Don’t get me wrong The Machine Room are one of my favourite up and coming bands at the moment however their Wee Red Bar show didn’t really blow me away. It’s not as if the band were shit because they weren’t. The band was tight and the drumming was impeccable, however the poor sound quality absolutely destroyed the show.

For the best part of the gig the vocals were heavily overpowered by both the audience talking all night and the rest of the band. At times I even struggled to hear the guitars. Obviously this isn’t the bands fault; I put it down to either the sound engineer or a shitty PA.

As I mentioned The Machine Room themselves were pretty good. I think they could inject a bit more energy into their live performance but within time I think they will be a top live act. There is no doubt this band will come onto great things, with a larger catalogue of songs and more live shows they could become a force to be reckoned with. I will most certainly go see them again and just hope for better sound.

Overall Rating : 3/5

Stornoway’s second album – Tales From Terra Firma - shows great ambition, scope and expansiveness.  It mixes elements that you would never expect to work, culminating in a risk-taking, genuinely interesting second album.

‘You Take Me As I Am’ is an excellent start to the album, with its expansive instrumentation, starting off fast yet continuing to grow as piano melds with brass and percussion.  It is a big sound for a quartet, and calls to mind a folk-pop Sigur Ros.  The lyrics come quickly, yet remain catchy, and before you know it the song’s five minutes have come to a close.

Second song, ‘Farewell Appalachia’ continues the strong start but slows down the tempo somewhat and takes on a sound much more akin to Fleet Foxes.  These might seem grandiose comparisons, but that is the kind of stage Stornoway are trying to build for themselves.  Everything about this album, right up to the press releases’ bold statements – “It is an album of stories ˆ birth, death, marriage, coming of age: The Big Stuff – speaks of aiming big, and for the most part they succeed.

However, there are some parts of this record that don’t quite live up to the promise the opening songs evince.  In particular, ‘The Bigger Picture’ comes across as repetitive, over-earnest and slightly grating with lines like, “you may have seen the first star flickering in the park one summer evening / no less faintly than the dream your heart was wishing on.”  However, that blip is short lived and the quality returns immediately afterwards.

‘The Great Procrastinator’ marks an odd point in the album, as some Sgt. Peppers’ Beatles influences mix with an unusual faux-western saloon piano line and a hint of zithers to create a blend which is incongruous and alluring at the same time.

As the album comes to it’s conclusion things get much more contemplative, and the tempo slows down as Brain Briggs sings, “No, I won’t be afraid of the darkness a-coming” on ‘November Song’.  It seems a fitting end to the album, Stornoway have gone big, with remarkable success and then gone quiet, introspective at the end.

With Tales From Terra Firma, Stornoway have shown considerable vision, they have really tried to encompass a variety of themes, styles and instrumentation.  Even in the moments where things don’t quite work, or fall a bit short, the intention is admirable.  Progressing from their first record, Stornoway have evidenced here a real willingness for experimentation that must be applauded and if they can continue on this course their next album could be a real gem.  Regardless, Tales From Terra Firma is a fine start, and I feel they can only grow from here.

Overall Rating : 4/5

Stand-out Tracks: ‘You Take Me As I Am’ and ‘November Song’

Before breaking open the case, I had this really ambivalent uncertainty oscillating in the back of my mind – what to expect? I was candidly hoping it wasn’t going to be a half-cooked record that’s been fashioned purely as an indecent money spinner.
Many vintage musician has walked this re-launch route before – some of the high rollers have included Paul McCartney with I Look Like An Old Woman, Sting with I’ve Grown This Amorous Beard As Justification For Obscure Folk and Mr Bowie’s mate Iggy Pop with I Never Really Left, People Just Stopped Caring.

‘The Next Day’, however, is on course for a number one slot. If I’m right it will be Bowie’s first number one album in twenty years following ‘Black Tie White Noise’.

