I really am running out of stupid names for these fucking things.  I’m sure I’m going to end up just numbering them in future, but for now you’re going to have to put up with the bloody silly names I’m afraid.

In my effort to squeeze eleven songs into an hour I actually don’t ramble very much on this one, only to find out that the podcast ends up being much less than the usual hour and a bit, for a change.  Do I really talk so fucking much the rest of the time?

Anyhow, this is a fucking ace podcast of new music.  I don’t generally pay too much attention to how cool (or otherwise) these things might be, but I reckon any haircut merchants out there might rather enjoy this one.  For the rest of you, those without Haircuts with a capital haitch, well, just get on as best you can.  Let’s face it, if I love it all, it can’t really be all that cutting edge, can it.

Direct download: Toadcast #164 – The Roadcast

01. FOUND – Machine Age Dancing (00.25)
02. Girls Names – Seánce on a Wet Afternoon (07.00)
03. Sonny & the Sandwitches – A. Grassley – Throw My Ashes From This Pier When I Die (12.19)
04. The Honorable Worm – Wouldn’t Mind Dying (14.46)
05. Li’l Daggers – Ya Tu Sabe (22.54)
06. The Louche FC – Back Bedroom Casualty (29.27)
07. Milk Maid – Such Fun (33.24)
08. Brown Brogues – Treet U Beta (35.56)
09. The Honey Pies – Hair of the Dog (41.07)
10. Zed Penguin – This Town (46.49)
11. Manners – Knives (56.44)

Apologies for the late appearance of this post, but erm, gin interfered with my ability to function like a normal member of society yesterday so umm… well, you’ll just have to forgive me I suppose.  Rest assured it hurt me more than it hurt you.

Anyway, it’s sort of a busy week this week, although it takes its own sweet time to get going. Mondy, blah, Tuesday, booring, Wednesday, nah nothing much, Thursday: MAYHEM!  Well sort of.  For me there will the the Wide Days launch at the Teviot during the day, and the Electric Circus in the evening, then my Fresh Air Radio show with Ruth, and then scampering off to the Voodoo Rooms to catch what I can of FOUND’s Factorycraft album launch.

Then we have the Ides of Toad returning on Friday, in Henry’s Cellar Bar this time, which will be a bit of a blast from the past for me.  I went to tons of gigs at Henry’s when I was first getting interested in music in Edinburgh, but that just doesn’t seem to happen so much anymore so it’ll be nice, if a little strange, to be back there. Anyhow, this stuff is all in the Big Ol’ List below, so there’s no point prattling on about it here is there.

Thursday 3rd March 2011: FOUND at the Voodoo Rooms – album launch for Factorycraft, hosted by Limbo.

FOUND’s new album is out on Chemikal Underground, and for those who don’t already know how eye-caressingly lovely it looks, have a bit of a gander here. The album itself is surprisingly more indie rock than I would have ever have expected, and there are some absolute stormers on there.  This album has been waiting to find a home for some time now, and many of the tracks are already firm live favourites – like You’re no Vincent Gallo, f’rinstance.  I am not sure what tracks they might or might not be happy to share at this stage, so here’s a Toad Session version of that song.  The one on the album, I promise you, is very different.

FOUND – You’re No Vincent Gallo (Toad Session)

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Friday 4th March 2011: The Leg, Louis Barabbas & the Bedlam Six & Zed Penguin play The Ides of Toad at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

This one should be a stomper: we have the excellent, raucous Leg, the extravagant, mental Bedlam Six and the brand spanking new Zed Penguin. I’ve not been down to Henry’s for ages, but this should be the perfect gig to return with: loud, dirty and a little bit mental.

Zed Penguin – This Town

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Saturday 5th March 2011: Withered Hand, Zoey Van Goey & O Messy Life play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

This is a joint fundraiser to send Withered Hand and Zoey Van Goey out to SXSW this year, and the latest installment in the Limbo chaps’ frantic start to the year.

