Elba Sessions

Lets just address the rather large elephant in the room straight off the bat. You know the one? Its got the giant red ‘T’ stamped on its side? While the internet has been abuzz with news of Scotland’s annual excessively populated music marathon, we at Elba feel it is our duty to turn your attentions to what is happening more immediately on the gigging front. This is entirely due to our love and commitment to the local music scene. Nothing to do with not having a ticket. No, no, no! We’re not bitter. Let me rephrase that: PHIL is not bitter.

But less of this jesting! Glasgow is looking truly delicious this weekend when it comes to live music.

Tonight and tomorrow night a King Tuts stalwart returns to play to his adoring fans. Tom McRae tours ahead of his fifth studio album ‘The Alphabet of Hurricanes.’ This man has a voice that can reduce even the loudest weegie drunk to tears. I have literally seen this happen; and I do not mean literally in the figurative sense that it is so often used these days. It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of this man but we urge you to head along to this show if you get the chance. Oh and head over to Tom’s myspace should you feel the need for some intellectual ranting. God help us the day this man finally cheers up, his artistry stems from his deep rooted connection to his misery and we certainly wouldn’t want him any other way.

Also on Wednesday night, Sunderland five piece post-punk-indie-pop boys Field Music play Nice and Sleazies. This tour is on the heels of their new eponymous LP. Live, this group are meant to stun more than shine. Prepare yourself to be shocked into adoration.

A triple bill featuring Japandroids, Other People and Cuddly Shark will be pounding King Tuts’ stage on Friday. This one promises to rock. Anyone who was at Elba Presents… (Four) last Friday night and saw the softer side of Cuddly Shark will want to drop into this to experience them in their full frenzied form. In fact, send a wee email to the Shark and they’ll get you in for 3 quid!

On Friday The Pin Up Ladies Night returns to Flying Duck for a the third time. As well as The Pin Ups Djs & Bow Peep playing indie, punk, soul & electropop there’s a line up that I shall allow to speak for itself:

Live – French Horn Rebellion (Kitsune)
Maple Leaves
Guest Gjs – Tracyanne & Carey (Camera Obscura)
Adele & Ailidh (Sons & Daughters)
Emma (Delagados)
Emmy Kate & Marie Du Santiago (Kenickie)
Manda Rin (Bis)

Our final recommendation for the weekend is for the San Francisco Matador signed Girls. Another highly acclaimed, must see troupe. They play Stereo on Saturday.

Happy Gig-gling!

Here in Elba-blog-land we are feeling very fresh faced and it’s not entirely to do with the sub zero temperatures our fair city is enduring. The runny noses can certainly be blamed on the frosty days and brisk breezes. However, we are riding on the heels of musical majesty and growing more excited as some eagerly anticipated events are starting to come together.

On Friday night, another successful Elba Presents… took place at The Liquid Ship. Thanks to all who came along to the fourth live Elba outing. It was a nice wee turn out. For those who didn’t make it, it was a most delightful night featuring King James, Maple Leaves, Craig Davidson and Cuddly Shark. There’s talk of a release from King James in the near future and following their awe inducing set it’s one to look forward to. Their stripped back folk and layered harmonies are bewitching.

Now on to the rather tasty news that was delivered to our inbox last week. On Saturday
3rd April the multi-venue music and art festival, Hinterland, returns. The Arches, Sub Club, Macsorleys Music Bar, The Admiral, Pivo Pivo and Rockers amongst other will provide the base for a myriad of eclectic bands both local and from further afield:

Mystery Jets
British Sea Power
Jeffrey Lewis
Friendly Fires (DJ)
Joe Goddard Hot Chip (DJ Set)
Hot Club de Paris
Wave Pictures
GrecoRoman Soundsystem
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Fenech Soler
Johnny Foreigner
French Wives
Ambulances
Bleech
Kitty the Lion
Midnight Lion
Ballers Social Presents…..
Cooly G
Marcus Nasty
Spectrals
Eclair FiFi
Art installations by Konx Om Pax & Christina Kernohan
Make Sparks
Little Yellow Ukuleles
Pulled Apart By Horses
plus more TBC

That last statement, that more will be announced, has me practically drooling as the list already promises so much on many fronts. I can foresee the 3rd of April as a whirlwind of adventure with much racing about the city in the hope of catching… EVERYTHING. The end of the day looks like it’ll be quite the party too with the inclusion of Friendly Fires and Joe Goddard on DJ duties for the later running events. In the lead up to the festival Phil and I will feature some of the acts that we’re hoping to catch at Hinterland. This clearly has the potential to turn into a marathon posting event. We’ll do our best to keep the short-list short and to be cut-throat in the selection process. I know what you’re thinking. You don’t think we’ve got that in us. Well! You’re quite right. I’d advise getting an early bird ticket due to its low cost of just £10 right now available from www.thehinterlandfestival.com.