After ten years of hush (excluding Bowie’s role in Chris Nolan’s 2006 picture, The Prestige) we, as a fan base, were expecting a lot.
We were teased with the single release ‘Where Are We Now?’ (8 January) to celebrate Big Dave’s 66^th birthday but to be honest, I wasn’t enamoured – it was hard work. You want to adore it because it’s David Bowie, but I’m going to put it out there, it was a bit wet – a grower, not a show-er, Dave. What it really boils down to is the fact that the album itself is a collective, to be appreciated and consumed in one sitting.
If you were to show someone 1/14 of Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, he mightn’t be particularly taken with it either.

I’m going to get this out the way first, ‘How Does The Grass Grow’ sticks out like a sore thumb – sounds a bit like the band’s been listening to either too much of The Talking Heads or The Flaming Lips – not 100% on what’s going on there.
Before I even got the chance to consume the full album, ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ was brought to my attention with its accompanying video featuring La Roux’s birth mother (Tilda Swinton). It’s a dark, dramatic yet energetic piece that revolves around the struggle of coming to terms with his inevitable aging. It rings truth as to how iconic Bowie really was – a pioneer, insouciantly traversing time.
‘Dirty Boys’ is everything is says on the tin. It’s sloth like tempo laden with filthy, punchy bass and discordant overdriven guitar slinks lustrously around your ears – really down to earth, with tangible 70s authenticity branded across its arse.

The striking thing about Bowie and his music is that it’s so regal, but at the same time it’s incontestably evident he does not give one single fuck. This is where ‘You Feel So Lonely You Could Die’ comes into play with the trademark, harrowingly high-end strings that burn passion through the choruses. It’s everything we have come to associate with the man. This one’s a high flyer, in my books.

The most pertinent question is; will it tour? So far, all we have is hearsay but Bowie’s wife, Iman, was quizzed she said, “we have a 12-year-old in school, so we’re stuck – we can’t travel. Our schedule is around her, so I don’t know. We’ll have to go visit, but we won’t be on tour with him.”

Bowie’s guitarist however, has said, “He’s fairly adamant he’s never going to perform live again. One of the guys would say, ‘Boy, how are we going do all this live?’ and David said, ‘We’re not’. He made a point of saying that all the time.”
Only time will tell with this one…

The album was never going to be ‘Aladdin Sane’ or ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ but it definitely holds its own as a decade’s silence killer. It hosts all the magnetism and British charm that we’ve grown to associate with David Bowie and it demonstrates his unmatched ability to command an audience.
I doubt I’m alone in saying this – I’ve got absolutely everything crossed that this will put David Bowie back on the road.

Overall Rating : 3.5/5

A highly anticipated album in that, but perhaps not as thrilling as first expected.

‘Bad Blood’ displays the struggles and success of this band from their first widely spread single ‘Flaws’ to the release of their first album, which has seen them shoot to mainstream fame.

The opener ‘Pompeii’, also the second single is one of the most infectious songs to date for 2013, it’s an energetic rendition of the bands personalities and although ‘Pompeii’ missed out on the number one spot to Justin Timberlake’s ‘Mirrors’ (it was inevitable), they are still one of the most talked about bands, and with a sold out UK tour, what more can go in their favour?

They’re a band that portray the corny tween romanticism of music, but undoubtedly entice you to keep on listening; they are slightly irresistible.

The title track ‘Bad Blood’ perfectly demonstrates the type of romanticism music they have somehow caught themselves under – another sonnet to a lost love, and this appears to be the recurring theme throughout the entirety of the album.

It’s an energetic album, flooded by the depressing side of love, with perhaps only three or four notable tracks.

Finally, the first single that saw ‘Bastille’ reach the highlights of mainstream; ‘Flaws’. The sickly sweet track that is overdubbed by the melancholy chorus, but somehow you find yourself bobbing your head along to the synth pop sound that flows throughout the album.

‘Bad Blood’ is a collection of love ballads, sweet vocals and a blissful piano, and perhaps it is that which wins over the hearts of love fantasising tweens.

