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REVIEW INDIE ROCK
THE FUSILIERS
Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Thu 16 Oct 000
While definitions of what might count as a good local band are varied. there are three broad categories: the ones who fly out from under the radar to astonish with their skill and ingenuity: the ones who perfectly sum up a period of time in their home city's scene without threatening to break out from it: and those who do neither, but still reek of impending success if handled in the right way. The Fusiliers fall into the latter category.
The Edinburgh quintet offer unreconstructed AOR thrills of the first degree. which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps the snobberies of the local scene will never place them amidst the premier league of flavours of the month. but that wouldn‘t mean much if a hopeful A&R man and a big budget production job one day shower songs like ‘Days' and ‘Oh Su‘ in 0- based comparisons to Snow Patrol or even U2.
As it is. their sound's still a bit too unrefined. while singer Gaz‘s delivery and suit jacket-and-jeans are rather uncomfortably reminiscent of Bryan Adams. His voice is strong. though. and all the materials are there to eventually offer some kind of mainstream success. (David Pollock)
64 THE LIST 30 Oct—13 Nov 2008
REVIEW ROCK HOLY GHOST REVIVAL Captain’s Rest, Glasgow, Mon 20 Oct 00
Not only does the Devil have the best
tunes. but he lurks in the detail, and so
it proved for this five-piece, religiously obeying all the rock'n‘roll cliches.
Trashing equipment. leaping out into the audience and sprawling himself across the floor, frontman Conor St Kiley's hi-jinks were unfortunately distracting from respectable songs. including the truly Spinal Tap-worthy ‘The Gospel According to Judas'.
‘These guys put on an incredible live show.‘ a pre-gig warning had dictated, ‘and reviewers are often quite taken aback?
That was certainly undeniable. as. white St Kiley's vocal screeching and shuffling moves were lifted wholesale from Axl Rose. there was something else that took a while to pinpoint.
Firstly. it proved that if you push something to one end of the scale. you end up going full circle. and it was interesting to see how cranking up the macho rock factor to 1 1 ended up being bizarrely camp.
This wasn't helped by his unnerving resemblance to 90s TV teen sensation Blossom, or politely saying ‘thank you for putting up with us' to the crowd. Expect the unexpected indeed! (Emma Newlands)
REVIEW INDIE ROCK THE CREEPING HOBODIES Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, Wed 15 Oct me
Back in the dark(er) ages. The Creeping Nobodies were an imaginary indie band immortalised on a demo tape which adorned the typically slap-dash front cover of The Falls 1980 Grotesque (After The Gramme) album. addressed to 'A Famous Ape'. Well. praise be to Smithsonian music biz pre-cog. because 28 years on, a combo of the same name have become flesh in the guise of this Toronto-born boy/girl quartet. who. on their first sojourn here. beguile, bewitch and bewilder in equal measure.
For sure, initially their bass and tom- tom heavy scritch-and-scratch actually resembles Salford's finest circa 1983 if Mark E Smith had been bumped off and the (No)bodies of Valerie Uher and Sarah Richardson had been possessed with the quietly hissing spirit of Kim Gordon. With Chuck Skullz on bass and wiggy recorder solo and Dennis Amos pounding out the beat. the studiedly spindly result is ooky. kooky and insistently ethereal. In a set drawn largely from 2007‘s Augers and Auspices LP, they reference Hungarian folk songs, incant obliquely and loosen up enough with a captivating presence that suggests they may yet be famous apes. (Neil Cooper)
Tomorrow’s music today. This issue Logan
Say hello to Logan, a good ol’ rawk band from Glasgow. The five-piece have been peddling their anthemic slices of guitar noise since 2003.
I’m sure their name rings a bell . . .
For the past six years the boys have been doing it for themselves, with great success. They've sold more than 8000 copies of their first two albums.and in 2006, became the first unsigned band to have two consecutive singles in the UK Rock Chart Top 20. Things kicked off in a big way. however. after they supported Bon Jovi at Hampden; a UK headline tour followed. and they sold out every copy of their latest record. Cruel Little World. To date. they've sold nearly 30.000 records all by themselves.
Well, whatever next?
They've packed in the day jobs. got a management team behind them and hit the practice studio hard. Cruel Little World will be re- released on 1 November. A 26—day UK and Europe tour with ex- Creed man Mark Tremonti's new band Alter Bridge follows. culminating in a celebratory homecoming show at the Garage on 19 December. As if that wasn‘t enough, big shot Hollywood film producer Gareth West has asked the boys to contribute a song to his latest film. The Jump Off. The demo of the resulting track, “The Great Unknown'. fell upon the ears of Slash, who was so very impressed that he got in touch with the band to ask if he could offer his musical services. (Vincent Forrester)
I Logan play Carling Academy, Glasgow, Wed 5 Nov; the Garage, Glasgow, Fri 79 Dec. For a daily dose of new music playing live in your town visit www. list. co.ul</exposure
REVIE‘N INDIE ROCK
BLOC PARTY
Barfly, Glasgow, Sun 19 Oct 0...
It's no way to endear yourself to a crowd when one song in you announce 'I know it’s a Sunday night and all Glasgow. but this is a Bloc Party show!’ A declaration from Kele Okereke that could easily be taken as a preening popstar sniping because he isn't being shown the requisite love — or perhaps it's just an off-hand joke. Hope is that he only wanted to snap the tiny crowd of 300 — here for this MTV Gonzo Tour Special — out of their isn't-this—weird-seeing-a-big- band-in-a-small—space type gawping.
And it is a treat to see Bloc Party up close like this. and OK. some of the chiming subtleties of Okereke and Russell Lissak's stereo guitar charge are lost (if not missed by many) in the excitement but much of the rattling energy that made their debut Silent Alarm so damn beguiling is here.
lnterspersing the keen, more recent moments of electro-driven fury like 'Mercury‘ and ‘Flux' with glorious renditions of ‘Hunting for Witches' and ‘Helicopters‘, Bloc Party proved their chops in an intimate performance good enough to excuse, or at least obliterate. any rock star posturing. (Marcia Robbers)