It seems like the local music scene is beginning to hot up again after christmas and ‘The Big Freeze’ with plenty of good releases and gigs coming up. I felt like there was a real lack of decent gigs through January, however, couple this with post christmas debt and a busy day-job, it might just be me.

A band that have only recently caught my attention, thanks to Jim at Aye Tunes is Spaghetti Anywhere. They are based in London and play uncomplicated indie pop. A little bit in the vain of Belle and Sebastian or Camera Obscura although I am always very wary of comparing bands. Anyways, they are definitely worth checking out and their E.P. is released on Feb 22nd on Toy Soldier Records.

If you can’t wait until Feb 22nd for your fill of new music, I suggest you point your browsers in the direction of Glasgow based label/collective Wise Blood Industries from tomorrow where you will be able to download the new single ‘The Hours’ from The Kays Lavelle. I’ve given it a couple of listens now and the orchestration is fantastic and I just love the haunting vocals. Their album, recorded by Neil Pennycook of Meursault, is due out in the spring and no doubt when that comes around it will be very hotly anticipated.

There’s quite a few gigs this week to look out for in Glasgow this week. The aforementioned Meursault play next Sunday (21st) at Nice and Sleazys with Xiu Xiu and North Atlantic Oscillation. Working backwards, we may have mentioned at some point that King James, Maple Leaves, Craig Davidson and Cuddly Shark will be playing at The Liquid Ship on Friday night (19th), more details here. On Thursday a big Happy Birthday goes out to the Glasgow PodcART dudes. They will be having a bit of a shindig to celebrate with sets from St Deluxe, Little Yellow Ukeleles and Campfires in Winter. That all goes down at the 13th Note. Lastly (but also firstly this week), on Wednesday night at Brel the fantastic Julia and The Doogans, Panda Su and Sophie’s Pigeons will play some pretty acoustic songs.

Anyways, that’s about all my thoughts for now, we’re going to get this blog a bit more populated with features and reviews over the next few weeks so keep checking back and don’t be a stranger!

Time for another Elba gig methinks.

We”ll be back at The Liquid Ship on Friday 19th February and we’ve assembled somewhat of an eclectic, but totally rad (excuse the outdated slang term but I’ve been listening to Pavement) lineup. Heading up the bill for our first gig of 2010 are King James. Hailing from somewhere between the Cornwall coast and Berlin they are made up in numbers by an amalgamation of Thirty Pounds of Bone and The Diamond Family Archive. Their music is a collection of folk-tinged gospel music (according to The Source, ‘with a bit of Hank Williams thrown in for good measure’) and is actually pretty uplifting listen to! We’re really excited to get them up (and over) to Scotland before they head over to Germany for a string of dates.

Also on the bill for the night are Glasgow’s very own Maple Leaves. Tipped for big things this year they have the ability to surround me with a warm glow everytime I listen to them so they should have no trouble in putting a spring in the step of everybody’s weekend. Next up we have Craig Davidson, a singer songwriter hailing, like myself, from the chilly north east of Scotland. His influences range from Elliot Smith and Nick Drake all the way to The Teardrop Explodes and Pink Floyd. There’s a definite element of psychedelia to his work which you can check out on his myspace.

Plus, if three bands weren’t enough, we’ve organised what can only be described as a ‘wee treat’. Called out recently for being nothing but angry on their debut album, we’ve taken up the role of therapist to try and tame the beast that is Cuddly Shark. We’ve twisted their arm, and some more, and persuaded them that whilst turning their amps up to 11 is great, that we think they would sound just swell stripped down to nothing more than some quiet guitars and percussion. This could go either way folks…(!).

So there you have it, first lineup of the year. Will hopefully see some new faces along and as ever, kick off is at 9pm and the gig is free!

My turn, let’s keep it snappy…

Album of The Year – Loads to choose from! Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances probably tops the list though. Honourable mentions to Brakes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Le Reno Amps, Cuddly Shark and The Cinematics, oh, and The Phantom Band! (I could go on…)

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – Putting on more gigs, writing more for the blog (and getting better at it), seeing and hearing loads of new music, working with Armellodie records and seeing it evolve, Pavement at the Barrowlands (!!!!!!!) and putting some faces to email addresses!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US HERE AT ELBA!

SEE YOU IN 2010!

Hot on the heels of last night’s blog on the BAMS (see here), we have cornered the mastermind of said BAMS to ask what made his year. We’ve enjoyed following Peenko’s blog for a long time now, the Friday Freebies are a personal favourite, and whilst the relationship has thus far remained virtual, we hear he is one hell of a mover on the dancfloor! I give you Peenko’s Elba Annual…

Album of The Year – The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – I’m really looking forward to ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks’ the new Frightened Rabbit album/ Homegame 2010/ possibly releasing a record with a cracking band called Campfires in Winter/ the Kid Canaveral album/ seeing what else the Glasgow Podcart team come up with/ The Unwinding Hours album/ and lastly to hopefully get to meet one of the lovely Elba Session team in person (ed: can be arranged!)