It’s an album that flows through the theme of love and its pitfalls, very unimaginative but there is something about ‘Bastille’ that warms to you, and their rise to fame is fully deserved.

Their miss out of the number one spot is understandable, Justin Timberlake had it in the bag from day one, but they’re a band who have worked hard to get to where they are today, and ‘Bad Blood’, although just the same as everything else claiming to be the next best thing, really does do something to the pop-rock music scene.

Overall Rating : 4/5

It was almost a year to the day since I first saw Bastille and even then they were incredible and it was obvious that the indie poppers were destined for great things. Now just a mere 12 months later they’re playing in Edinburgh’s third largest venue (The Liquid Rooms), to a sold out crowd on a sold out tour and these guys show no signs of slowing down.

With the boisterousness of an alcohol fuelled Friday night audience you could feel the excitement building in the last few moments prior to the rising stars taking to the stage. Opening with the album’s title track ‘Bad Blood’ the moment the big drums kick in the entire audience’s pent up excitement erupted in thunderous applauds.

Considering the band have been playing these songs for well over a year now it was no shock that there would be some new material cropping up by now and we were treated to a brand new track called ‘The Silence’ a cheeky number with two bass parts to accompany a typical Bastille drum part and obviously front man Dan Smith’s distinct voice.

The majority of the new album naturally had a space in the set as well as their incredible cover of Snap’s ‘River Is a Dancer’ taken from a mix they did last year titled ‘Everybody’s Heartache Part 1’.

There is no doubt that Bastille are just going to get bigger and bigger, their live show has come forward so much and the band seem to be thriving on the reactions from bigger and bigger audiences, if I was asked where I see this band in yet another years’ time I would say that I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re selling out large academy sized venues or even arenas. These boys truly are the next big thing.

 Overall Rating : 4/5

Sitting in the office of Electric Circus, out of breath after following the impossibly quick John Paul Mason (owner of the venue and friend of the band) up the stairs, I’m not ashamed to say, I was nervous. Needlessly, as it turns out. James, all smiles and skinny jeans, polite as you like, is refreshingly every bit as nice in the flesh as he and the band are on twitter.

He laughs when I mention this. “But I sound like a bastard in my music?” he asks jokingly, “I think it’s just one of those things. People say it about comedians; they’re so funny on stage but they’re the most depressing people in real life. It’s kind of the opposite for us. What we do is quite depressing and we get that side of us out [in the music]. Apart from that we’re actually quite normal and enjoy what we do. I’m appreciative as well, I mean, I don’t like to think I’m a dickhead. But aye, I like the fact I come across nice.”

The band’s presence on Twitter is their main link to their fans. Unlike others who have followed a more corporate musical route The Twilight Sad actually interact with their followers; “We’re not a massive band so if anyone likes our music, if they write to us, even just something stupid, I think it’s pretty nice to write back and say cheers or whatever, y’know?”

Last year saw the release of the band’s newest studio album, “No One Can Ever Know,” prompting a British tour which ended at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom on December 15^th. The band was lauded for the performance, which saw fans and industry veterans alike flock to the homecoming. “I don;t know how many were there,” says James. “The rule now is not to ask how it’s sold, it just matters whether it’s a good gig or not. And there are some gigs you don’t want to ask about because you’re scared no one’s actually bought a ticket. It was a weird one, we’ve done tours in the past where one night we could be playing to a packed venue, and the next it’d be to fuck all. We were on an American tour recently and some of those gigs were the most depressing I’ve ever done in my life. Hurricane Sandy hit in New York when we were playing around there, and then the elections were on another night. The New York gig was actually pretty busy, but it would’ve been sold out if that hadn’t happened. People really shouldn’t have tried to come anyway, it was pretty bad.

