Song, by Toad

It’s funny, you really can hear so much of the Delgados in this.  Given that, after Emma Pollock’s solo album last year, this is the product of the other half of that split, that’s no surprise of course, but as a fan of the Delgados it is quite strange to hear so much of their sound in something that is in many ways rather different.

Looking at the respective solo work and then back at the Delgados themselves it seems mean to say, but the removal of Pollock’s earnest piano balladry has done this music no harm at all.  I quite like her solo stuff, but the playfulness spilling out of this record is an absolute fucking joy.  It’s pop, for sure, for those of you who consider that label a slight insult (I can be the same myself, not that I’m all that proud of it), it has some jaunty circus licks, a touch of broadway in a sense, it sprawls about all over the shop, and is generally really rather splendid.

Lyrically it actually reminds me somewhat of Aidan Moffat’s recent album How to Get to Heaven From Scotland.  It’s not quite so up front about its verbal virtuosity, but the combination of dish towel navel-gazing and sly humour is definitely quite similar.  I can’t imagine Moffatt referencing Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree though, although in all honesty it’s far from impossible.

The rhythm drifts from the borderline military thrum, as illustrated on the cover, to the more orchestral pace we know from the Delgados, in particular from their later material.  That’s a broad generalisation though, because in general the overall variety of this album is one of its great strengths.  Orchestral waves do wash across it from time to time, but it’s not unusual for the accordion to be left to get on with things alone.  I like albums which can do this, particularly, as this one does so well, when the lyrical material is able to confidently make you laugh without detracting from the sincerity of the next song.  Songs like Picasso, for example, are musically quite basic despite the swelling arrangements towards the end, whereas other songs have absolutely everything thrown at them, including the kitchen sink.

It doesn’t do me much credit to admit that I had no idea this was coming, honestly, despite its appearing on a label only based about an hour away.  I actually had to be introduced to an album made in Glasgow by a publicity company based in the States, of all things, in the form of Team Clermont.  Still, no matter how I finally got here I’m glad I did, because Lord Cut Glass is an inventive joy of an album.  One of the surprise hits of the year so far, as far as I’m concerned.

Lord Cut Glass – Look After Your Wife

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Lord Cut Glass – You Know

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Back at long last, would you believe. After the abortive attempt at a Christmas podcast and then the IT disaster in Toad Hall – when my retarded computer ground to a halt and had to have its entire operating system reinstalled – I have finally managed to record the 19th Toadcast. Sorting out the IT department was not at all as easy as it should have been, so it’s taken ages to get to the point where I could record one again.

So, excuses over and done with, what am I going to inflict on you this time? The bloody Scots, that’s who. The Scottish music scene is an amazingly fertile one, so I thought I’d review 2007 and have a bit of a look forward to 2008. So I’ve pulled together some of the big guys like Malcolm Middleton, Emma Pollock and King Creosote and interspersed a few of the lesser known acts from around here to give you a nicely rounded look at what’s going on musically in the land of Buckfast and deep-fried Mars bars.

Toadcast #19 – The Scotchcast[audio http://media.libsyn.com/media/songbytoad/ToadcastNo19.mp3]

01. Sons & Daughters – Gilt Complex (1.01)
02. Glasvegas – Daddy’s Gone (5.55)
03. The Low Miffs – Also Sprach Shareholder (13.58)
04. Malcolm Middleton – We’re All Going to Die (17.24)
05. Aidan John Moffat – The Boy That You Love (23.37)
06. Gerry Mitchell & Little Sparta – The Empress (28.00)
07. The Pendulums – Greenhat (34.38)
08. Broken Records – Kathy (40.49)
09. Rob St. John – Wooden Rose (45.44)
10. Found – Some Fracas of a Sissy (53.28)
11. Kid Canaveral – Smash Hits (58.49)
12. Popup – Lucy, What are You Trying to Say? (61.38)
13. Emma Pollock – A Temporary Fix (68.28)
14. King Creosote – Church as Witness (76.04)
15. Mother & the Addicts – Roll Me on Over (79.37)
16. Frightened Rabbit – Be Less Rude (88.09)
17. The Twilight Sad – Walking For Two Hours (94.37)

Hmm, I may raise eyebrows, even howls of disbelief amongst my friends (here & here) for saying this but here goes: as much as I like this album, I find myself rather inexplicably not loving it. Maybe its because I loved Peloton and The Great Eastern so much I am secretly pining for these splendid records. Maybe I’m just a pillock.

