There's good and bad to be found in every country, and so as not to waste too much of your precious time let’s just concentrate on the music for the time being . . . So for every Super Furry Animals in Wales there is a Kelly Jones. in Ireland an Ash and a Daniel O‘Donnell, and England. well, one minute it’s Klaxons and the next it’s freakin' Enter Shikari. Horrid. Our fair nation has. of course. always been blessed musically. with the odd minor blips here and there (the less said about Wet Wet Wet the better) and although in this rundown of singles and downloads from the local band scene there's nothing quite as bad as Pellow and chums. a few make a fair stab at it.
The Gems’ ‘Automatic Pusher Life' (Hijacked Records) 0 is an unoriginal scrappy slice of lad rock which proves that Oasis still have a lot to answer for. And then there's Serpico whose debut single ‘Save Me’ (Demo) 00 divulges an unashamed love of Editors and Ivtarisun, which can never be a good thing. Don't even get me started on The Libertines wannabes — thanks to the success of The Fratellis and The View they seem to be ten-a-penny these days. and so we’re left with efforts like the ‘Plenty More Where These Came From Sessions' (Demo) by The Shakes and Acute Riot’s Riot Eyes' (Framingo); a track as embarrassingly tiy-hard as the name would suggest.
On the plus side, it would seem that the modern Scottish music scene is as diverse ever from the frantic electro thrash of DanceLazarus Dance whose ‘Songs Number One' (Demo) 0000 is an adrenaline shot in the arm of even the most cynical music fan. to the captivating tilt of ‘Songs Ya Bass’ (Hackpen Records) 0000 by Dumb Instrument and The Clicks’ punchy girl/boy surf punk ‘Pain Editor’ (Demo) 0000 . For those who prefer their guitars a little heavier there’s always the latest Alamos offering as ‘Silly Icarus. But You Can‘t Really Blame Him For Trying' (Pet Piranha) 0000 finds the fiery and ferocious outfit on top form yet again, riffs weaving and screaming all over the place.
Yet it's the final few releases which prove we're making some of the most innovative musical creations for miles, kicking off with dapper Glasgow foursome Bricolage and their second offering ‘Looting Takes The Waiting Out Of Wanting’ (Fantastic Plastic) 0000 which boasts sunny harmonies. handclaps and ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ in all the right places. Edinburgh outfit The Magnificents also return with a stunning EP ‘OO 00’ (KFM Records) 00000: a dark. synth- driven atmospheric singalong which will stick in your head for weeks. However, both these acts are pipped to the post for Single Of The Fortnight by Sixpeopleaway; an unassuming-looking Glasgow-based chap whose ‘Providence’ (Demo) musingle builds from stunningly beautiful vocals and clipped beats to a sumptuous string— tinged masterpiece. Genuinely heartfelt and utterly inventive — you can't ask for much more than that. (Camilla Pia)
62 THE LIST If; '2‘.) Mar 900/
INDIE THE CINEMATICS
A Strange Education ('TVT Records) 000
Well. here's a band With an identity crisis. On the one hand. Glasgow (juartet The Ciiiematics clearly have a knack for crafting catchy wee pop gems. the unashamed Britpop forays that are 'Sunday Sun' and Chase being stacked to the gills With bree/y hooks and melodies. On the other. the group are desperate to plough a field of worthiness (read: po—faced seriousness). So. while the rocking ‘Maybe Someday" manages to outedit Editors. tracks like ‘Huiiian' and 'Keep Forgetting feel distinctly like the work of Editors Jr. There's a great band in there somewhere waiting to get out. they just have to decide what sort of band they want to he. (Andrew BorthWickI
COUNTRY POP
THE PRIMARY 5 Go!
iReActionI 000
Given that The Primary 5') are the band of ex-
Teenz ge Fanclub (li‘uiiiiiier Paul Ouinn. it's not surprising to find they're III a decent amount of hock to The Byrds. Go.’ or Pure Pop For New People to give the record it's full. swrngin' title is a cheerful number. and one which revisits the sound of the Fannies and BMX Bandits with a fair degree of success. The great opener 'Oll Course'. in particular. could have been lifted from the former band's Grand Prix album. although all of the following continues in a similarly pleasant vein. Which means it's
possibly a little saccharine for more cutting-edge tastes. but West Coast (of Scotland) cowboys will love it. (David Pollock)
POETRY POP VARIOUS
Ballads of the Book (Chemikal Underground) 0...
