The Local Heroes
The Local Heroes hail from a part of Scotland that is actually not in Scotland, but should be. Back at university I had a pal who was from Cumbria but used to insist until he was blue in the face that he was actually Scottish. We used to call him Mr. Pretend Scotsman and ever since then I have always kind of felt Cumbria to be a sort of Scottish protectorate somehow. Blame Colin.
Musically The Local Heroes are perhaps more of a piece with Scottish indie as well, I would say. Fey, literate and prone to telling touching but borderline-surreal stories, they also employ that Scottish mainstay – the rambling, introverted inner monologue. Used by everyone up here from Belle & Sebastian to Ballboy, My Latest Novel and James Yorkston it brings a sort of bizarre confessional to music that is often already quite wide open and brittle.
Imagine if early Belle & Sebastian had been fronted by Isobel Campbell instead of, as was more frequently the case, Stuart Murdoch. Imagine a painfully fragile Saint Etienne. Reading through their influences on MySpace this hardly a surprise – nourished on the splendid Lloyd Cole, Cinerama, The Mountain Goats and of course Belle & Sebastian themselves. Rachel’s voice is a treat and the sparse backing complements it perfectly.
They have some heavy-hitting friends adding their weight to the CD-R demo I received, Gordon from Edinburgh indie heroes Ballboy and M.J. Hibbett from M.J. Hibbett & the Validators both make contributions, so these guys clearly have the support of the industry. A single is due out in mid July on Cloudberry Records (scroll to the bottom of the page) and although I haven’t heard the title track, I can vouch for The Years to Come, which is gorgeous.
They’re looking for a label to release their debut album on too, so if you like what you hear, get in touch with them, record people.
The Local Heroes – Hands in the Air
The Local Heroes – Circle Line
website | myspace | cloudberry
