Another one of the year’s best albums. Just download it, you won’t be disappointed.

Holy shit. I’d been looking forward to this album for so, so long, and having witnessed their incredibly intense live show at the T in the Park, expectations had simply been raised higher. I’m not sure if it’s just me, I know there’s a great amount of hype around this band, but I feel they deserve more. The T Break stage wasn’t even nearly full when I saw them. Anyway, I think this album is mindblowing. After 3 or 4 listens I’ve already come to the firm conclusion that it’s one of my favourites of the year, in a year that has had its fair share of insanely good albums. The Big Pink might not be breaking new musical ground on this release so much as altering and improving already existing formulas. The blend of reverb drenched guitars, dreamy vocals, gritty electronics and huge choruses makes a winning team. Please listen to this, I implore you.

Named after a tiny village in Fife, Findo Gask are one of my favourite Scottish acts around at the moment. In fact, scrap that, they’re one of my favourite bands period.  I caught them playing at T in the Park on the BBC Introducing Stage and the infatuation really began there, live they are utterly entrancing. 2009 is the perfect year for the Glasgow 4-piece, with bands such as Passion Pit gaining a fair degree of mainstream attention, Findo should have no problems whatsoever.

The band first came into being at St. Andrew’s High School in Kirkcaldy, Fife (my former educational home) with frontman Gerrard and bassist/synths player Greig playing Battles of the Bands and such like, as a two piece. Then friend Michael was brought into the set up on drums, to replace the drum machine they had been using prior to his introduction to the band. All members of the band have had some form of classical music training which may go some way to explain the band’s brilliant compositions. The group took it’s modern form when the 3 met Gavin at university, and he arrived with an array of peculiar electronic instruments that helped transform them into the perfect electro pop band they are now.  With two singles under their belt, a friendship with Scottish heroes Franz Ferdinand and a split 7 inch released with fellow Glasgow band Errors, Findo are a band to watch out for.

Check the album artwork for downloads.

The new single by St Alban’s three piece Friendly Fires is perhaps one of the best summer tracks I’ve ever heard. This song fills me with a joy like no other.  Even the video makes me very happy. God bless Friendly Fires.

Yet another band hailing from my native Fife, Tango in the Attic are one of the newer bands which Fifers can truly be proud of.  Having recently had their song “Jackanory” featured in Schuh’s very first television advert and playing the T Break stage at this year’s T in the Park, the Glenrothes 5 piece’s fortunes seem to be on the rise. Describing their own sound as “East Coast Lo-Fi Garage” they have often drawn comparison to bands such as Vampire Weekend and even Talking Heads from some sectors of the press. I have been lucky enough to see Tango several times in the past, as they evolved from their high school days as Ellipsis into their current day state. They have currently released two singles, “Jackanory” and a split with friends Be A Familiar, “Blunderground” and intend to release an EP at some point this year and garner industry attention, despite having been approached by several small labels. Catch them live in a small venue near you before they blow up.

http://www.myspace.com/tangointheattic

Kyte are a four piece from Leicestershire that create insanely beautiful pieces of music that has been labelled as post-rock and shoegaze by some. They do not make the kind of post-rock music that many will instantaneously think when they hear the oft thrown about tag. Kyte are more electronically directed in their sound and although lacking the build up then climax of a lot of other post-rock music, their songs are a climax from start to finish. This music is magical. You simply need to hear this band.

Kyte (2008)

Two Sparks, Two Stars (2008)

Science For The Living (2009)

Right. Shit. Crap. Where have I been. If this blog was bigger you’d miss me, but it’s not. Yet. I’m so lazy, but what with exams coming up and everything I haven’t had much time for writing blog pieces. Anyhoo, here’s an album for y’all to eat right up.

Adam & The Ants are a well known, but underrated band. Mostly remembered for their later new wave hits crossover hits such as Prince Charming and Stand & Deliver, all spiky guitars and catchy hooks and the eccentricity of frontman Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard). This, their debut album, is a different beast. Darker, more eclectic and brooding than later works like Kings Of The Wild Frontier and Prince Charming which have a much more “pop” orientated sound, this album appears to me to be ignored by many it is a fantastic post-punk record. When I say this album is not a pop/new wave album that doesn’t mean that it lacks hooks as songs such as Cleopatra and Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face) show more than adequately. Being a huge fan of post-punk music myself I would’ve been very interested to see where Adam and his Ants would have ended up had they continued down this dark pathway. Anyway for any fans of late 70s/early 80s punk music this album is a must listen.

