Tag: Glasgow Scotland UK

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Franz Ferdinand Perform “Always Ascending” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”

Currently comprised of founding trio Alex Kapranos (lead vocals, guitar), Bob Hardy (bass) and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals), along with newest members Julian Corrie (keys, synths, guitar and backing band), who joined last year, replacing founding member Nick McCarthy and the recently added Dino Bardot (guitar), the Glasgow, Scotland, UK-based indie rock/post punk act Franz Ferdinand formed back in 2002.  And with the release of their first two singles “Darts of Pleasure” and “Take Me Out” the members of the Glasgow-based indie rock act quickly saw commercial and critical success — with “Take Me Out,” becoming the band’s signature song, as it eventually peaked at #1 the UK Singles Chart, and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal. Additionally, their eponymous, 2004 full-length debut received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album and won the Mercury Prize, helping the Scottish indie rockers to establish themselves at the forefront of the early 2000s post-punk revival movement. 

Their 2005 Rich Costey-produced sophomore effort, You Could Have It So Much Better was released to critical and commercial success with the album peaking within the Top Ten Charts in multiple countries, and as a result, the album received a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album with album single “Do You Want To” receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal. However, with 2009’s Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, the members of the Scottish indie act moved away from the post-punk sound that first won them international attention to a much more dance floor oriented sound — all while continuing an impressive run of commercial and critical success. They promptly followed that up with a remix album of Tonight, titled Blood, which was released that summer.

2013 saw the release of Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action but they managed to follow that effort up by teaming up with Sparks to form indie supergroup FFS, which released their self-tiltled album in 2015. Now, you may recall that Franz Ferdinand’s fifth album Always Ascending was released on Friday, and from the album single “Feel The Love Go,” the band has continued with a disco-leaning take on the Gang of Four-like post punk that first won them international attention — but with warm blasts of Hall and Oates/blue-eyed soul era saxophone that gives the song a quirky quality. “Lazy Boy,” much like its predecessor is a sleek, dance floor friendly track with a funky, disco-inspired bass line, four-on-the-floor drumming and a slick hook; but interestingly enough, the song finds the quintet at their most adventurous and mischievous, as the song also features twinkling synths and a loose, Rolling Stones “Emotional Rescue”-like vibe.

Recently, the renowned Glasgow-based post-punk act was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform album title track Always Ascending, a sleek, dance floor friendly song that in some way seems to nod at Talking Heads’ cover of “Take Me to the River” — but with surprisingly soaring and infectious hook. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of  founding duo Albert Kawmi and Calum Muir, along with four other collaborators, the Glasgow, Scotland, UK-based electro pop act Sun Rose, which specializes in what the act has dubbed “maximalist, melodramatic, funk-pop” can trace their origins back to about 2008 when they formed under the name Nevada Base. And during the period of roughly 2008 – 2013, the band, along with Gus Wemyss had been extremely active in Glasgow’s music scene, until the act’s founding duo got sidetracked with serious life issues — jobs and raising families.

As the story goes, the duo had begun recording an album in 2014 and the recordings had sat dormant for over year, until the act’s former member Wemyss returned to Glasgow and began to finalized many of the album’s arrangements and flesh out the material. When the act’s founding duo heard the completed album, they were so impressed that it needed to be released. As the band explained in an email to me, the completed album re-focused the members of the band to start over with a new name — Sun Rose. But despite the change in name, the band’s latest album, The Essential Luxury Album will further cement their reputation for crafting slickly produced, dance floor friendly synth pop; in fact, the album’s first single “Smirk,” will remind some listeners of mid 80s New Order, Cut Copy and No Zu, as a propulsive and sinuous bass line, shimmering synths and call and response vocals are paired with layers of percussion and enormous hooks. And while also subtly leaning at house music, the song manages to be arguably one of the most dance floor friendly songs I’ve come across this year.

Filmed by James Vincent Gillespie and Brian Sweeney on location in Sweeney’s kitchen and in the homes of many of the Last Night from Glasgow crew, the video employs fittingly 80s-inspired graphics and animations in a creepily psychedelic fashion.