“Since the last album came out we’ve been to places we’ve never been to before. We played Poland at Off Festival, and we didn’t know what to expect, but there were like, three thousand people in the tent there to see us, singer our songs back to us. I mean, fucking hell, how come no one told us people in Poland liked us! We went to Slovakia, then Turkey, and we played in Greece recently. It’s weird; Eastern Europe has really taken to our band for some reason. Greece was good. We were there for six days, it was like a lad’s holiday. The Athens show was the best, because half of the Greek population live there anyway, so the other two were smaller, but good as well. We were treated really well, and I fell off stage…”

Obviously, James thinks he’s going to get away with just dropping that in there, but he has to explain; “Basically, I had my eyes closed, took one step too far and bang, straight onto the floor. Luckily I landed on my thigh, if I’d landed on anything else I’d probably have broken something. But I lay on the floor, head in hands, thinking “aw naw, as soon as I look up the rest of the band are going to be laughing and pointing at me.” And they were.”

The closed-eyes dancing hasn’t gone unnoticed by the press, many people likening his mannerisms to Ian Curtis. “I suppose you could say it’s a compliment, but it’s a weird one. I don’t want to be compared to someone like that because they were so massively influential and people might think I’m trying to rip him off. I just do what comes naturally, and maybe we look similar, because he felt the same way about what he was doing as I do about it. I hope nobody would think I was trying to be a shite version, if you know what I mean. It’s obviously a compliment; they’re one of my favourite bands ever, so I am influenced by him, but I’m not trying to rip him off when I do all that mad stuff.”

The similarities between The Twilight Sad and Joy Division don’t end there though, No One Can Ever Know is a departure from the past albums, and is more synth based. “The sound of the album isn’t really anything to do with me because I only write the lyrics and vocal melodies. We start really basic, where the songs don’t have any production, we just make sure we have a strong song there to begin with, then Andy layers it up. Andy was obviously influenced by that sort of thing, Joy Division and other bands from that time. We said at the time the album sounded the ay it did because the songs were leaning towards that kind of production, they deserved more space than previous songs did, more room to breathe. We didn’t want to repeat ourselves.”

There’s a self-deprecating humbleness about James that is incredibly endearing. He seems constantly surprised by the turnout at gigs, and the response the band gets from fans. Not only that but he doesn’t listen back to himself on record.  “Once they’re done, they’re done. The only time I listen to it back is if I forget the lyrics or totally how the song goes. The remix EP is different though. I’ll listen to them, there’s hardly any vocals and if there are they’re totally messed about, so it doesn’t even sound like me. I think it was a good thing to do for us to get it out of our system. We were pleased with what came back, and surprised by the calibre of the people that wanted to remix us, so it was kind of cool.

“This is the first time we’ve done a gig like this,” he tells me, “It’s got drum samples and organs and stuff, so it’s not just acoustic because we didn’t want to do that again. It won’t be like Bloc. We’ll be a lot soberer.” According to James they do an acoustic set at Electric Circus almost every year, because of the relationship between the band and John Paul, the club’s owner.  This time though, nobody really knows what they’re getting. “That’s why we were so surprised when [Sleazy’s] sold out so quickly. Maybe it’s because we’ve done the stripped back thing in Edinburgh before a few times. And, because we’re from near Glasgow, people we know come for gigs there.”

One of the things that really fascinates me about Twilight Sad’s gigs are the crowds. This was especially clear at the over 14s Barrowlands concert, I’m almost positive I was standing next to somebodies mum. “It was probably mine! That’s the weird thing about us, I don’t really know what kind of people listen to us. I mean, there’s an older crowd but also, I posted this everywhere, a wee six-year-old lassie wrote to me. She lives on my street actually and I’ve never met her in my life, but her mum obviously knew I was in a band and got the music and now she’s like a big fan. I was like, “Fucking hell! That’s crazy!”” And on top of that, Arab Strap’s singer Aidan Moffat is a fan, and friend of the band. “To begin with, meeting Aidan and Malcolm, because they were the people I listened to, was like meeting your heroes, but after a while I realised they’re just like me. It’s amazing to think that the guy who inspired me to do what I do likes our music. I think that’s the biggest compliment, when people that have influenced you turn round and say, “you’re alright.” Hopefully one day we can do something with him… well… we might’ve already, so there you go, exclusive!”

