It’s all going to be underground this week, with most happeny things happening at the Bowery, aided and abetted by Sneaky Pete’s on the Cowgate.

Ben Folds Five – Underground (Live at Ziggy’s)

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This weekend has been nice, actually.  Getting the Samamidon session posted took me all the way through Friday night without any sleep, and all I managed was a couple of hours’ nap before the Meursault in-store at Avalanche, and then then off to have a couple of bevvies with Broken Records to celebrate their signing to 4AD.

After all this, though, Sunday was a real treat.  I did no work whatsoever, Mrs. Toad and I tidied the house, albeit at a rather leisurely pace, and I played vinyl all afternoon.  A gin was poured at about five in the afternoon, I read through the latest National Geographic and we cooked a great big meal for some friends.  Fucking marvellous.  I have to confess that I hogged the record player all night, but then, recently that hasn’t always been the case.  I’ve been so busy that Mrs. Toad has done all the playing of records, while I beaver away at the computer, so it was nice to shelve all that for a couple of days and really just relax and indulge for a bit.

And let’s face it, there’s can’t be much better than a Sunday afternoon playing vinyl with a nice, strong G&T.

Thursday 12th February 2009: Share & The Second Hand Marching Band at the Bowery.

I know nothing at all about Share, but the Second Hand Marching Band’s recent EP is superb, so I am really looking forward to seeing them live again.  With 22 of them fitting everyone on stage will be a challenge, as will the mic setup.  Nevertheless, their ramshackle, folky gentleness promises to provide a memorable evening.
The Second Hand Marching Band – Don’t!

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Thursday 12th February 2009: The Endrick Brothers & Broken Records at the Caves.

The Endrick Brothers are a plain vanilla alt-country band who I nevertheless enjoyed enormously on the only occasion I’ve seen them live – they just had a sort of warm charm to them.  Broken Records are likely to be playing out of their skins as they celebrate the recording of their album. Tickets from here.
The Endrick Brothers – Star of the Silver Screen

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Friday 13th February 2009: Meursault & How to Swim play This is Music at Sneaky Pete’s.

I’ve shamefully never been to This is Music.  Probably because I fear the late closing and the dancing students – what a dismally pathetic excuse.  I’ve done a lot of drinking this last week with people with no jobs to go to in the morning, and believe me, it takes some doing.  Anyhow, with the carnval mayhem of How to Swim and the demented howl of Meursault, this should be fucking superb.
How to Swim – A Little Orgasm of Disappointment

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Saturday 14th February 2009: My Kappa Roots, eagleowl & Rob St. John at the Bowery.

This is a collaborative effort between the Bowery, the bands, Ten Tracks, the Collective Gallery and The Skinny.  Irrespective of all that, of course, it’s just a fucking splendid lineup of the capital’s finest alternative folksters.  And balls to Valentine’s Day – to quote Billy Bragg “Those glossy catalogues of couples are cashing in on happiness again and again.”  And never mind the unhappiness it fucking generates.  Pointless fucking whore of an occasion.
Billy Bragg – Valentine’s Day is Over

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The day after his amazing live set at the Bowery, Sam Amidon came round to the house to record a Toad Session.  He didn’t have all that much time, and I don’t think he quite knew what he’d let himself in for either, so this one is pretty brief.  Still, between this and the footage from the live show I think we have a really nice portrait of the guy, who is so different in person from his recordings.  Whilst the latter may be beautiful, and whilst All Is Well is an amazingly lovely album, his personality dominates his live show so much it gives you such a different perspective on his music.

As per usual, we have the session podcast below, and after that the Toad Session mp3 files, which you are free to pass around as you please.  The videos are posted below that, and can all be found on the Song, by Toad Vimeo page (recommended) as well as the YouTube page (shit, but popular, so I have to put them there too).  There’s also a series of photos from the session, which can be found on our Flickr page.  The tracklisting for the podcast is at the bottom of this post – enjoy!

