neman Herman Dune on drums — he's Swiss and no relation. so maybe he just liked the name. What do they sound like?
Like a combination of the above named references. albeit with a healthy dose of the eccentricities which inform the work of. say. Jonathan Richman or the Moldy Peaches (the Herman Dunes have shared a bill with the Peaches' Kimya Dawson in the past). Setting strange storytelling amidst chill folk SOLinds. the trio‘s sixth album Not on Top sees them accentuate their traditionally lo-fi sound with a mono recording (‘Listening to stereo CDs while driving on t0ur.' says David-Ivar. ‘I noticed it's not fair that the driver only gets the left speaker mix') and the addition of Canadian bass player Julie Doiron. Presumably she'll be a Herman Dune before long. (Davrd Pollock)
I Herman Dune play Mono. Glasgow, Thu I 2 Jan.
60 THE LIST b )9 Jan 2000
INDIE ROCK
EAST MEET WEST FINAL Liquid Room, Edinburgh,
Sat 17 Dec
Praise be to whoever saw the sheer entertainment value in staging the musical equivalent of a large scale ‘square go‘ this Saturday night. Pitting eight fiercely contrasting fledgling bands from across the country against each other in aural combat. the East Meets West Grand Final proved a finer a piece of testosterone-fuelled amateur theatre than it did a showcase of emerging talent. Pints. boos and handbags flew. As well as the odd tune.
First out of the hat were 5 Park Drive 00 . Falkirk indie troopers with Britpop leanings good enough to show why Jonathan Ross once bought them a curry. Next up were Kobai 000 . a Glasgow electro rock six-piece whose taste for the dancier side of things was a welcome contrast. with Skinflints “0 following, their ballsy blues rifting and prissy getup exacting some hysterical shrieks from their bussed in Erskine faithful.
Robust. if a little too uncouth for the public good. Larkhall power punk quartet Castro 00 proved why their biggest fans are the inmates of Barlinnie (their demo EP is a favourite in the prison jukebox). although it was when Rosyth's swaggering psychedelic indie clones The Draymin 0 took over that things really got interesting. Their pseudo Mancunian drawl and bucket hat style didn' sit well with a certain contingent. and some boos echoed and trouble brewed. Two bare chests and a
The Korova’s
Ar"
ART PUNK MAYHEM TEST ICICLES
smack fancy short of being Stirling's premier Libertines tribute band. supposed instigators The Korova’s 0 were greeted with pints of Carling thrown - allegedly — by guess who.
Cumbernauld hard rockers Pylot did actually strip to the waist. howling and thrashing through a thorOughly abrasive set that earned them a full shower of boos and lager from all sides. and a 00. for sheer defiance. Rounding off the bill. Perthshire outfit OBE 0000 played a late punk funk trump card tight. energetic and unasswning enough to stand themselves out as at least the most technically astute band of the night.
And the winners? Either in an inspired act of controversy baiting. or simply another enshrinement of the relentless stearnrollering of substance by style. the judges plopped for The Korova's. Cue an acceptance speak comprising of 'Cheers. fuck the Draymin.‘ and a knuckled retort kicking off a melee on par with a small scale Bannockburn. Definitely a battle of the bands this one. (Malcolm Jack)
INDIE ROCK
WHITE HEAT
Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, Thu 1 Dec 000
The kudos for bringing London trendsetter's haunt White Heat to Scotland goes to the Goulag Beat- affiliated DJs who invited them. While such enthusiasm is inspiring. having six bands of varying quality between 7pm and 3am made the night something of a marathon compared with Goulag's punk sprint.
Ex-Degrassi members Des Jure offer the same impression of Sonic Youth Or Nirvana that most of Edinburgh‘s young bands seem content with. while London's Snow White provide similar power-pop dynamics. Comanechi might look the part. though. the boy/girl duo besmirch the very concept of the White Stripes with a tedious aural quagmire.
To the genius Mother and the Addicts to save the day then. and a sun-beat-rockabilly hybrid worthy of their headline slot. (David Pollock)
Venue, Edinburgh, Sat 14 Jan; Barfly, Glasgow, Sun 15 Jan
If record companies found downloading dangerous. they clearly hadn't bargained for www.myspace.coni. which this year saw bands gain huge followings from profiles showcasing their work and giving them the means to regulain contact fans about everything from live appearances to breakfast preferences. Arctic Monkeys are one of the site‘s most recent successes. as are Test lcicles. the incredibly pretty London-based. art metal hip hop trio who developed a close online relationship with devotees months befOre the money men came sniffing.
Rory Aggwelt (Raarry Decihells). Sam Merrann (Sam E Danger) and Devonte Hynez (DevMetal) formed almost by accident in 2004. deciding on the name first and playing shows on the strength of a few hours of songwritingThis led to magnificently chaotic performances — all flailing limbs. swinging mic cords. screamed vocals and general blood and hysteria. A record deal followed and debut LP For Screening Purposes Only arrived in October to critical acclaim.
As well as providing fodder for the dirty-minded masses. the three-piece claim to have taken their moniker from the expression 'to test an icicle' referencing primitive men who has to ensure their slurdiness before using them as a weapon. This cheeky humour encapSuIates them completely. as does everything from their deranged and diverse influences to their love of tight. hot pink stage wear. Young. dumb and lots of fun. Test lcicles are at the forefront of an utterly thrilling movement. and what they do next will no doubt be worth watching. (Camilla Pia)