Archive for November, 2010

Live review: Jimmy Eat World @ Barrowland, Glasgow

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen JIMMY EAT WORLD at the Barras so I know the drill – generous doses of devilishly catchy guitar melodies, thrashy rock and thoughtful ballads. The Arizona guys do each of these things equally well, which is why their fans don’t tend to be pigeonholed to genres such as indie or emo or rock.

The problem, one which is common to bands with the longevity of Jimmy Eat World, is that their seventh album Invented, released two months ago, just isn’t on a par with what has come before. So when they begin their gig in Glasgow with old favourites Bleed American and A Praise Chorus then follow it up with newcomers My Best Theory and Coffee And Cigarettes, it feels like you’re hearing inferior versions of the same songs.

But even though the audience reaction visibly sags, the band have plenty in their back catalogue to lift the mood in an instant. An airing of Let It Happen, for instance, reveals the Chase This Light album track to be an underrated gem and offers a great example of why Jimmy Eat World have never been tagged a ‘singles band’.

Other reminders soon follow. The unflinchingly epic 23 is worth every second of its seven minutes and is still the most wondrous thing they’ve ever put on record, while the acoustic guitar comes out for both Movielike – a rare moment of brilliance on Invented – and the affecting Hear You Me, which draws the loudest singalong of the night.

Jimmy Eat World’s shout out to local heroes We Were Promised Jetpacks, who recently supported them on their North American tour, gives singer Jim Adkins a chance to cruelly turn the spotlight on keyboard player and backing vocalist Courtney Marie Andrews, who ends up getting playfully booed by the crowd when she refuses to do a Scottish impersonation.

The band end their pre-encore set with two songs from their 1999 album Clarity. Fans’ favourite Blister, a jagged slab of driving rock with guitarist Tom Linton on lead vocals, makes way for the sparse Goodbye Sky Harbour, whose repetitive refrain has long outstayed its welcome by the time it turns into a Doves-like instrumental wig-out.

Thankfully, Jimmy Eat World know which buttons to push and they delve back into their Bleed American album for the last two songs of the encore, The Middle and Sweetness, to ensure not only that the night ends just as it started, but that the many highlights of their set become fantastic memories.

Jimmy Eat World – (Splash) Turn, Twist

Jimmy Eat World – Last Christmas (Wham! cover)

*Photo taken by Jimmy Eat World at Glasgow’s Barrowland on November 19, 2010

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Exclusive: Frightened Rabbit quit FatCat to sign to Atlantic Records

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

FRIGHTENED RABBIT have signed to major label Atlantic Records, ending the band’s three-year association with FatCat, who released their first three albums – Sing The Greys, The Midnight Organ Fight and The Winter Of Mixed Drinks.

The Scots will now be label mates with the likes of Paolo Nutini, Metallica, Missy Elliott, Bloc Party, Plan B, Death Cab For Cutie and James Blunt.

Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison wrote on his Facebook page on November 10: “Just signed on the dotted line. No… wait. It’s actually a solid line. And there’s not even a line on this one, just 3 brackets. Either way, it’s fizzy wine night…”

In an interview with The Pop Cop before The Winter Of Mixed Drinks was released, Scott spoke about why he was glad their third record was coming out on an independent label.

He said: “If you sign to a major then the album wouldn’t have sounded like it did, it might not have come out at the same time, we might not have been free to put the content on as we wished, things might have been shifted around. So I wouldn’t complain about it for a second the way that it’s panned out. It feels earned. Everything we have achieved has been earned.”

Frightened Rabbit – Soon Go

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Music Alliance Pact – November 2010

Monday, November 15th, 2010

It’s time for this month’s edition of the Music Alliance Pact, a global trot through the jungle of music to find exotic creatures you never even knew existed. I find it helps if you imagine David Attenborough narrating all the artist descriptions below.

To download all 34 songs in one file click here

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Bwani Junction – Two Bridges
You should know fairly instantly whether Edinburgh’s Bwani Junction are the band you’ve been waiting for when I tell you that they sound like a cross between The Libertines and Vampire Weekend. They are unsigned but, given the buzz that surrounds them, probably won’t be for much longer. Two Bridges is already a singalong anthem among their rapidly increasing fanbase.

November 27, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh (Sneaky Fest) (tickets)
December 18, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
January 7, King Tut’s, Glasgow