Toadcast #55 – Samamidon Toad Session

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And the downloadable, shareable, huggable mp3s from the session:

Samamidon – 1842 (Toad Session)

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Samamidon – Pretty Fair Damsel (Toad Session)

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Samamidon – Fiddle Mayhem (Toad Session)

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And the videos:

And the playlist for Toadcast #55 – Samamidon Toad Session:

01. Samamidon – 1842 (Toad Session) (05.23)
02. Peter & Mary Alice Amidon – True Born Sons of Levi (10.23)
03. Mary Margaret O’Hara – When You Know Why You’re Happy (12.49)
04. Shirley Collins – Lovin’ Hannah (18.17)
05. Samamidon – Pretty Fair Damsel (Toad Session) (24.16)
06. Othar Turner & The Rising Star Fife And Drum – Bouncin’ Ball (33.20)
07. Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Swimming Song (36.29)
08. Doveman – Happy (38.53)
09. Samamidon – Fiddle Mayhem (Toad Session) (47.49)

Mary Mother of Jesus up a pole. The nightmare continues.

This week’s well on time (as in assembled & ready) show was marred only by DCHQ’s onboard navigational equipment. During the process of uploading the podfile to this here podpage the hard drive of the studio computer had a fit & went to sleep. Then it wouldn’t wake up. Why won’t you wake up Mr. Drive? we sobbed. But he never did say, for he were asleep.

Turns out we’d fragged something pretty major in the configuration some time ago (something to do with me pissing about in the System files & deleting suspected virus strains) & over time/use Mr. Drive slowly grew sleepier & sleepier until he could keep his eyes open no more. Unfortunately that meant the show was stuck fast in the dreams of the comatose Mr. Drive. Boo! Hiss!

Read the rest of this entry »

From the fertile soil of Cascadia* sprouts yet another very promising band, although Miss Davis might not generally call herself a ‘band’ because it is, in fact, just her.

Inevitably it’s all rather low-fi, but it makes a virtue of this rather than a failing.  For the most part she tends to play the piano, and sing along in a rather flighty, theatrical voice.  There are similarities to the likes of Feist, St. Vincent and, to a lesser extent, Alela Diane in these songs, but the eccentricities in the delivery are perfectly restrained which makes it rather more enjoyable than those first two ladies for the likes of me.

In the email she sent, Miss Davis explains that she started out working in the fields of classical and jazz, but she uses the term ‘tunnel vision’ to describe her experiences in the academia which seems to dominate these fields.  Indie folk has its own orthodoxies of course, but whatever happens I suppose that striking out on your own should bring artistic freedom within whatever field you happen to find yourself.

It’s early days, and there isn’t that much to go on, but there are five good songs here, which I could easily image forming part of an ultra-low-fi release, or which could equally withstand a more layered studio approach.  Shenandoah Davis looks very much like one to keep an eye on.

Shenandoah Davis – These Rocks

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Shenandoah Davis – We; Camera

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*Tell you what, if there ever was a successful independence movement for Cascadia, I would be there in a shot.

This is a tricky one to write, because I don’t write negative reviews of new bands, but this may end up seeming a lot like it.

Basically, I don’t particularly love this EP, but I am writing about it because there are loads of things happening here which I do like.  Also, it’s available as a free download from Common Cloud Records, so you can try it, have a listen, and see if you see what I’m getting at.  You might love it anyway.

Basically, I don’t have especially specific criticisms of the album; there’s nothing I can quite point to and suggest the band improve, because they are basically doing the right things.  A couple of the songs are terrific, but with this kind of grumbling, slightly threatening music I think you need to grab the listener by the innards pretty immediately, and at times that fails to quite happen for me.  I love the sound: the distant vocals, the slow, ominous bass, the mournful strings, but on occasion the emotional  grasp doesn’t quite take hold.

When it does, however, on songs such as opener ‘Though Super-violent, We Chewed With Our Mouths Shut’ and ‘We Would Need a Place to Hide, Wouldn’t We? Men Who’d Seen Miracles Did’, preposterous titles aside, the effect is really superb.  It can feel something like a carefree skip through a deserted mental asylum.

So for all I don’t entirely click with this record, I hear a band here who I think I definitely have the potential to click with, and who I’ll be keen to hear in future, just to see where they take all this.