One thing that had been frustrating me through the entire interview was James’ accent. When I explain that I thought he would sound like he did on record in person, much more Glaswegian, he seems surprised, “Do I not? I just do what comes naturally. My dad’s from Kilsyth and my mum’s from Aberdeen, and I grew up in Kilsyth. But my dad has always discouraged the whole harsh Glasgow sound because he was always like that, “You’re going to go around the world, and speak to nice people, they have to understand you!” And when we go away, I’m the only one people can understand. Andy and Devine? I mean, sometimes I can’t understand them!. I think maybe I’m trying to be articulate right now. It’s like you said earlier, we’re nice, but on record we’re not nice. It’s that bitter twisted side coming out.”

“The miserable Glaswegian side?”

“Aye! Exactly!”

The songs here are folky, with a slower tempo than his first album but the same sweetness and charm, which made those original songs so appealing. The Bunkhouse is a short album, with short songs, only one coming in at over three minutes. However, perhaps this is part of it’s appeal, the songs become like little ditties – poems made song – with meaning constantly elusive and unimportant at the same time.

Opener ‘St. Anthony’s Fire’ is a lovely beginning with it’s gentle picking and flowing dreamlike vocals. It sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album and nothing that follows really strays far from it.

’67 Blackout’ ups the pace slightly as it is strummed along at a canter, although never quite reaching the urgency of old favourites like ‘Be Good or Be Gone’ or ‘Underwood Typewriter’.

The shortest song on the album, ‘Anchor Black Tattoo’ is also one of the most memorable. It’s upbeat picking recalling End of History more vividly than the rest of the album. Add to this the intricate, deceptively dark lyrics, “On the bridge ledge you stand / hold you collar, you try bite my hand,” and the final repetition of the Anchor Black Tattoo motif, which also titles the album.

However, for all the folk goodness on display here there is still a lingering feeling of inconsequentiality. There are no set pieces, no real standout tracks. As a result, it takes numerous listens before the songs really start to stick in. There are no particularly catchy numbers here, and coupled with the short run-time there is a slight sense of an album half finished. Perhaps, this is the meaning of the Vol. 1 in the title, perhaps this is just the prelude to a magnum-opus, which will cement Fionn Regan’s name in folk-lore (pun intended). Somehow, I doubt it, but a boy can hope, and for me this album certainly marks a return to form.

Overall Rating : 3.5/5

Standout Tracks: maybe ‘Anchor Black Tattoo’

Bearded indie rockers, Maps & Atlases released their second album ‘Beware and Be Grateful’ last year and it was one of our favorite albums of 2012. With a UK tour coming up they have released a brand new video for ‘Fever’.  The tour is as follows.

Feb 27 Joiners Southampton, United Kingdom
Feb 28 Hare & Hounds Birmingham, United Kingdom
Mar 02 Art School Glasgow, United Kingdom
Mar 03 The Ruby Lounge Manchester, United Kingdom
Mar 04 Brudenell Social Leeds, United Kingdom
Mar 05 Kazimer Liverpool, United Kingdom
Mar 06 Dingwalls London, United Kingdom
Mar 07 Green Door Store Brighton, United Kingdom
Mar 08 Lousiana Bristol, United Kingdom
Mar 09 Marlowe Theatre Studio Canterbury, United Kingdom

I can recall a great Zombies track – Time of the Season’s, that tired, god awful La Roux (aka Tilda Swinton – honestly, IMDb that shit now) slime, and then there was Overdid It Doll.

Some fashion obsessed, airheaded blonde piece I worked alongside would tell me that the chorus line was “you sold the tank top” (try it, it almost fits) and she would chime in every time, without fail, with the wrong lyrics.

