i. .-= t; ‘i 7; .. ‘~'
INDIE
MALCOLM ROSS
Ego, Edinburgh, Wed 13 Dec 0..
The sad but true fact of Edinburgh's current music scene is that. unless you have local knowledge of the great bands bubbling under the radar. there is no major scene which might burst forth and capture the imagination of the nation. It wasn't always this way. Once upon a time bands like Josef K and the Fire Engines carved a very creditable niche for themselves as forerunners of the early 80s UK post-punk scene. with Malcolm Ross a key member of thefonnerconnngent
For Josef K fans the highlights of this five-band show. then. would have been Ross' solo set with backing from the Leopards (who also played on their own) and his new band Stac Lee. alongside Fire Engines drummer Russell Burn. Burn also appeared with his brother. the actor Tam Dean. as the folk-punk Burn Bros. yet the most oddly-placed set came from Buckley's Chance. at proper country band featuring Ross and his wife Syuzen Buckley. So it was an eclectic and exciting night. and a fine advert for the city. (David Pollock)
68 THE LIST I ~15) Feb 2007
Desalvo
INDIE SPARE SNARE King Tut’s, Glasgow, Thu 28 Dec
Once proudly crowned the 46th best Scottish band in history by this very organ (one lower than Dogs Die In Hot Cars. but one above the Average White Band). Dundee's Spare Snare are finally getting round to cashing in on the accolade with this first show in five years.
In retrospect. the day after Boxing Day might not have been the most opportune time to do it. because the crowd was slim. Still — as befits a band who were once favourites of John Peel — many men on the cusp of 40 were to be seen nodding along gratefully. Quite rightly so. because Spare Snare are indeed a fine band of guitar-fuelled ironists.
Singer Jan Burnett comes across like a cheerier. Scots Morrissey. albeit one with the mandatory country—rock influence of a (.‘lecade-and-a—Italf ago. Their songs are powerful and. on occasion. funny. and anyone who could requisition Destiny's Child's ‘Say My Name' in pale. Scots indie style is onto something.
(David Pollock)
Tomorrow's music today. This Issue: Rock Action Sing/es Club
Guardians of all things loud, strange and just plain unique in modern music, Glasgow independent record label Rock Action - set up and maintained by post-rock demigods Mogwai - have launched their own Singles Club. Label manager Craig Hargrave explains what it’s all about. The Rock Action Singles Club is basically a series of limited one-off 7in singles exclusively available through our online shop. It means fans of the label can get some great records by bands they may not otherwise have heard. All the releases are on heavy pressed. coloured vinyl so they look pretty nice and
collectable as well. Where did the idea come from?
Obviously there have been labels who have run really successful Singles Clubs before — Sub Pop and Fat Cat spring to mind. But we also wanted to create an outlet for the label where in theOry we could see a smaller band we like. get a COupIe of tracks oft them. press up a single and have it available for people to buy straight away. Basically we wanted to create an avenue for releases that weren't necessarily ‘campaign' orientated. or stuck to the formal processes that
can take a lot of the spontaneity away.
What sort of singles are lined up so far?
The first release is available now from Desalvo. who are pretty hardcore. We‘ve never really tied ourselves down to a specific genre of music with Rock Action though. so I'd imagine that the Singles Club will operate on a similarly open
policy. (Malcolm Jack)
I Brown Flag/Cock Swastika by Desa/vo is avai/ab/e now. For more information about the Sing/es Club and a// other Rock Action releases see
WWW. rock-action. co. t/k
EXPERIMENTAL BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Tremors@Stil|s Gallery, Edinburgh,
Wed 10 Jan 0000
Last time Stills Gallery white-not- guite-cubed space played host to live music was in 1998. when Quebecois baroque apocalypsists Godspeed You! Black Emperor marked their low-key live UK debut before a phone box capacity audience (ignore the eight million who claim to have been there — they're liars) by attracting the attention of the local constabulary before blowing the gallery's fuse-box. This is only mentioned because. eight years on. New Zealand‘s noise conjurer, Campbell Kneale. on the second date of his Scottish central belt sojourn. manages to avoid both interventions. despite being twice as loud as his forbears. Not only that. the lOO—plus in attendance demonstrate just how much the climate has broadened. Then again, with a slowly insistent martial pounding providing backbone and shape to the brain-bending layers of noise fizzing out from Kneale's box of tricks. this is cheerfully old school industrial sturm—und-drang. By the end. it‘s as if Dead Can Dance were marching on Toytown. the sound of triumph crushed underfoot. (Neil Cooper)
INDIE THE ADS King Tut's, Glasgow, Sat 6 Jan
If Glasgow's Ads want to make it they'll have to strike while the iron is both hot. and unsplattered by the remains of every unwelcome Fratellis and View clone that will inevitably crawl from the woodwork during the next year. They're both good bands. don't get me wrong. but in situations like these. imitation is the sincerest form of contempt.
The Ads are not a bad band either. and they don‘t make a bad fist of doing the punky. Faces—influenced barroom rocker sound either. Known by their first names (that 's Kemy. Dave. Murphy and Matty). as so many matey outfits are these days. they deliver a short. sharp burst of chorus-led action that does indeed rock the room — a good thing. because their Myspace-boosted following made the show a sellout. Songs like ‘Medicine' and ‘Take Some Time' were possessed of a certain verve and proficiency. although time will indeed tell whether they turn out to be leaders or imitators themselves. (David Pollock)