King Creosote is Kenny Anderson, a man hailing from my homeland, the marvellously and resolutely shite, Kingdom of Fife. Earlier this year I had been becoming increasingly dismayed with my area of Scotland’s lack of anything to be proud of musically, I was hoping that something new was going to jump up and get my musical juices flowing. Alas, nothing jumped. After listening to terrible sub-Libs band after terrible sub-Clash band I was losing hope…

That was until I heard about a man named James Yorkston’s album “When The Haar Rolls In”. This superb album was released by a man, from Fife? On a label, based in Fife? What? How did I not know about this. My own naïvety had meant that I had been missing out on a truly exciting scene just a few miles up the coast in the sleepy East Neuk. With artists such as James Yorkston, The Pictish Trail, Adrian Crowley, Kid Canaveral, Ballboy, Malcolm Middleton, Adem, Viking Moses and The Aliens connected to the mysterious Fence Collective I had to check it out. Kenny Anderson is the leader of this merry band of musicians, and is my favourite out of the lot of them although there’s many of them who have not yet graced my ears with their presence.

King Creosote is often considered to be the spearhead of a new wave of British folk music, but the Collective prefer the term “singer-songwriter”. Do not be put off by this. This is not singer-songwriter in the vein of your Blunts, Morrisons and Mrazs. No, this is something infinitely better.

Having been creating records under the pseudonym since around 1995, KC has recorded over 40 albums worth of material, many of which are incredibly rare and difficult to hunt down. I’m going to supply you with all of the albums that I have and hopefully you’ll be intrigued enough to continue to delve into it. Swapping between the folkier stylings of “KC Rules OK”, to the poppier melodies to be found on “Bombshell” with odd electronic splashs of sound such as those found on new album highlight “No One Had It Better” from “Flick The Vs”, Anderson has created a rich audio tapestry for the listener to sit and pick apart. KC is one of my favourite finds so far this year, hopefully he will become one of yours as well and receive the success he has been deserving of for over a decade.

Kenny And Beth’s Musakal Boat Rides (2003)

KC Rules OK (2005)

Bombshell (2007)

They Flock Like Vulcans To See Old Jupiter Eyes On His Home Craters (2008)

Flick The Vs (2009)

Unfortunately Fence Records have asked me to remove these links, but please support this fantastic label by buying these magnificent albums.

Fence Records

Hey, I haven’t done anything here in a few days, but I’ve got a big post coming that I hope you’re gonna enjoy

Last night me and a friend went through to Glasgow to see Friendly Fires play  at the ABC, having been upgraded from the smaller QMU. I’d heard rumours of Friendly Fires live prowess and really enjoyed their debut album (check photo) so thought I’d see if the rumours were true.

The gig started off with who we initially thought to be a drum tech, sitting alone on the stage at the drums. Then the lights went down and some 8-bit styled electronic music starting beeping it’s way into our ears and the drummer began to play. This was a set up I had never seen before, a lone drummer playing with backing music he had created and it was surprisingly enjoyable. Today I discovered the artist was Wax Stag.

Next up were Hockey. I had only heard a couple of the Portland band’s songs before the gig, with highlight “Song Away” being  just as good live. Songs such as “Work” were greatly improved when performed live, with the frontman’s dancing only later beaten by Ed MacFarlane’s.

Friendly Fires then came to the stage. The 3-piece were backed with an additional drummer/percussionist/bassist, keyboard/synths/guitar player, a trumpeter and saxophonist and were explosive from the start. Opening with “Lovesick” they played the debut album in it’s entirety through the course of the evening, although not in the correct order. Personal highlights were “Jump In The Pool”, “Paris” and “White Diamonds”, with frontman Ed Macfarlane dancing like a modern day Mick Jagger, his performance was incredibly strong and is one of the most charismatic and likable frontmen that I have had the pleasure of watching. Every hip shake provoked a smile, a wolf whistle or some form of imitation from the crowd, whipping them up into a frenzy that culminated with encore song “Ex-Lover”. Guitarist Edd Gibson creating a blast of noise by using a handheld vacuum on his guitar, a hurricane of sound emnating from the amps, with an extended 4 minute jam thrown onto the end of the song being one of the best moments. Friendly Fires bring the party, now who has the alcohol?