Archive for May, 2010

Treasure islands

Friday, May 7th, 2010

The Scottish music scene is undeniably city-centric. If a band isn’t doing the rounds of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness then, for many people, they might as well not exist.

Yet that would mean missing out on a massive amount of talent, and that talent tends to avoid the derivative, scenestery, cliché-addled sound which often comes from being part of a much wider network.

It also helps that these music-making islanders can take inspiration from the most beautiful scenery Scotland has to offer and bring those pure thoughts with them if they decide to head for the blinding lights of the mainland. Here then is The Pop Cop’s guide to the best music our islands are producing.

Shetland is so remote that its capital Lerwick is equidistant from Aberdeen, Norway and the Faroe Islands. Shetland has a rich fiddle heritage, yet also enjoys a thriving heavy metal scene. If your music tastes are somewhere in the middle, here are some acts you should like.

Oscar Charlie – According to their website, Oscar Charlie “moved to Glasgow after inventing music – they were devastated to find that it already existed”. On the strength of guitar-scuzz riot The Do’s, taken from their forthcoming EP due out in June, they really are going places.
Oscar Charlie – The Do’s
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Jack Sandison And The Holy Ghosts – Lerwick-born Sandison is kept busier as the bassist in Edinburgh-based The Stagger Rats, but this is his rockabilly side-project.
Jack Sandison And The Holy Ghosts – Vegas Suicide
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The Red Show – frontman Gareth Goodlad and bassist Chris Cope make this Glasgow-based group two-thirds Shetland. They sound not unlike like The Offspring.
The Red Show – Meek And Uncivilised
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Jordan Ogg – a young man from Lerwick who sings like a girl, but it didn’t do JJ72 too much harm. Currently living in Edinburgh, Ogg is writing and recording songs for his new album.
Jordan Ogg – Too Cold To Call
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Captain And The Kings – based in Glasgow, the melodic quintet boast a Shetland presence with Jolene Crawford providing fiddle and accordion.
Captain And The Kings – Can’t Do This On My Own
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Contrary to popular belief, Lewis and Harris are not separate islands, but connected by a narrow strip of land. Lewis is slightly smaller than its southern sibling, but its population is 10 times greater. Their most significant pop export was jangly guitar outfit Astrid and two of their former members, Charlie Clark and William Campbell, are still heavily involved in the island’s music scene. Clark owns a promotion company called Kiss N Kill Presents and runs Stornoway venue The Jäger Room. Astrid bassist Gareth Russell now plays for Idlewild.

Dotjr – James Reeves aka Dotjr was one of The Pop Cop’s first picks for our Music Alliance Pact, and for good reason. The Stornoway lad has a rare gift for writing accessible folk songs with a pop sensibility.
Dotjr – Forfeit Your Wishes
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The Boy Who Trapped The Sun – now living in London, and with his major-label debut album Fireplace, due out in July, Colin MacLeod is hoping to take his broody, thoughtful folk songs into the mainstream.
The Boy Who Trapped The Sun – Daisies In The Snow
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Can’t Swim – The sonically youthful Stornoway quartet make fuzzy rock with lo-fi American stylings.
Can’t Swim – Orphans
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Let’s face it, nobody moves to Scotland for the weather. But the temperature in Orkney is remarkably mild for such a northerly latitude due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The average temperature for the year is 8°C, and 4°C in winter. Sizzling!

Erland & The Carnival – Erland Cooper is originally from Stromness but left in 2004 and now lives in Surrey. He formed Erland & The Carnival with Simon Tong, former guitarist with The Verve, releasing their debut album in January. Comparisons to Guillemots are spot-on.
Erland & The Carnival – My Name Is Carnival
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Bronto Skylift – not just the global market leader in truck-mounted hydraulic platforms, but a dirty, noisy rock duo based in Glasgow who share management with We Were Promised Jetpacks. Drummer Iain Stewart is from Kirkwall, which makes Bronto Skylift 50% Orcadian.
Bronto Skylift – Eagle/Falcon
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Half Cousin – Kirkwall schoolfriends Kevin Cormack and Jimmy Hogarth moved to London and released the second of two Half Cousin albums in 2007. They seem to have disappeared from public view recently and taken their wonky pop with them.
Half Cousin – Jim’s Crash Memory
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The enigma that is Mylo showed the mainstream that islanders aren’t just folk and fiddles. It has been six years since Myles MacInnes’ univerally loved debut album Destroy Rock & Roll shifted 200,000 copies – not bad for something the south Skye native cobbled together in his bedroom on an Apple Mac G4.

Injuns – eclectic, ideas-filled band featuring Hector MacInnes, Mylo’s brother and live drummer.
Injuns – Iyo
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Niteworks – an electronic fusion act now based in Glasgow, with the occasional blast of bagpipes.
Niteworks – Tank
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The Picturebooks – the brainchild of Ishbel Strachan, a graduate of the Belle & Sebastian/Camera Obscura school of twee.
The Picturebooks – Maude
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Mention music and Bute, and many people will probably think of the tragic story of Lena Zavaroni, who grew up in Rothesay, the island’s only town. But there’s one new group hoping to make their own mark in pop culture.

Ardentjohn – singer Keiron Mason and bassist Al Shields, former primary schoolmates in Bute, formed the band after bumping into each other in Edinburgh. Their debut On The Wire slipped out at the turn of the year and is a highly accomplished folk-rock album that doesn’t disappoint.
Ardentjohn – One Step Behind
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Islay is known as the Queen of the Hebrides and is famous for its birdwatching and whisky, with eight distilleries on an island with a population of just 3,500.

Foxface – although the band is based in Glasgow, bass player and backing vocalist Jenny Bell is originally from Islay. Foxface’s brooding debut album This Is What Makes Us came out in 2007.
Foxface – Monster Seas
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Mull Historical Society put the island on the music map. And while singer Colin MacIntyre now goes by his own name and has relocated to London, there are other talents hoping to leave their own legacies.

Sorren Maclean – the 20-year-old grew up in Mull but now lives in Glasgow. As well as his own material, which is excellent, he has been writing with Roddy Woomble for the Idlewild man’s next solo album and is a member of both Kitty The Lion and Colin MacIntyre’s live band.
Sorren Maclean – Bus Tax And Bars
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Homework – the Edinburgh-based experimental electronic pop quartet boast a guitarist, Ross Baird, from Tobermory, and aren’t too dissimilar to The Phantom Band.
Homework – All I See
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