Prussia – We Would Need a Place to Hide, Wouldn’t We? Men Who’d Seen Miracles Did

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Prussia on MySpace

Yes, that is the new Toad t-shirt, which can be purchased here, and bears the inspiring and uplifting slogan ‘Up yours, Eagletits.’

Well there’s been some good live music recently, and last night was another excellent Limbo night.  All three bands were really good and even though it was a late one, there wasn’t an excessive amount of drunkenness, so apart from being rather tired I actually feel pretty reasonable this morning.  Quick question for you all, in advance of the Friday Fives – even though it’s now woefully late, would you appreciate a live review of Mitchell Museum and one of David Thomas Broughton from a couple of weeks ago?  Or is timeliness next only to godliness in these matters?

I am going to have the Samamidon session up tomorrow, by hook or by crook.  This may well involve a very, very late night with gallons of gin tea, but I am determined to get it up there and start on the Pictish Trail one.

Tomorrow I shall be wandering along to the Meursault in-store at Avalanche, and then over next week they will be round at the house recording the vocals for William Henry Miller Parts One and Two.  These will be double a-sides with The Furnace and either The Dirt & the Roots or A Few Kind Words for a twin pack of vinyl released later in the year – probably May I would have thought.  And before you start chipping in, no I am not asking for help deciding which of the latter two will be released.  Neil will mostly decide, and I will chip in, but this is not a democracy (ha – didn’t that sound decisive and commanding!)

So, that’s about it for this week.  We will shortly be heading back to our favourite watering hole, the newly refurbished King’s Wark, for a couple of lunchtime pints and one of the finest lunches to be had in Scotland.  Fucking, if I may say so, brilliant.  And then off up to the Wee Red Bar to help out with Trampoline and see the Japanese War Effort.  Exciting time people, it a rock-and-roll-o-rama around here these days.

So, time to stop shuffling about in the shadows, de-lurk, and make you contribution.  If nothing else you will at least stop this thread descending into the usual Bart-baiting within five posts, so any new commenters are highly appreciated.  And without further ado, this week’s Toad’s (stolen from GUT) Friday Five:

1. Name a great band with a piss-poor debut album (point for the non-obvious ones like Dylan, Radiohead and the Beatles).
2. Name your favourite thing to do in the snow.
3. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
4. Silliest fish name.
5. How many different formats do you own music in these days?

The Pictish Trail – Into the Smoke (Live on BBC 6Music) Thanks to The Daily Growl.

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Miwa Gemini – Pieces

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The Tartans – Cats of Camerford

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School of Seven Bells – Half Asleep

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Feist & Ben Gibbard – Train Song

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A couple of bits of news for you.  Firstly, I know this was mentioned in the comments on Monday, but I thought I’d give it a post of its own: Meursault are playing an in-store gig at Avalanche Records in Edinburgh this Saturday, 7th February.  This is really nice for a couple of reasons: firstly, I really like small record shops and, secondly, because Avalanche have sold rather a lot of copies of the album, which is rather nice.  It’ll be kicking off around closing time – about 5.30pm or so, and I might just be tempted to bring along a beer or two.

Leonard Cohen – Avalanche

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Secondly, I am back on Fresh Air Radio again tonight.  I have a one-and-a-half hour slot starting at 7.30pm, and will be joined by Dylan from Blueback Hotrod.  I am looking to invite a different guest who is in one way or another associated with the Edinburgh music scene.  Basically, it gets boring nattering away to myself in the studio, so I’d just rather have someone to chat to.  It tends to make for a better show anyway, so do listen in from half seven on Thursdays for the next couple of months.

The Twilight Sad – Three Seconds of Dead Air

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This is not quite the last of my posts talking about bands from that And Before the First Kiss compilation.  If it’s boring for you for me to be going on about it, just imagine how brilliant my self-esteem is feeling, having to write a series of posts which basically say: hey, if you like music why not go read that bloke’s blog over there.  He’s a twat really, isn’t he.

