POP PUNK FALL OUT BOY Barrowland, Glasgow, Wed 25 Jan
Fall Out Boy must be doing something right. Their hook-filled ‘Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down’ single has been a fixture on Stateside playlists since the summer, earning the group mass media coverage, a legion of dedicated fans and a Grammy nomination to boot. On top of that, they’re upsetting the Killers’ Brandon Flowers for stealing his spotlight.
Whether the ended-before-it-began public spat was legitimate or not (they share the same A&R man, who was apparently favouring the fledgling pop-punk act above Flowers’ group), it seems unlikely that a band so ascendant would resort to PR gimmicks.
What is certain is that the US can’t get enough of them and the UK is following suit. Mainstream and
CELTIC CONNECTIONS HOBOTALK AND
THE SUNDOWNS The Garage. Glasgow, Sun 22 Jan
The Sundowns
The links between American and Scottish music have always been strong. and that cross-pollination continues to affect a whole raft of bands over here influenced by the charms of smalltown Americana and dusty. Yankified country music.
The East Lothian-based Hobotalk have already been through the music industry mill. releasing a great debut record on a major label before getting embroiled in corporate merger bollocks and subsequently dropped. Their recent s0phomore effort. Notes on Sunset.
alternative radio are already championing the single, while rave reviews for their Under the Cork Tree album ensured a sell-out UK tour within hours of the tickets release.
Which all goes to explain the industry belief that they could claim Blink 182’s now vacant throne. Sonically, there’s very little to separate them from the pop-punk pack but there is a depth to their lyrics, courtesy of bassist Pete Wentz, which have connected with thousands of awkward and lovelorn teenagers, going some way to explain why he’s been described as ‘the Morrissey of the MySpace generation’.
With most of the next album already written and the group chasing 8&8 maestro Babyface to produce it, it’s clear the band are destined to make a name for themselves - whether Brandon Flowers likes it or not. (Andrew J Borthwick)
released on a local independent. showed a more considered and melancholic take on Americana. singer songwriter Marc Pilley drawing on traditional Scottish songwriting and American soul musrc in a record which is delicately heartbreaking and fragile. but ultimately somehow uplifting in its piano-led musings.
Edinburgh outfit the Sundowns provide a more robust take on the
COuntry sound. with bands like the Jayhawks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers acting as touchstones for their rollicking. gritty $0und. The lazy grooves of the band's two albums so far are occasionally reminiscent of early Fanclub (no bad thing, mind). Evan
Dando or the sadly defunct Vera Cruise.
and the band have recently been expanding their sound to include pedal steel amongst other subtleties.
Both bands are old enough and ugly enough to know which end of a gig rider is which. and the years spent trekking around the stages of the world have leant them a consummate ease on stage. a confidence which always provides a charismatic show without ever seeming too stick or prepared. If it's Quality homegrown Americana yOu're after. there's none better.
(Doug Johnstone)
Whether it’s for island hopping, beard growing or getting folked up, time is definitely on Roddy Woomble’s side.
The start of any new year always gets me thinking about age — my age. and other people's. It‘s 20 years since 1986. which I can remember pretty well. I built a tree house. I got a Raleigh Burner BMX, I discovered Marilyn and it all doesn't seem that long ago. It disturbs me slightly then to think that in 2026. as a 49- year—old man. that this New Year might still seem so close. I could happily spend a good day lying on the couch thinking about this. but I won't.
The only resolution I made this year was to visit all the Scottish islands that I haven't yet been too. Islands are a mild obsession of mine. I don't really know why, but they make me feel detached. make me breath a bit easier, make me feel. even though I'm still in Scotland. that I'm somewhere else. Somewhere even older. I realise I'm in danger of over-romanticising island life; I've quite a few friends who grew up on islands and couldn‘t wait to get off them. but still. as an adult I can read a lot into driving along single track roads in Jura or being battered by wind on an empty beach in Mull as a million geese fly over my head on the way to Canada.
January also means the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. which is always a good time. I can indulge fully in my love of traditional music that is getting stronger by the year. Eventually it'll no doubt reach some sort of saturation point and I’ll revert back to the Iron Maiden and AC/DC records of my youth but at the moment. having Fairport Convention. Julie Fowlis. Dick Gaughan and Richard Thompson all playing in the space of a week, just down from where I stay, is exciting my newly bearded face more than you can imagine.
Roddy Woomb/e appears as special guest to Karine Po/wart at the Garage, Glasgow, Sat 27 Jan as part of Celtic Connections.
1‘.) .Jan 1) Fret) PUG-(3 THE LIST 57