Withered Hand – New Dawn

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Sunday 6th March 2011: Dan Michaelson & the Coastguards, The Heebie Jeebies, The Wooden Sky, This Daring Move at Sneaky Pete’s.

This has a touch of Cousteau, a touch of Richard Hawley and even a touch of our own Savings and Loan to it, and for those whose liver hasn’t been utterly obliterated by the preceding three days, I think this looks like a really good bet, particularly if you are looking for something non-local for a change at the end of the week.

The Stallcast you ask?  Yes indeed the Stallcast, because my brain is still stuck in neutral after the Christmas break and seems annoyingly resistant to being asked to function properly at the moment.  I’ve had half a week back ‘at work’, if I can really call it that, and I still feel like the the old grey custard is still spluttering a bit, rather than firing on all cylinders.

The playlist reflects this in many way too, because it’s a bit all over the place.  Good tunes though, although I suspect those amongst you with Haircuts might not be as impressed as others.

Anyhow, the mission for this week is to get fucking moving, clean out the foostiness in the brain and properly embark upon 2011.  A jump start may be needed, however.

Direct download: Toadcast #156 – The Stallcast

01. R.E.M. – It Happened Today (00.23)
02. Sin Fang – The Only Living Boy in New York (09.24)
03. Jamie Cameron – When You’re Almost Done, Run (15.14)
04. Johnny Hawaii – The Lonely Smurfer (20.10)
05. Speak & the Spells – She’s Dead (26.51)
06. Beth Gibbons & Rustin’ Man – Tom the Model (35.34)
07. Future Bible Heroes – A Thousand Lovers in a Day (39.09)
08. Kurt Vile – Jesus Fever (43.15)
09. Charles Latham – Hard On (48.25)
10. FOUND – Machine Age Dancing (55.39)

Okay, so today we start our lists.  I have made my own list of my top twenty albums of the year, but in all honesty I am still struggling to pare down my Festive Fifty to, er, fifty.  At the moment it’s more like a Festive three hundred and seventy six, which won’t do at all.  It is, as my father (and W.C. Fields) used to say, no use to man nor beast.

This is your chance, however, to put your five favourite songs of the year into the comments, and we’ll see who the readers of Song, by Toad have been loving the most over the course of the year.

And for those of you preparing for the Weekend of Alcoholic Annihilation next week, you might be interested to hear about something just a little bit classier happening tomorrow night, to which my pal Pete Harvey has asked me to give a quick plug.  And he’s a nice chap, so why not.  Besides I still nurture an intellectual inferiority complex about classical music which presumably stems from my traumatic childhood.

Saturday 11th December 2010, 7.30pm at the Canongate Kirk – Macmillan: Seven Last Words from the Cross & Byrd: Motets.

The Rose Street Ensemble with the Calton Consort – Conductor: Jason Orringe.
The Facebook event is here if you would like to investigate further, and a nice handy Google Maps link here.  And no, I doubt it’s that Jason Orange.  And no, of course he’s never heard that joke before.

So, we are all doing our five favourite songs of the year vote this week.  Last year I was quite bad about adding it up, but this year I promise to keep a running total (at least, of everything with more than one vote, anyway).  I can’t add mine because obviously I don’t want to jump the gun on my own Festive Fifty, but I thought I might revisit my top five songs from last year, and then sit back and do my sums while you let me know what has been exciting you the most in 2010.

Looking back at my top five from last year, I do notice a couple of Song, by Toad Records bands in there, and that is one thing which will be different this year: I am banning Song, by Toad Records bands from any of my lists.  It was fair enough to include them when we hadn’t released that much, but we’ve had a very busy year and so there would be a definite danger of the label swamping the list this year, and besides, I could hardly put one of our bands’ debut albums in the top five while another barely scraped the top ten, now could it?