Anyway, this is another of those bands which were springing up like whack-a-moles a couple of years ago, who basically reproduce the style of fey 80s indie, in this case with a little bit of  similar era fluff-pop thrown in for good measure.  I can almost imagine wearing a pair of basketball shoes, baggy jeans and a blazer with the shirt cuffs rolled up around its own rolled up sleeves to listen to this.  And doing that exaggerated side to side dancing that I vaguely and probably incorrectly associate with the Breakfast Club.

It doesn’t mean it isn’t very good though.  The pop tones are rare – most of this leans more towards the yearning of the Smiths, with plenty of gravel and growl in the guitars.  The tunes are catchy… for the most part.  There are times when I hear a band simply playing songs which reproduce a particular sound, rather than songs which grab you on their own merits.

When a sound is very familiar  like this then a band basically depend on their ability to write memorable tunes – put simply, you have to find yourself humming along.  The newer material does just that, so it sounds to me like they are band who are improving, which I always like to see.  I’m looking forward to hearing this album.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Everything With You

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The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Orchard of My Eye

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Website | More mp3s | Buy from Slumberland Records

Another gem from the 2008 mixtape made for me by Colin from And Before the First Kiss.  I made some flippant comment about him not really posting much new music, and he promptly handed me a full CD-R’s worth of brand new bands, most of which I had never heard of.  So, er, I’ll be more careful in future.

Neither the growling indie, nor the twee indie-pop with which I associate Colin, this is more of lush and lovely persuasion.  Reading their press quotes, Last of the Melting Snow is described thus: “delicate, beautiful, ethereal, heavenly, beguiling” and “gorgeous”.  And so it is.  As you would expect from this site it is, of course, also very sad.

Just the image itself brings a sort of grey melancholy, an image of sitting with a cup of tea, staring listlessly out the window as the rain washes away the last of the grime-blackened drifts from the side of the road.  If ever there is an image of purity and hope that has given way to gradual, yet final disappointment then it is the final wet morning of the last of the melting snow.  The music embraces this kind of feeling as well, embodying at once the optimism that has been lost as well as its dispirited defeat.

I wish they’d released this on vinyl.

The Leisure Society – A Short Weekend Begins With Longing

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The Leisure Society – Pancake Day

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The Leisure Society on MySpace | Buy from Wilkommen Records

A little early in a career for a Best Of, one might argue, but given that Enfant Bastard‘s output is sprawled aver CD-Rs distributed haphazardly across the music collections of a few hundred Scottish music fans I admit that it does make sense to pull it all together at some point and try to, at the very least, take stock a little.  And for those of you who don’t know the man, it works nicely as an introduction.

To say that Cammy is likely to prove to be a little polarising is an understatement.  Basically, I reckon that a lot of you are going to genuinely think that this is awful.  A few though, will think that it’s genius.  And maybe a few more might be more like myself: staring fascinatedly at it for ages before deciding that you love it.

Enfant Bastard seems like the ultimate stream of consciousness music.  You can almost imagine his albums being recorded in one take from start to finish, and half the original songs being left off in favour of ones he happened to think of as he was playing.  I’ve never heard anyone sound like they were putting less effort into their singing, or in some ways the guitar playing, which sounds like it knew the chords once but can’t really be arsed remembering them now.  You almost get the impression that at some point he’ll have had enough, throw his guitar on the floor and tell both song and audience to just fuck off.

The thing is, in amongst all this… well, what is it?  Prickliness?  Awkwardness?  Borderline hostility?  Whatever it is, in amongst it all there are some genuine gems of sensitivity, some brilliant lyrics and some surprisingly slick pop hooks.  It’s almost like ambush music – allowing you to casually think ‘What the fuck is this?’ before sucker-punching you with something brilliant.

Even for fans like myself, though, there’s always a sort of trepidation that you might hate the very next thing he does just as much as you loved the last one.  In a way that’s part of the appeal though: it’s genuinely an event, putting an Enfant Bastard album on the stereo.

Enfant Bastard – Joanna Newsom 666

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Enfant Bastard – Gremlin

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Enfant Bastard – Vessel

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Buy from Enfant Bastard’s MySpace