The Sound of Scotland
Words by Sarah Moyes
Most of us are pretty familiar with the current crop of Scottish bands. There’s Glasvegas, the whiny fuckwits who sing about social workers and who win the award for the most depressing Christmas album on record. Hailing from Glasgow, their name is an incredibly clever play on their hometown and Las Vegas in an attempt to make Glasgow glamorous. And before them, we let The Fratellis make it to your ears. They earn points for not giving their hometown a pretentious name, but the second they played Chelsea Dagger they lost them all. It’s the indie equivalent to that crazy frog tune which, on second thoughts, may actually be more bearable.
So I guess it’s safe to say we haven’t made a great impression lately, but 2009 is the year of change. So why don’t you dust off that old MySpace account you abandoned as soon as Facebook became cool and listen to some Scottish music that won’t make your ears bleed?
Unicorn Kid
Fuck me, this guy is good. Seventeen year old Oli Sabin, aka Unicorn Kid, is the newest electro/chip music producer on the scene. He’s stepped into his Tardis to bring us some music influenced from a time when games consoles were a lot simpler and slightly less exciting than the boxes of confusion and light that kids fry their brains with today, turning out tunes that sound like the bastard child of Devo and Nintendo.
Smartly latching onto that MySpace fandom of chip music, it seems people can’t get enough of him. ‘Lion Hat’ is the sort of tune that makes you want to pick up 10 glow sticks and dance around destroying the furniture. It’s all very like an episode of ‘Skins’, isn’t it? So I guess it comes as no surprise that his music is going to be featured in the new series.
The Vivians
I can still vividly remember the first time I caught these guys live. It was in this small bar on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow and lead singer Damon Deville (no, I don’t think it’s his real name either) was standing on top of the bar wearing nothing but tight blue jeans, a bright pink belt and black boots. Dripping in sweat, he proudly wiped it on this poor sod’s jacket before leaping back onto the stage.
The band themselves are every bit the dirty glam-rock you would expect. Luckily, they do have the music to match the image and stage presence. It’s all rather catchy, but not in that shit Scouting For Girls way, that makes stabbing a fork in your eye more appealing, but rather more like the New York Dolls catchiness that makes you want to stab a fork in someone else’s eye. The Vivians just make you want to get up and dance, plain and simple. It’s energetic and punky and has more attitude than a thirteen year old discovering angst. Despite them choosing ‘A Human Angle’ for the single, if you want a real taste ‘Divided We Stand’ is a much better choice. Something about it screams punk-rock anthem.
Incrediboy and the Forget Me Nots
Incrediboy and the Forget Me Nots are one of those rare finds who couldn’t care less about being cool. That’s not to say they are uncool, just that they really do care more about the music. They name Elliot Smith as one of their influences, which is always a risky business, and Incrediboy cites ‘a pocketful of regret’ as one of the main components in his music making machine. Luckily for us, that melange of melancholy has produced some outstanding tracks. It is still early days but I’m willing to bet some money that they are going to keep on improving as the year goes on. For now it’s all about the beautiful lyrics and dark whisper like vocals, a perfect and natural mix.
Posted Wed, March 11, 2009
Comments on The Sound of Scotland
Well written piece that has recommended some stellar up-and-coming bands. The section on The Vivians is especially witty and I’ll be keeping my ear out for all these bands. Good stuff Sarah!
Posted by: zaineb | 12/03/2009 at 00:35
Hahaha this article is amazing. I’m dying over the “whiny fuckwits...who win the award for most depressing Christmas album”
Righteous.
Posted by: Kristen | 01/04/2009 at 03:12
Your use of slightly explicit language has been utilized at the right times. Definitely a good piece and I look forward to reading much more work from you.
I must concur that I also despise Scouting for Girls and everything associated with them.
Posted by: Darren | 15/05/2009 at 15:18