So just take it as read that I love our bands the most and that if it weren’t for this ban, everyone else would be scrapping over tenth place at best.  So anyway, ladies and gentlemen, nerds and nerdettes, your votes please…

Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Shampoo

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Meursault – William Henry Miller Pt.2 (Single Version) (Buy on clear vinyl 7″ here)

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Navigator – Work is Done

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Trips and Falls – And In Real Life He Wears Corduroy Pants (Buy here)

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FOUND – Mullokian (Toad Session)

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Snow!  Awesome!  Actually, we haven’t got that much snow here in Edinburgh but I am sufficiently snow-starved that I am pretty excited nevertheless.  Not as excited as the penguins at Edinburgh Zoo will presumably be of course, but excited nevertheless.

Yusuf’s three album launch shows last week were fantastic, but I am pretty pooped and will be taking it quite easy today.  We’ve the Savings and Loan’s album release to work on for Monday, but apart from that the label is now entering a rather quiet Winter – well, apart from our official Song, by Toad Records Christmas Party of course, which will be anything but quiet.

The Christmas parties start here, in fact, with two this week, a couple of very good gigs and the opportunity to help save the Forest Cafe.  Enough for you to be getting on with for one week?  Thought so.  Welcome to the December eat/drink/hangover cycle which leaves us begging for fruit juice and fresh vegetables by January.

Xavier Rudd and Dar Williams are both (separately) at the Queen’s Hall this week, which might interest some of you.  For myself, the following gigs stand out the most:

Tuesday 30th November 2010: The Wedding Present and Ringo Deathstarr at the Liquid Room.

The Wedding Present’s absolutely brilliant, and now ‘classic’ album Bizarro is twenty or twenty-five years old or something like that, so the Weddoes are out on tour, playing the album in its entirety by way of celebration.  Just as interesting from my point of view are support band Ringo Deathstarr who make an excellent amount of fuzzy noise and whose new single is bloody excellent; I await the album with great interest.

The Wedding Present – No

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Tuesday 30th November 2010: Jenny & Johnny at Cabaret Voltaire.

Jenny Lewis is an excellent live performer with more than a little hint of swagger.  Her album, recorded with snuggle bunny Johnathan Rice, has its bland moments to be sure, but some of it is genuinely excellent, dreamy, harmony-drenched Summer pop.

Jenny & Johnny – Little Fly

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Thursday 2nd December 2010: Yahweh, Emily Scott & Union Canal at Sneaky Pete’s.

Three of the more underground bands on the week’s list of musical funz, but between Yahweh’s sweeping cinematics and Emily Scott’s musical prettiness this should be a good ‘un.  Union Canal I know nothing about whatsoever, I have to confess.

Friday 3rd December 2010: Gerry Loves Records Christmas Party at the Banshee Labyrinth.

Four of the most innovative bands in Scotland play what promises to be a very high early watermark for the tide of Christmas parties this year*.  Expect a lot of beeping and looping and stuff – which, for the less knowledgeable, is a technical musical term.  The Banshee Labyrinth is rather small, so I strongly recommend getting your tickets in advance for this one.  There will be a special guest too – one I promise you really is very thpeshul indeed.

The Japanese War Effort – Fake Tanned Out Yr Tits

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Friday 3rd December 2010: Save the Forest gig at Pilrig St. Paul’s.

This gig has been arranged to raise fund to help save the Forest Cafe, an Edinburgh institution under considerable threat after the collapse of the Edinburgh University Settlement.  Finn Andrews of The Veils will be playing, which is amazing.  The Veils are a fucking great band and although I have no idea what a Finn Andrews solo performance will be like, I would be fascinated to find out.

The Veils – Not Yet

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Saturday 4th December 2010: Limbo Christmas Party at the Voodoo Rooms.

Bands such as Toad favourites FOUND and Enfant Bastard, and Toad Records heroes Yusuf Azak and Inspector Tapehead are joined by Night Noise Team and others.  I think there will be some collaborating and some other Christmas jiggery-pokery too, but I am not entirely sure what to expect, honestly.  Apart from the fact that I am going to get very drunk indeed.