Make sure that you bookmark Peenko’s blog. There’s some crackin’ stuff on there for download and a few Elba recommendations in the shape of Andrea Marini and Cuddly Shark!

The Elba Sessions podcast has been running since July this year and we have been blogging since September so we were pretty honoured to be asked by Peenko to throw our tuppence worth into what is now affectionately known as The Scottish BAMS or The Scottish Bloggers and Music Sites Award 2009, to give it it’s proper title. The Phantom Band’s Checkmate Savage took the honours and the Top 20 was packed with plenty of good choices, with a large amount of Scottish talent being represented.

Personally I struggled a bit, not to choose the ten so much, but more to order it from 10 to 1. Looking back at my choices, I’ll stick with my Number 1 and possibly the first few places but to be honest, if any of my top 10 were at number 1, I’d have no complaints at all. Here is how Stephen, Chris and myself voted…

(note: Stephen ducks out slightly by nominating an unreleased album, but we’ll let him off for that and you’ll notice I favoured counting down from 10 to 1, to build suspense and all, wheras my fellow amigos went straight in with a number 1!)

Phil Elba

10. Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark
9.Le Reno Amps – Tear It Open
8.Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
7.The Cinematics – Love and Terror
6. Brakes – Touchdown
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
4. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
3. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE
2. Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage
1. Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances

Stephen Elba

1. De Rosa – Prevention
2. My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances.
3. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career.
4. Idlewild – Post Electric Blues.
5. Conor Mason – When its Over
6. Le Reno Amps – Tear it Open
7. LAU – Arc Light
8. bat for lashes – two Suns
9. Daniel Wylie – Fake your own death (wont be released until 2010 but i have heard the tracks and they are ace!)
10. Cuddly Shark – Cuddly Shark

Chris Elba

1. Wilco – Wilco (the album)
2. Richmond Fontaine – We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
3. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
4. Bruce Springsteen – Working on a Dream
5. De Rosa – Prevention
6. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
7. Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
8. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
9. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE
10. Le Reno Amps – Tear It Open

I was pretty pleased that 4 of mine were included in the Top 20 and having seen the spreadsheet where the maths was done, a couple just missed out. I think The Phantom Band were worthy winners though, being voted for by predominantly scottish blogs and writers it’s fitting that a Scottish band should win it, who would have doubted that one would!

And here’s how the masses voted!

1. The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage (61)
2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion (54)
3. De Rosa – Prevention (53)
4. King Creosote – Flick the V’s (51)
5. Withered Hand – Good News (45)
6. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead (43)
7. We Were Promised Jetpacks – These Four Walls (40)
8. Beerjacket – Animosity (38)
9. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More (32)
9. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career (32)
11. My Latest Novel – Deaths and Entrances (28)
11. Malcolm Middleton – Waxing Gibbous (28)
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t (25)
14. You Already Know – s/t (24)
14. Broken Records – Until the Earth Begins to Part (24)
16. The XX – s/t (23)
17. The Antlers – Hospice (21)
18. Sufjan Stevens – The BQE (19)
18. And So I Watch You From Afar (19)
20. Wilco – The Album (18)

You can praise/blame/thank the following for their input!

17 Seconds, AyeTunes, Dear Scotland, Earz Mag, Elba Sessions, Glasgow Podcart, Hooligans Lament, Jim Gellatly, JocknRoll, Jockrock, Kowalskiy, Last Years Girl, Love Shack Baby, Manic Pop Thrills, My Portiswasp Says, Off the Beaten Tracks, The Popcop, Products of a Gaseous Brain, Song By Toad, The Daily Growl, The Spill, The Steinberg Principle, The Vinyl Villain and Under the Radar.

And once again, well done to Peenko for organising all of this!

Today’s featured band on the Elba Annual are Glasgow’s self proclamed finest hillbilly rockers, Cuddly Shark. After the release of their eponymous debut album in November (Elba review here), things have gone rather well for the two guys, one girl band. A slew of fine reviews for the album has been backed up by being named album of the month on Vic Galloway’s Radio 1 Session in Scotland. They are also doing a live session this week on Vic’s Radio Scotland show, not to be missed. Colin, Jason and Ruth took some time out to tell us what made their year…

Album of The Year

Colin: Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years

Jason: Future Of The Left’s Travels With Myself And Others. Didnt do that much for me to begin with but found i’ve been playing the heck out of it recently! We call that a grower in the industry. Waiting with bated breath for a shotty of the new Heavy Trash LP fae Scott Maple!

