INDIE.
WILLIE CAMPBELL
AND THE JUST JOANS Brel, Glasgow, Thu 29 Mar oooo
A misspent youth in Lanarkshire c0uld lead to anything. but for The Just Jeans it's heartfelt. thickly-accenteri stories of dr—zixirted friends and lost loves » that and a trip to East Kill)ride bevig the higl‘. point of the summer.
Evidence of lyric theft from tne \vVonderstuff and the Beach Boys litters their wry tunes. at OI‘CEB latiin- out-letid humorous and poignant; as does the lineage of slightly shambling bands from their home area.
Willie Campbell spent his teenage years in a neai‘lyuwas bal‘U. Astrid. but in the different surroundings of the Isle of Lewis. Abetted by three musicians. much of the short set is still performed solo. though a Beach Boys l't-BIDI‘CIICEE is api:)i'0pi‘iate here too. thanks to some remarkable live sampling which gives Campbell's voice a iiitiltitracked choral feel. I le also debuts a new tune which. he confesses. borrows heavily from Bright Eyes ‘soriy Conor'. Seems that. for youngsters everywrliere. old habits die hard. iSttiart Mclltighi
Willie Campbell
POP
INJUNS
Sabhal MOr Ostaig, Skye, Sat 31 Mar ooooo
It's tough when even the music critics can't categorise your band. Having been called everything from c0untiy. ia/x. folk. rock. punk, funk. disco. l’)luegrass to reggae the Initins myspace coyly asserts pop indie other. where the ‘other' can only mean everything tinder the Sun.
It is no mean feat the". that they are turning people away at the door. Industry friends and fans have come from all over. attracted by the driving beats. brass tomfoolery and general Joyful raucous straiiiash that five Scots and a Dane can make. Trumpeter Drev-r Petrie. taking centre stage. threatens to tip the balance of rock hedonism with his charismatic performance but Leighton Jones and llector lvlaclnnes. ilvlylo's brother) corral the disparate pic'n'mix into the kind of intelhger-tly dtimb i‘uggets of pop lvlika could only pray for.
f you want to marvel at their masterly musical technigue. Iis (-3.” to the album. If you want to have your musical compass re-oriented. catch t'iem live. as Skye sends its Initins oil into the world with a most auspicious start. {Sta/anne Blacki
lento/row. s ."ur:>/’, today. iris i:,:,.ie. [)e fertce
The Fence Collective are often wrongly tagged as an exclusively folky bunch, but there is a much more diverse array of music on offer from its members. To showcase that fact, collectee Gavin Brown aka On The Fly set up De-Fence, an offshoot label intended to cast a spotlight on the furthest corners of Fence, with releases by the likes of Viva Stereo,
Reporter and Con Brio.
Here, Brown talks about the motivation behind the label.
The reason to De I ence '.'.'as ;ust to expand things a wee bit. and ptit out music
members of the collect-ye that
rotiidh't normain be ; ssociated with l ence. lhe
whole I ence tli itg E;(}t;-"‘(:(l to be (ltklfilltl iutiibeieo with the fork tag. and the flea
was to raise Et'.'.’£ll(?l‘(:fif$ of the riiffereitt things gong on. ".‘oz‘e experimentai and
electrontr, stuff.
You’re putting out some sumptuously-packaged EPs of ambient, electronica and eclectica - is the format and presentation
important?
I alway s
ranted De I ence to be an outlet toi i.in‘,'. \ri/e're doing a series of really
tiritited runs of tei‘ inch pint; i I’s. flre ilixtt) sei:es. ai‘d they won". be getting to
pressed. We're also (i()ll‘(] handmade '.'.’O()(i(,‘l‘ box sets: there's a :.I“-ti(}(i (llllOlllil of
them as well.
And what’s it like running a label?
It's hard work but I iove It. It takes up all your tithe and all \ our money. We try to
keep things the l ence way hand making everything. so there's a lot of '.‘.’Olk put into each record. but I enjoy it: it's '.'rhat I've alu'rays wanted to do.
iDoug \JOI‘ITSSIOI‘Itt
I Viva Stereo. On lhe / /y and [reporter a// p/av the / ence Homegarhe. Artsfrufher. Sat 14 5% Sun If) Apr i’ww'.‘r.fericer'ecords.(:oriri. Hie irst three [fl-’5; H: the [)e lertce 70x10 series are out now l‘.’V'.r".«".r'/.(/(3' fericer'ergorzfs.r:oriii.
62 THE LIST '3 .w”. Am 1 "
ACOUSIIC
EMMA POLLOCK EUGENE KELLY AND LUCKY LUKE
Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Wed 21 Mar 0000
“Accustic'. more often than not. equals folk muSic. Even though this is actually billed as ‘Versacoustic' there's still no one better to open a showcase than the band spearlit-zading the genre's reSurgence ~ Lucky Luke t utilising traditional instruments for a melancholy drone. Conversely. on 'Jackie'. they are fully amped up and the most rock of tonight's bunch.
All of which would have made Eugene Kelly proud. His one-man set gains a reverential silence. dedicating “I'm Done With Drugs' to The View. with whom he recently partied met) in Dundee. And of course. a few Vaselines tunes thrown into the mix including a frenetic ias much as he can acousticallyi 'lvlolly's Lips'.
Since lhe Delgados' dissolution. Emma Pollock's solo shov.s have been rare. but. accompanied only by piano. she sounds in better voice than ever and well suited to the stripped down format. Iler trademark touches are still evident. and closer 'The Optimist sums up hopes for her autumn solo album. (Stuart Mcl lughl
‘ll ‘53.
Lucky Luke
On The Fly
INDII.
THE LAW
Buchanan Galleries, Glasgow, Thu 22 Mar 000
Now on tour with The View. the fact that The Law share management with their Dundonian compadres Suggests that they might make waves on the ever expanding Ladrock market before long. While this acoustic Levi's Ones To Watch in store show might not have been the best way to sample them in ftill effect. the vocal bunch of Taysiders orchestrating chants of “up The Law' ~- and drowning out the peacock- haired ligging masses milling around downstairs - suggests they're a band to inspire Iairy affection.
Stripped to a trio for the occasion singer Stuan Purvey doing his best sunglasses at night impression of Liam Gallagher circa 1996. guitarist Stevie Anderson and bassist Simon Donald; drummer lvlartin Donald was absent they did enough to prove the attention grabbing qualities of Faces esgue rockers like ‘I-lot Rod' and 'lvlilk and Iloney'. for many. of course. such blokeish indulgences are to be run a mile from but still. The Fratellis and The View ain't complaining. so there's hope for this bunch. (David Pollocki