FOUND – Let Fidelity Break

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*Apologies if that analogy was just a little too tortured.  I know it was, and I judge myself.

Well I was really looking forward to seeing Julie Doiron’s new project Daniel, Fred & Julie this week, but it turns out the fucker’s cancelled, leaving us with little else but a gigantic, all-venue clusterfuck to disentangle on Saturday evening.

I generally don’t feel like the poor relation in musical bun-fights in Edinburgh, but on Saturday Yusuf’s album launch at the St. Stephen’s Centre is going toe to toe with the Leith Tape Club all-day special and, if that wasn’t bad enough, the three-venue, all day extravaganza which is Sneaky Fest.

I feel a bit like a comically feeble Disney character, armed with little more than a dinner fork, with a fire-breathing dragon on one side and an army of homicidally angry vikings on the other, desperately wondering if we can’t all just get along.  But these coincidences, annoying as they are, do just happen in the world of promotion, so only one thing to do: stop whining and just deal with it.

Actually, the Song, by Toad Records Commercial Strategy Department suggested that I just quietly neglect to mention either Sneaky Fest or the Leith Tape Club this week, but the grizzled, indomitable editorial team at Song, by Toad held out for journalistic integrity in the face of insidious commercial pressure – brave chaps, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Oh, and apart from those gigs listed below, Wounded Knee and Remember Remember are listed as playing the Electric Circus this week, but whilst it seems clear enough that Remember Remember are on Thursday 25th, the Electric Circus website is an utter nightmare to get any kind of useful information from, and although Wounded Knee are clearly written down there in the live music bit, it is not next to anything so useful as an actual date.  So erm, good luck.

Oh, and Laura Marling’s at the Liquid Room on Sunday too, but it’s already sold out and she’s incredibly fucking boring anyway, so no skin off anyone’s nose there.  Although a few of you perverts do actually like her stuff, don’t you?  I will never understand the internets.

Saturday 27th November 2010: Yusuf Azak, The Japanese War Effort and Ethan Ash at the St. Stephens Centre.

I’ve talked about the three Scottish launch dates in much more detail here, so suffice to say that I think the St. Stephens Centre looks like a fantastic venue, now that we’ve finally found one, and I would be deeply grateful to anyone forsaking our more glamorous competition to potter on down there on Saturday and enjoy some fine tunes and a glass of wine (it’s BYOB, incidentally, but there are plenty of places nearby).

Yusuf Azak – Eastern Sun

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Saturday 27th November 2010: Leith Tape Club All-Day Special at Cruz.

From Withered Hand to eagleowl, and from FOUND to Over the Wall, taking in a special mystery guest on the way, I have to confess that this looks like a brilliant evening.  And apart from sitting on the top deck in the blazing sunshine, it may be the first recorded instance of actual Fun taking place at Cruz since the days when it was the Guinness family yacht, and presumably saw parties that would turn even Lindsay Lohan’s hair white.

Withered Hand – Religious Songs

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Saturday 27th November 2010: Sneaky Fest three-venue, all-day bonanza.

This takes place in the Electric Circus, Cabaret Voltaire and Sneaky Pete’s, with one ticket covering all shows in all venues all day.  The full lineup is to be found by following the Sneaky’s link above, and includes the likes of Kid Canaveral, Washington Irving, My Tiny Robots, Kid Canaveral and Three Blind Wolves.

I seemed to forget why this was called the Fallcast until the very end, so it clearly isn’t a very central concept to the podcast itself.  Basically, I just rattle on about some new music for a bit, which means there’s hardly an excuse to call this bloody podcast anything, really.

Still, next week we have the Inspector Tapehead Toad Session, which is nearly finished, and then after that I was thinking about doing podcasts from vinyl.  I reckon I can probably just run a lead into to the microphone jack of the computer, straight from the Tape Out RCA connection on the back of the amp, although that may well not work I guess.  I could just get myself an mp3 turntable, but that’s expensive.  Still, doing the podcasts straight from vinyl seems like a good idea to me for the future.

