If there’s one thing I dislike about album reviews I read, it’s the ones that basically run through the release describing every song, track-by-track. Not sure why, maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, with this release, such a format is pretty much a necessity, so without further ado…
The Tolbooth Sessions is a 10-track album (available on CD or as a download) produced via the venue of the same name and with the help of creative Scotland – and these industry connections allow a bunch of local acts to be ‘married up’ with some of the top (and significant upcoming) producers in Scotland.
As with any compilation, its a bit of a curate’s egg – good in parts.
Opening track is a curious partnership – Andy Monaghan from Frightened Rabbit produces Johnny and the Giros – a band who epitomise the phrase ‘local band’, with elements of funk, indie and rock, and who are pretty far removed from Monaghan’s band, or indeed most acts in that ballpark. An interesting combination? Well, not really. ‘For Ourselves’ kicks off with some rather nice post-rock(ish) work, but which then disappears like snow off the proverbial dyke, replaced by pretty much the Giros standard sound, albeit nicely recorded I’m sure.
Miniature Dinosaurs are next and are paired with a very experienced producer, though one known more for his work as a record company mogul (and musician). Douglas Macintyre from Creeping Bent and Stow College, and the Sexual Objects, does a great job with ‘Fight or Flight’ though probably not really affecting the style of the band. However, sometimes letting/helping musicians be themselves is an art in itself.
Hey Enemy, meet Rod Jones. ‘Big Trouble in Little Tina’ shows the band off as one who could, had they formed (or even been born) when Idlewild started off, have shown up on a few support slots for the acts that influenced the ‘wild in their early, Captain, days. Jones basically lets the band work out without burying their clear songwriting ability and the overall effect is a bit if a triumph.
Teklo is a ‘producer’ in both senses of the term, and I’m honestly not sure if this is a bit of a cheat, but anyway, this is listed as his track, “Feat. Charlotte Reilly”. I’ll come clean, it’s not my kind of thing. Interesting noises and beats, a wee bit glitchy, but song and vocals, though soulful, do little for me.
Friends in America next – ‘You’re’ – yes, that’s the title – is produced by Errors’ Simon Ward, and there’s some electronic sounds opening this track. The thing with most of these acts is I have no idea how they sounded before the guys behind the desk got their hands on them. However, this is a good effort from a band who sound like they could be in the angsty / noisy Aereogramme ballpark given the chance, but Ward reins them in and lets their song shine.
Rod Jones is back with Black of Night. Ticking Clocks could, have in all honesty, have been produced by him or Andy M, as the band are in that folk rocky genre so common these days. Which makes a change from Oasis-a-likes to be fair. And this is actually a corker of a tune.
I think I have read a review somewhere that suggested Brazil Exists were the big find of this compilation. And I have no complaints with that summary – certainly they’re up there with the top 2 or 3 acts on this album. Like the band who preceded them, they’re very ‘now’, and everything I said about influences applies to this lot as well – impassioned vocals, a bit of accordian, some shouting, and a stick-in-the-head chorus of “I’m melting away!” make for a very impressive debut. This one’s also a Monaghan production but on this occasion perhaps the better match of styles means he does a great job on it.
Actually, let’s add Toy Fires to that top 2 or 3 (or 4, or…). ‘Wire and Steel’ is from that other, tangentially-connected genre that many Scottish bands are aligning themselves with – “Biffy-esque”. There’s something of Guided By Voices’ ‘Motor Away’ about the guitar line but that’s just something that comes to mind – apart from that it’s as Scottish as Irn Bru, Rod Jones’ production giving them a feel of Aereogramme (a band whose legacy cannot be overstated) as well as the poppier feel of Weezer and itm? editor’s faves Won Mississippi (so, admittedly, US emo also comes into play). But either way, another triumph.
If there as one band here who sounded like Idlewild – and their influence also hangs heavy over many of the acts – it’d be Asteroid Party. So, perhaps as well they are produced by Simon Ward. This time there’s, it seems, no temptation to put in Errors-style twiddles and electronic blips. ‘We Don’t Have To Listen To The Radio’ isn’t purely a copy of Rod Jones’ band, of course – but it is rocking guitar pop that they would, I’m sure, be proud to call their own.
Last up, Charlotte Reilly again, but this time in her own right, and it becomes obvious that rather than being a disco diva, she’s a singer-songwriter of some ability. It’s ‘Scream, Retreat’ again but produced by Davy Scott (Pearlfishers) and Jim McCulloch (BMX Bandits, Superstar, and many more). Not much to produce given it’s just Charlotte and her guitar, but sometimes simple is best.
In all, an interesting experiment for sure. And one which, if it unearthed just one act of interest, would be a success. As it happens, it’s achieved rather more than that. If this was a review in the NME, this would be the point that we declare Stirling to be the new Seattle. Well, that’s another thing I hate reading in reviews, but if the cap fits…
Listen to and and download the Tolbooth Sessions, or find out more at the Tolbooth website.