The Airborne Toxic Event
Glasgow King Tut's
Friday 30th January
For such a sensational band, The Airborne Toxic Event are potentially the most unpretentious bunch of people you could hope to come across. more… “The Airborne Toxic Event”
We Were Promised Jetpacks / Jesus H. Foxx / The Little Kicks
The 13th Note
Thursday 16th October
Firstly, in an entirely irrelevant observation; allow me to state that there is an unsettling proportion of extraordinarily tall people in attendance tonight. more… “We Were Promised Jetpacks / Jesus H. Foxx / The Little Kicks”
Zoey Van Goey / The Starlets / John B McKenna
Glasgow 13th Note
Thurs 18th September
“Eh, I’m quite drunk”. So declares John B McKenna, offering a somewhat unnecessary disclaimer to his appreciative audience. If McKenna was to be judged solely on his appearance and verbose lyricism, the verdict would surely be something along the lines of ‘tortured artist type’. But his frequent and charming between-song banter (including a plug of his demo cd followed by, “I only made six though”) reveals an unjustifiably modest and endearingly unpretentious demeanour.
more… “Zoey Van Goey / The Starlets / John B McKenna”
The Whip
Trash
Southern Fried
Mancunian four-piece The Whip were described by Lily Allen as “more gratitude than attitude” after a recent appearance on her BBC Three show. more… “The Whip”
Long Blondes
Century
Rough Trade
The Long Blondes’ Kate Jackson would appear to have swapped her tweed pencil skirts and berets for neon leggings and a glittery boob tube if new single ‘Century’ is anything to go by. It’s a stabbing, even menacing song in places, with some early-90s esque synthesisers providing the backdrop. There is some respite however, as Jackson chirps about “lightning bolts” which effectually pushes the record somewhat into the realm of Bananarama-like girlieness! This strangely juxtaposed structure may be alarming to ears of a delicate disposition yet (to use the dreaded staple word of today’s teenagers), is actually rather delightfully ‘random’!
Camera Obscura
Celtic Connections @ Glasgow ABC
27th January 2008
“I dearly like the west…” croons Camera Obscura’s Tracyanne Campbell. The diminutive frontwoman seems genuinely pleased to be back on stage at Glasgow’s ABC, the band’s first Scottish date since last summer. more… “Camera Obscura”
Kid Carpet
Leslie, The Greenside
29th September
Kid Carpet is possibly the perfect example of, well, quite a few things. On the one hand he is a born entertainer possessing an inimitable imagination. more… “Kid Carpet”
Kid Carpet – interview
Kid Carpet – the UK’s top purveyor of Fisher Price electronica – has just completed a Scottish mini-tourin conjunction with is this music? and those nice people at the Greenside Hotel in Leslie. Which is where Laura Barbour met the Kid, to discuss his his sound, his image, and of course, his plans for a musical assault on Europe… more… “Kid Carpet – interview”
Franz Ferdinand
Stirling Fubar
Sunday Sept.9th
Begrudgingly esteemed by many a musical anorak as one of the “better” guitar bands of recent years, Franz Ferdinand are apparently amidst a departure from said style in favour of a more experimental sound. more… “Franz Ferdinand”