Of course. just because do/ens of the county's finest bands and authors have collaborated on this album. doesn't guarantee it's going to be any good. But thankfully it is. it's really very good indeed. The end product is unsurprisingly eclectic in nature — meaning. naturally. that not everything will be to everyone's taste — but the heart of this very Scottish record lies somewhere between folk and indie rock. with some truly remarkable examples at both ends of that spectrum. On the folkier side. 'A Calvinist Narrowly Avoids
Pleasure' by James Yorkston and Bill Duncan is a rattlingly funny romp. while Karine Polwart's interpretation of Edwin Morgan's “The Good Years' could make a horse cry with its simple. plaintive melody and sentiment. At the other end. De Rosa and Michel Faber turn in some fabulously offbeat wonk-rock in 'Steam Comes Off Our House'. while the offerings from Aereogramme with Hal Duncan and Malcolm Middleton with Alan Bissett are utterly compelling in entirely different ways.
(Doug Johnstone)
FOLK
THE MIDDEN Where Were You? (Gordon Duncan) .0
Considering the recent leaps forward in folk music made by the likes of Karine Polwart and Seth Lakeiiian. it simply isn't enough these days to be a proficient traditional band with a
memidden
few decent tunes. Scottish fivesome The Midden suffer by such comparisons. which is a shame. because there are some decent moments here they're just too few and far between. The melancholic stuff works best. the title track and the poignant closer “Never Know' being imbued with plenty of emotion. but too often elsewhere the songs are blends of j.)erfunctory instrumentation and cliche-ridden lyrics. making for a rather uninspiring experience. (Doug Johnstone)
INDIE
UNKLE BOB Sugar and Spite (Friendly Sounds) 0...
Like the newest member of an inbred family. Unkle Bob's debut album has numerous musical baby daddies. Like Snow Patrol they formed in Scotland; like Keane they are prone to stirring emotional anthems and singer Rick Webster's voice performs angsty minor key melodramatics a la Tom McRae. Add in some kookier genetic material from Belle & Sebastian and the result ranges from the Gary Barlow- ish effort ‘Birds and Bees' to the fingerpickin' joy of current single ‘Put a Record On'. peaking with the sweet desperation that is 'The Hit Parade'. Luckily this many-headed bastard child has turned out to be the prodigal son. Best at its weirdest. Bob's your Unkle's daddy's son. Or something.
(Sti/anne Black)
Hit/ch .‘/;(’('
PUB ROCK 1 02 MILES
Anywhere But Home (102 Miles) 0
Despite having a guitar- playing singer called Bob Mould. this Shotts-based five-piece are sadly not imbued With the spirits of American hardcore more's the pity. What they are instead is a tediously ordinary pub rock outfit with precious few ideas and next to no songwriting nous. Much of the stuff here sounds
like a really dodgy version of the likes of Oasis. Kasabian or even Reef. It's all performed adequately enough. and the production is crisp. which only makes the lack of originalin on offer all the more crystal clear. (Doug Johnstone)
INDIL
ODEON BEAT CLUB
Odeon Beat Club (Beat Club Recordings) 0...
This has been a long time coming. The List has sat quietly. collecting up demos and singles in a tidy pile until this unassuming guartet finally got a long player out. Thankfully this IS worth the wait: a dozen brittle tunes that alternately rattle With passion or invoke a gentle. melancholic sepia tone. While they don't sound like cither. they invoke the spirit of The Delagdos and The Wedding Present at points: overwrought and emotionally exhausting. But there is a crispness about their music which underpins their big ol' brain and even bigger heart. This is extraordinary stuff. Odeon Beat Club Wlll break your heart given half the chance.
(Mark Robertson)