 

 

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Upcoming Scottish Indie Act Releases a Gorgeous and Atmospheric Cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Over You”

Comprised of Mairi Fenella Whittle (vocals) and Jack Boyce (guitar, piano), the Glasgow, Scotland-based indie rock/indie pop duo Fenella can trace their origins to when they were both studying and discovered a mutual love for Elektra Records’ mid-late 1960s releases, which included the work of Nico, The Doors, Love, Tim Buckley, as well as The Velvet Underground, Neil Young’s doom trilogy and jazz. After working and building upon Whittle’s song ideas, the duo made their live debut last year, and with some sporadic shows across their hometown, began to see growing local attention; in fact, the duo played at Glasgow’s King Tuts Wah Wah Hut for the venue’s New Year’s Revolution Festival earlier this year.

Signed to new indie label, Little Tiger Records, run by Riverside Music Business students, under the aegis of lecturer and Creeping Bent Records’ Douglas MacIntyre, the young duo have released a number of singles, including their latest single, an eerily atmospheric and haunting gorgeous, Scott Walker-esque/Mazzy Star-esque cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Over You,” that features Whittle’s aching, torch burning vocals paired with a simple and sparse arrangement of strummed guitar and piano.

Directed by Neil Mckenzie, the video employs a relatively simple concept — a close up of Whittle, as she’s staring directly into the camera, and at us with a pensive yet feral longing and eyes glassy from tears. At one point, we see her wipe tears from her eyes, and it further emphasizes the heartbreak at the core of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Introducing Scotland’s Acrylic and Their Soaring and Anthemic Single “Coast”

Initially formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK and comprised of Andreas Christodoulidis, Ross Patrizio, Ruairidh Smith, Lewis Doig and Jack Lyall, the Glasgow-based indie rock quintet Acrylic specialize in an atmospheric and intricate psych rock — and with the release of singles like “Awake,” and “Overrun,” airplay on XFM Scotland, Amazing Radio and BBC Scotland and a sold-out, headline show at Glasgow’s Hug and Pint last month, the quintet have seen a rapidly growing national profile. And building upon the buzz that the band has been receiving, the band’s lated single “Coast,” produced by Paul Savage will further cement their burgeoning reputation for crafting brooding and atmospheric psych rock with anthemic hooks — although it possesses an unusual song structure in which there’s a short and dreamy introduction, a couple of short verses, a repeated refrain/chorus that brings in a series of dreamily atmospheric and soaring hooks in a fashion reminiscent to the likes of Foals and others.

Interestingly, as the band’s Ross Patrizio explains in press notes “‘Coast’ is Acrylic’s oldest song. We’ve had it in some form pretty much since the band started. Andreas [Christodoulidis] and I used to write songs separately, then bring them to the band, but this was the first we wore together, and so it’s always been on elf our favorites. It has a weird structure, and we don’t have any other songs like it. it’s definitely one of the most upbeat Acrylic song; it’s fun to play live.”

The recently released video begins with a man, presumably one of the band members bathing in one of the most gorgeous settings you can set your eyes in time elapsed footage, before cutting to the band performing the song in a studio/rehearsal space and ending with a time elapsed footage of the beach we were introduced to at the beginning of the video.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Tongues’ Arena-Friendly Synth Pop Track “Religion”

Tongues is an up-and-coming (and somewhat mysterious) Glasgow, Scotland-based electronic pop artist, who has built up quite a bit of buzz across the UK. He recently performed at the Introducing Stage at the T in […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Lavinia Blackwell (vocals, organ piano, electric guitar and glockenspiel), Mike Hastings (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and vocals), Alasdair C. Mitchell (electric guitar, organ, glockenspiel, and vocals), Alex Neilson (drums, percussion, whistle, and vocals) […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

There are certain events of our lives that can seem to us as though they were preordained by a higher power and not by the randomness chance that pervades most other aspects of our lives. […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Okay, so I think that the Glasgow, Scotland, UK-based trio, the Amazing Snakeheads may well be one the best new bands this year in my opinion as the band’s forthcoming album Amphetamine Ballads is the soundtrack to the […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Honeyblood is the Glasgow, Scotland-based duo of Stina Tweeddale (vocals and guitar), and Shona McViccar (drums). Their debut 7 inch single “Bud” was produced by Rory Atwell (known for his work with Veronica Falls), and […]

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Over the past year, Mogwai released their critically well-received Sub Pop Records full-length, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will and the acoustic EP, Earth Division, and as a follow up the Glasgow, Scotland-based band will be releasing A Wretched […]