Archive for January, 2008
Rags… to riches?
Friday, January 25th, 2008
New year, new discoveries, right? Well they don’t come much fresher out the tin than RAGS & FEATHERS – a band who have been existence, as a live entity anyway, for just three months.
The Pop Cop witnessed the quintet squeeze onto the Nice ‘n’ Sleazy stage on Wednesday with all manner of stringed instruments to deliver their Belle & Sebastian meets Moldy Peaches repertoire. And it appears that this mighty impressive collective have landed on the Glasgow scene fully-formed.
Main man Tom Davis, ex of Dead Fly Buchowski, clearly has an ear for a right good pop song and a sense of ambition that should see Rags & Feathers become a familiar name on the local circuit in no time at all. So what better way is there to get into the Scottish spirit on Burns Night than by listening to some homegrown sounds and donning a £24.99 kilt from Lidl.
4 Rags & Feathers – Hey Yous
b January 27, The Halt Bar, Glasgow (free)
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Two for the price of Stone
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
The concept of ANGUS AND JULIA STONE is simple. Take a pair of siblings and let them share vocal duties and strum acoustic guitars.
However, what makes the Sydney duo unique is that their singing styles are so dissimilar it feels like you are getting two entirely different acts for the price of one. Angus’ soft tones are very much in the vain of Tom McRae, while Julia goes for a more idiosyncratic approach and comes across as a less quirky Tori Amos.
Indeed, there are many reasons to go and see Angus And Julia Stone at The Beat Club next month. So here are six…
1. They’re very popular in their native country, so the venue will almost certainly be packed with good-looking Aussie expats.
2. They are an authentic brother and sister duo, not like that incestuous White Stripes lot.
3. Natalie Portman is a fan of their music – and she knows her stuff.
4. They are travelling 10,500 miles to play a tiny venue in Scotland. It would be rude not to.
5. Julia Stone sang backing vocals on the Travis song Battleships, so they have an affinity with Glasgow already.
6. Once you’ve downloaded Mango Tree, you can’t help but want to hear a song so beautiful played live.
4 Angus And Julia Stone – Mango Tree
b February 2, The Beat Club, Glasgow (tickets)
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Alexander the great
Monday, January 21st, 2008
According to some scientist trying to justify his research funding expenses, January 21, 2008 is ‘Blue Monday’ – officially the most depressing day of the year.
Today, you are likely to suffer high fevers and low temperatures, your Christmas credit card bill lands on your doorstep with a thud and your New Year’s resolution to join the gym has lost the battle to your five tubs of Pringles per day habit.
The Beat Blue Monday website has come up with suggestions for combating your misery, which include “Try something new,” “Pamper yourself” and “Be nice to a stranger” – and after seeing PAUL ALEXANDER at the Liquid Ship on Friday, The Pop Cop reckons listening to the Glasgow singer-songwriter’s music covers all three.
Alexander sings warm, mellow acoustic songs that belie his 27 years and he possesses an effortless stage confidence. His side-splitting wit was best summed up while re-tuning his guitar when he simply stated, “Generic mid-song chat”. Maybe you had to be there.
Happy Monday, folks!
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