Scoorieboy

Scoorieboy have been doing their thing, mainly in the big smoke of London, for a few years now (this looks like their third release, on Bandcamp at least) but it must be noted that at least one of their number has a place in Scottish music folklore… he being John Mackie, bass player in The Scars (he was part of the Tam Dean Burn-fronted reformation which played some highly enjoyable comeback shows last year, see BM review of their Mono Glasgow show).

Scoorieboy is a collaboration between Mackie (bass/vocals) and guitarist Richard Elson, also enlisting a couple of guest drummers for a couple of the tracks on this album, and it’s a big-hearted record, full of emotion and some care-worn regrets. The first track ‘All The Gold’ in particular is an absolute blaze of energy, with a guitar riff and thumping bass chug which could clean blow the socks off any younger pretenders. Ooft!

As the album progresses through the ‘Lifetime Away’ (chiming guitar intro…) and ‘Waste Your Time’ (“clock keeps ticking all night…”) there are also shades of Springsteen, Americana, Big Country and goodness knows what else, maybe Del Amitri. Other highlights for this listener are ‘Place to Place’, which has some Dream Syndicate vibes, and the more acoustic-led ‘Glow’. The title track has a distinctly country-esque feel to it, John’s vocals cracking with emotion…while closer ‘St Christopher’ fairly motors along with bristling energy, great hooks and a restless atmosphere…

Well worth investigating…