Favourite New Band

Colin: Super Adventure Club

Jason: We recently played with Sleepy Vole in Edinburgh. Really enjoyed his Lo-Fi distorted carry on.

Best Gig (Cuddly Shark)

Colin: Aberdeen, Moorings, Nov 09

Jason: had a few fun ones this year but guess it would be the album launch at Captains Rest. It was ace to have it finally out and was a fun night.

Best Gig (Other)

Colin: Faith No More, Peace & Love Festival, Sweden

Jason: Faith No More at The Corn Exchange on the 25th of August. Was amazing!

Best Memories of 2009

Colin: Releasing our debut album. Watching Faith No More with my fellow Swedes

Jason: Releasing two albums this year (Shark’s debut and Le Reno Amps Tear It Open). It’s been a mental busy year. But roll on mental 2010!

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To

Colin: Touring the album and playing places i’ve never been to before.

Jason: A busy mental 2010!

Cuddly Shark do a live session for Vic Galloway this evening on Radio Scotland from 8pm. Their album is out now on Armellodie and can be purchased from the Armellodie Record Store, from all your usual download providers and from Avalanche Glasgow.

They will be embarking on a tour early next year and all the dates can be found on their myspace page here…

When planning the Elba Sessions Annual, it was only right that the subject of the Grand Ole Opry gig, got a day all to herself. Tonight at the Opry Le Reno Amps will bid a fond farewell to bass player Lindsey. Stepping up to media duties one more time, she answered our questionnaire…

Album of The Year – The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love

Hopes for 2010/Things You’re Looking Forward To – I’m going on holiday! A real holiday! To Kenya! To see a lion!

Lindsey has her final fling tonight at The Grand Ole Opry with support from The Moth and The Mirror, Rags and Feathers and Conor Mason. Doors are 8pm, £4 (that’s a pound per band!) and it would be amazing to see y’all there!

As I sit here writing this on a Sunday morning, I now realise that there is every chance that my day may go in a completely different direction than I had intended. Yesterday a lazy Sunday sounded perfect and even as I woke up this morning and sleepily turned on my laptop this was the only option. However, as I give Cuddly Shark’s eponymous debut album another listen, I realise that I’m now fully awake and ready to get out the traps like a greyhound waiting to chase the hare.

Cuddly Shark are a band (two guys, one girl) hailing from Elgin in the north of Scotland, Elgin-ites if you will. After moving to ‘the’ hot bed of music that is Glasgow, things seem to be going rather grand for the Shark. Several good live reviews and well received singles later, they’ve turned themselves to making an album. Recorded by Ross McGowan (Dananananaykroyd, We Are the Physics) and Scott Maple (Le Reno Amps), the pedigree is certainly impressive and the album doesn’t disappoint.

‘Bowl of Cherries‘ kicks of the album and is the perfect opener, catchy riff and screaming vocals, it pretty much sets the tone for the next 34 minutes. Hurtling on through singles ‘Woody Woodpecker‘ and ‘The Punisher of IV30‘ (referring to the postcode where the band grew up), the album takes a sinister twist with the soft then loud, but always sinister, ‘Mannybix‘. Indeed, the album only partially lets up for ol’ travelling tune ‘Whiteoaks‘ and the toe tapping cover of Hoyt Axton’s ‘Boney Fingers‘ before it is launched back into Shark-ville with the riff heavy ‘12 Months‘, a nice ditty about abstention. This is followed by a 51 second rant aimed at those (well, one person in particular) who really should have stuck to acting, well maybe not even that, ‘Jamie Foxx On Jools Holland‘. I’d tell you the one and only lyric in the song but that might spoil it for you. The album closes with one of my album standouts ‘Instru-Mentalist‘ and a song that people who get bees in their bonnets could have a field day with, ‘Shakey Baby‘. It carries the unforgettable singalong chorus “see the lady with the baby, grab the baby, hold the baby, shake the baby, jelly baby, got me a syndrome!”.

It’s a breakneck, pedal-to-the-metal 34 minutes but well worth the listen, or several listens in my case. Cuddly Shark are uncategorisable, flitting from the pop punk sensibilities of Weezer, through the brash sound of Fugazi and even taking a jaunt through hillbilly rock, Cuddly Shark take you to a point where you just can’t really make comparisons, they are truly a one off and a one off that it is worth taking the time to enjoy.

The album is out NOW on cool new Scottish indie label Armellodie.

Cuddly Shark play Captain’s Rest (Glasgow) tommorrow (16th Nov) for their album launch party where they will be joined by the fantastic Palace Ballet and The Elvis Suicide. Doors 8pm, £4.

For more news and info on January’s mini Scottish tour check out www.cuddlyshark.co.uk