..although it’s more like the best new music from the last six weeks as this review is long overdue. But, working to the saying “better late than never”, we are offering you eight examples of the quality, diverse, and sheer magic music which found its way our way in recent times.
There are old friends and new, presenting instant classics, indie pop, rock, folk, electronica, and many other random words which could also be crammed into a sentence such as this. Never mind such clumsy attempts at description, it’s all about the music, and what sweet music it is.
We begin with Lola In Slacks and their single ‘Postscript In Blue‘ which oozes class from start to finish. You would expect no less from a band whose members include Lou Reid, Brian McFie, Lesley McLaren, Davy Irwin and Fiona Shannon, some of who have been heard with the likes of The Big Dish, Altered Images, Craig Armstrong, Mull Historical Society, The Bluebells, and more. Only an elite few can boast such a CV.
From the off it is clear that Lola In Slacks are a band who are the perfect sum of those impressive parts. Everyone plays their role to perfection, making music which is out of time yet utterly of the here and now. Lou Reid’s smoky vocals are to the fore, reminiscent of European Torch singers Francoise Hardy, Marianne Faithful and, more recently, Camille, and also of North Americans Julie London, Neko Case and Laura Veirs. The voice is perfectly matched by the playing, which is quite exquisite. McLaren’s drumming in particular is an understated thing of beauty. Listen for yourself, then go back, play it again, and listen once more. This could be the start of a beautiful relationship:
Sometimes a band come along and knock you sideways, ticking so many of your musical boxes it’s as if someone has been rifling through your record collection. That was the case with the first listen of ‘Atrocities‘ by Dundee’s Stoor. There’s XTC and Wire in there, followed by what sounds like the Psychedelic Furs if they were produced by Rick Rubin, before the appearance of glam rock riffs so bold Marc Bolan would have pinched them without batting a heavily mascaraed eyelid. Then it starts all over again and you pick up something completely different. Taken from their album Fleam, this is ‘Atroctites’ – prepared to be dazzled
The last few weeks saw the 3rd birthday of record label Last Night From Glasgow, who regular readers will be very familiar with. Suitably they celebrated with a party which featured music from Annie Booth, Cloth, Sister John, and Foundlings, one of their most recent signings. Their EP, also called Foundlings, is out now and it is a great introduction for the uninitiated to their angular and instantly memorable pop songs.
Exhibit A: ‘Enemy’, which sounds like a lost Cherry Red Records’ classic and is a must have for any discerning music lover. That’s right, I’m talking to you – you wouldn’t be reading this otherwise. Everyone needs some Foundlings in their life, it’s just most don’t know it yet. Listen below and prove me right:
A new James Yorkston record is always reason for cheer, and his latest long player, The Route To The Harmonium, has been on close to constant rotation on the SWH! turntable since it appeared last month. Yorkston is one of those artists who is unmistakable and unshakeable. He plows his own furrow with a clear idea as to what he wants to create. And what he creates is always essential, and often mesmeric.
He seems to tap into something undeniably Scottish and literary, as much influenced by poetry and fiction as music, with a desire to tell stories in a tradition which follows on from the ballads and spoken word. From The Route To The Harmonium this is ‘My Mouth Ain’t No Bible’, with James coming over like an East Neuk Preacher Man – where fire and brimstone meets fear and loathing. Funny, angry, wry, and possibly rye, it could just be James Yorkston’s defining moment – except his whole career is littered with those.
Dead Fiction came to our attention last year with the release of their eponymous EP which announced them as a band to take notice of. Actually, you couldn’t ignore them if you tried as their epic rock sound makes them stand out in what is a crowded field. As if to prove that very point they are releasing three singles simultaneously on March 29th, ‘Modern Primitives‘, ‘A Plot or Spine‘ and ‘The Crux‘ out on Meraki Records, which may seem to be showing off, but as it promises to “mark the end of the current sound and line-up” you should make the most of them in this form while you still can. This is ‘Modern Primitives’:
It’s the warmest of welcomes back to these pages to the enigmatic and remarkable Natalie Pryce, a band who dance to their own tune, but who forcibly drag you with them on to the dance floor. I do like a band who unsettle you – I’m thinking of the likes of Captain Beefheart, the Cardiacs, Ministry, the Bad Seeds, Sons & Daughters – all of whom carry with them the threat of threats as yet unnamed, as do Natalie Pryce.
This track is ‘Martin Amis‘, and there is wailing saxophone, understated drums and bass, and whispered vocals which suggest pain and pleasure in equal measure. So hip it hurts, this improves with every play, and gets to the dark heart of its subject in four minutes far better than any biography could ever do:
Frog Costume are new to these pages, but I have a feeling they’ll soon become regulars, certainly if their single ‘A Daydream‘ is any kind of indicator. It’s aching and understated pop which breaks your heart as only a great song can. Deceptively simple, yet packing an emotional and affectionate punch, ‘A Daydream’ is one of the best new songs I have heard this year and it makes me desperate to hear more. And any song which features the vocals of Josephine Sillars of The Manic Pixie Dreams fame is alright by us:
In these times of turmoil it’s good to have constants in your life, and Vukovi are definitely, and defiantly, one of those. Since first gracing these pages in 2015 with the single ‘Boy George’ they have regularly presented us with classic upon classic, and they are almost single-handedly responsible for restoring my faith in the heavier side of rock music (along with the late & lamented You Already Know).
They keep that run of success going with their latest release ‘C.L.A.U.D.I.A‘. All the elements are in place – imposing guitar riffs, driving drums, thumping bass, and Janine Shilstone’s soaring yet soulful vocals which add real feeling to their music. If you haven’t encountered Vukovi yet, then this is the perfect place to start:
That’s yer whack for now, but the next review will be with you before you know it as we try to catch up. If you have sent music expecting it to feature here dinnae panic – there’s every chance it could be included next time round. Thanks, as ever, to everyone who sends their music our way. It all gets listened to, and we couldn’t do it without you…
SWH! now has a regular radio show on LP Radio on Monday nights, 7-9pm, and you can catch up with the previous shows, along with all the other fantastic LP Radio shows, right here –
LP Radio – Live
LP Radio – Previous Broadcasts on Mixcloud