Wake The President
Bill Drummond
Mao Disney
Wake the President’s new single pays homage to leftfield provocateur Bill Drummond in winning style more… “Wake The President”
We Can Still Picnic
Mao Disney (Fluxing Up the Aesthetic)
We Can Still Picnic
The We Can Still Picnic collective have brought together an intriguing compilation from some of the more obscure and underrated acts in Scotland on white vinyl. more… “We Can Still Picnic”
Frank Eddie
(Let Me Be) The One You Call On
Impotent Fury
Frank Eddie is the alias of Fred Deakin of Lemon Jelly, and this is his second vinyl only release through his own ‘Impotent Fury’ imprint. more… “Frank Eddie”
The Big Pink
Future This
4AD
The Big Pink’s second album kicks off with ‘Stay Gold’, a massive sounding, radio-hugging beast of a song that’s hard to resist. more… “The Big Pink”
In Place of Hope
In Place of Hope
self-released
Southampton metalcore outfit In Place of Hope certainly pull no punches with ‘Lifelines’, the opener to this three-track, self-titled EP. more… “In Place of Hope”
RM Hubbert
Thirteen Lost and Found
Chemikal Underground
Hubbert’s acclaimed debut ‘First and Last’ was very much a solo pursuit- literally one man and his guitar, with occasional percussive backing. more… “RM Hubbert”
Wake the President
Teenage kicks
interviewed by Gavin Porter
“A lot of the album is about different relationships I‘ve had and the chaos and neurosis that goes along with them,” says Erik Sandburg, Wake The President’s chief songwriter. “I had a lot of pent-up emotion which I just put into the songs.” more… “Wake the President”
Wake The President
Zumutung!
We Can Still Picnic
Wake the President‘s debut in 2009 was greeted with a warm critical reception, but the band’s deft pop songs didn’t reach as wide an audience as they probably deserved. Undeterred, the Maryhill bohemians are back with their second effort, the gloriously named ‘Zumutung!’ (the German word for ‘imposition’) more… “Wake The President”
Mark McCabe
When I Grow Up
Brave Or Invincible
Mark McCabe is a young Aberdonian who wears his heart on his sleeve. McCabe recently relocated to Paris, and it would seem the move has inspired much of the material on ‘When I Grow Up’. For example, on ‘I Used To Be Eloquent’ McCabe laments his flimsy grasp of the French language and berates himself for being an ‘ignorant foreigner’.
The downtrodden singer-songwriter unburdening himself of his woes is a bit of a stereotype, but McCabe’s songs are clearly lovingly crafted. There is a real wit to some of the lyrics and songs like ‘Salt and Pepper’ have a strong emotional pull.
The EP finishes with a cover of ‘Just Go Home’ by Aberdeen band The Xcerts. It’s a fine track that works a treat when given the acoustic treatment and it’s a testament to the strength of McCabe’s own material that it slots in nicely with the rest. The personal nature of McCabe’s songs could be a bit ‘emo’ for some, but to these ears they carry an honesty and sincerity that lifts them above the angsty-songwriter pack.
Kraul
Social Cycle
White Label
What Kraul’s sound lacks in subtlety it makes up for with energy. The Blackpool trio have based themselves in Glasgow and clearly draw influence from early nineties grunge mainstays like Nirvana and Dinosaur J. In truth there is more to Kraul than first meets the ear, with plenty of addictive hooks emerging through the distortion. A band with plenty of potential.