Anyway, having patiently waited the best part of two and half years for some more, I was quite looking forward to hearing what they’d been working on. Good news – ANNA’s not bad.

We’ve got a good balance. There’s a few you could listen to whilst you’re being betrayed by natural light on the unspeakable hangover days (‘Marquee’), and depending on the severity of said hangover, ‘You Want Something You Can’t Have’ could also slot into that playlist. They’re both melodious, tentative, bumph really – nothing to write home about.

The headliner is ‘Lose Control’. This is the kind of thing you should expect to see in the Premiership’s best goals montage. These cats could be the future footy fan’s new go-to guys.
Gallagher used to play upfront but he regrettably got too old and fell apart. Then there was the lank hair of Serge bobbing around in the box for a bit. Maybe now it’s time for the fresh legs of Mr Fray to appreciate the stadium lights with the first team. Just maybe.

In ‘Push Yourself’, which is also a stomper, I came to the sudden realisation, with the heavily accented line, “you stand back, fuck me!” that the editor seems to give me a lot of Mancurian bands to review – coincidence? I think not.
It’s a pretty driving track – the kick and the bass are locked together in a way that you would hope the backbone of any third album band would be, and Fray clangs along, as he does, with his trademark ooh’s and ahh’s. The lead guitar compliments the whole arrangement well, just bending into dissonance in the chorus’ like Bloc Party used to do.

All in all, ANNA’s not bad. She’s a definite keeper and a sterling example of what a band can achieve. But after five years I was hoping for an absolute stellar release I could put on the wall. That space remains reserved.

Overall Rating : 3.5/5

Foals are back with their follow up to 2010’s ‘Total Life Forever’, and it’s no wonder why they made us wait.

‘Holy Fire’ is what any Foals fan has dreamed; dark yet mysterious but all in true Foals style.

They have broken the boundaries this time and pushed their unusual sound to the edge and it works perfectly; ‘Holy Fire’ steers away from anything they have ever released – it shows a very different side to what they can accomplish.

Although a great album, ‘Holy Fire’ has yet to accomplish a similar commercial acclimation as previous releases.

The opener ‘Prelude’ exhibits how different ‘Holy Fire’ is going to be; the instrumental interlude is threatening and mysterious, but somehow still maintains the Foals attitude.

Moving onto ‘Inhaler’, the first single from ‘Holy Fire’, it grabs at the jitteriness of the low-end of heavy rock, pushing Foals into a different direction; a bigger and indulgent sound but somehow, missing the cleverness that was shown in previous releases. It lacks the triumphant return of a band that has been so successful for Britain’s modern music.

The track is fuelled by increasing amounts of reverb but although it isn’t a dominant release, it can definitely suit the swarm of festivalgoer’s.

Drifting away from heavy rock, ‘My Number’ ventures into 80s pop.

It’s provides that dancing attitude that is best known for Foals – mature and confident but somehow whilst Foals have been producing their third album, their passion has caused them to miss out on a Mercury prize, whilst Alt-J snoop the award.

Now it is clear that the second half of the album provides better quality and ‘Milk and Black Spiders’ reawakens the album, its slow start is pricked and re-aroused by the harmonious choruses that is perhaps the best throughout the entirety of the album.

Now, ‘Providence’ grabs you within the first few seconds, it is ear grabbing with its prevailing lyrics and perhaps a very unusual direction for Foals.

‘Holy Fire’ somehow misses the step that the previous two releases managed to acquire, but still a brave album. It is by no doubt an ambitious release and one that illustrates where they are heading. Unlike the previous two albums; ‘Total Life Forever’ [2010] and ‘Antidotes’ [2008] it ventures into darkness, something unexpected from the Oxford quintet. ‘Holy Fire’ fails to live up to the potential of typical Foals but the new direction is in fact a powerful one and it will hopefully provide us with a lot more to come.

Overall Rating : 4/5