Since the collapse of The Delgados I have seen Miss Pollock only the once – a gorgeous performance at a Versacoustic gig at the Bongo Club in Edinburgh – and missed something like three more full band performances, so I really had very little knowledge with which to approach this record.   This is no bad thing of course, as it made unwrapping it a genuine treat and that first listen a long list of very pleasant surprises.

That’s the thing.  I listen to this record and pretty much every single song is an absolute gem.  To use Tim’s phrase from one of those reviews I mentioned earlier, if it’s melodic indie-pop you want, then this is a minor masterpiece: tunes, drama, sweeping but not grandiose emotional trajectories.  It soars, but somehow it does it in a modest and not in any sense an excessive way.  The Scots have a peculiar way with drama and humility, and it is very neatly embodied in the emotional pitch of this record.  Big enough themes and swelling sounds that return to the spare and beautiful and the humble often enough that you never get the impression of anything more than wee Emma Pollock writing songs.   There is nothing more than that – bombast, in Scotland, is verboten.

So why don’t I love this album as much as I so very nearly do?  Well I think it is to do with the slightly soft edges.  It is more piano-driven, as indeed were later Delgados records, and there is considerably less guitar.  It does make an appearance often enough, of course, but less in a tense and choppy way, more to add depth and drive to the rising melodies.  This is generally not how I like my guitar, so I’m guessing this is the only thing missing for me personally.

Other than that, this is brilliant.  Catchy, engaging and really rather touching.  If, as I said earlier, melodic indie-pop is your thing then I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

Emma Pollock – Paper & Glue
Emma Pollock – The Optimist

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There’s no real theme to this week’s podcast, but there’s plenty of splendid new music. Basically I felt so guilty about the crazy rant that the Pink Podcast descended into that I have tried to say as little as possible in this one.

I’m off to the End of the Road Festival this weekend, which is why I recorded an advance post, so you’ll be enjoying this while I’m away getting rained on. The lineup is just phenomenal actually, so it should be really quite a splendid weekend. Tim from the Daily Growl will be there, as will Jamie from the Runout Groove and I believe possibly Sweeping the Nation as well, so it may turn into quite a blog-in. Tragically, however, I will be without my Midget Companion. Mrs. Toad is away in Australia (jammy bitch) with work and doesn’t get back in time to come along, so I will be taking a book and enjoying the pleasure of my own company as best I can.

There was at least one inevitable balls-up though – when describing the Catherine Howe song I said ‘I can’t believe this is current – it sounds so old-fashioned!’ and I have since discovered that in fact it is a 2007 re-release of a 1971 record which may just explain that. In the process I also discovered that I am something of a fucking idiot.

So, End of the Road, and in the meantime, enjoy the podcast – Toad on his very best behaviour!

Toadcast #11 – Not Sure What This One’s About[audio http://media.libsyn.com/media/songbytoad/ToadcastNo11.mp3]

01. A.A. Bondy – Vice Rag (00.52)
02. White Rabbits – The Plot (03.39)
03. The Courteeners – Cavorting (08.19)
04. Alaska in Winter – Close Your Eyes/We Are Blind (11.46)
05. Beirut – Fork & Knife (La Fete) (18.32)
06. Band of Horses – Is There a Ghost (21.57)
07. Nathan Lawr & the Minotaurs – We Go Down (26.52)
08. David Dondero – Rothko Chapel (30.34)
09. Jackson C. Frank – Blues Run the Game (38.15)
10. Calexico – All the Pretty Horses (41.45)
11. Catherine Howe – In the Hot Summer (48.53)
12. Little Name – How to Swim & Live (53.31)
13. Emma Pollock – Adrenaline (56.36)
14. George Pringle – Fellini For Prime Minister (63.52)
15. Octoberman – By the Wayside (67.27)
16. The 1900s – When I Say Go (74.54)
17. (The Real) Tuesday Weld – Kix (79.44)