For now, though, it’s just me sitting and talking shit to my computer, sorry.

Direct download: Toadcast #145 – The Fallcast

01. Broken Records – Modern Worksong (00.17)
02. Kurt Vile – In My Time (09.09)
03. Twin Shadow – When We’re Dancing (12.28)
04. Husband – Feelings (20.39)
05. Houses – Endless Spring (27.00)
06. Laku Noc – Sleep (29.53)
07. Brown Brogues – Treet U Beta (37.22)
08. Shapers – Virginia Reel (41.29)
09. FOUND – String Theory (44.33)
10. Ravens & Chimes – Division Street (54.31)

I just don’t understand it.  I mean, I come back from the most amazing musical weekend I think I have ever enjoyed, and instead of being interested and happy for me, when I start telling people about it they get this weird look in their eyes which looks just a little like blind homicidal rage.  Even more unusually, this look only seems to really go away when I shush and complain about the bad weather in Edinburgh this time of year.  (The weather on Eigg, by the way, was awwwwwesome!)

Anyhow, this is the epitome, in its own quiet way, of the dilemma faced by much of the music industry at the moment.  Do you make things smaller and more exclusive, and risk cutting off people who genuinely want to support you and be a part of what you are doing, or do you allow things to grow to the extent where they become unwieldy, lose their magic and you cease to actually find them rewarding yourself? Read the rest of this entry »

FOUND, like many in Edinburgh, have become more than just bands whose music I enjoy, over the last couple of years they have become a group of guys I genuinely consider to be friends. Consequently, it’s not just a mere journalist’s satisfaction at being vindicated that I feel when they achieve success, such as with Cybraphon‘s Best Interactive Thingy BAFTA last year, it is that really heartwarming feeling you get when people you really like have good things happen to them.

So, umm, something which I am only just getting round to announcing because I have been on holiday is that FOUND signed to Chemikal Underground the other week.  I think they went out and got shitfaced afterwards too, actually, according to Facebook, and so might they well.  Chemikal kicked themselves into life with the Delgados (who founded the label and, to the best of my knowledge still run it today), Mogwai and Arab Strap, a fact which gave them, pretty much in an instant, just about the three biggest indie bands in Scotland on their roster.  Even in the relatively short time I’ve been writing this blog they’ve released albums by Mother and the Addicts and Aidan Moffat which will probably count as two of my favourite albums of the last decade, not to mention the debut albums by Emma Pollock, The Phantom Band and the fantastic Lord Cut Glass record.

The label celebrated its tenth birthday a little while back, clearly established as just about the best label in the country.  Only Fence can really touch them in Scotland, I think, and not many more in the rest of Britain.  So yes, FOUND have most certainly landed on their feet there – congratulations lads.

The album itself will be out some time in the Spring.  I myself have been sitting on it as uncomfortably as one might a bowl of scorpions, twitching to play songs on the podcast or radio show and knowing that the band would fucking kill me if I did.  That’s the trouble with being in this position – exercising discretion is rarely a blogger’s best quality.  I’ve even resisted the temptation to pop a couple of the new songs they performed at Haarfest (and which I happened to film) up on the internet, just in case everyone involved would rather I didn’t.

Anyhow, erm, congratulations to FOUND and just as soon as I can start playing this stuff I promise I will.  It’s really good (sorry, I know that probably doesn’t help).  What I have managed is a Toad Session version of Vincent Gallo, which is on the record, and a version of Anti-Climb Paint, which is also on the record. This version is from an EP which was knocking around a little while ago, recorded under the name of Haggard the Listener Group. It is essentially FOUND, I think, but hopefully this is not considered to be letting anything untoward out of the bag, so you can be trusted to enjoy it safely.

Haggard the Listener Group – Anti-Climb Paint

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So, whilst the first half of 2010 was relatively quiet on the live music front, August was absolute mayhem. And as the dust settles on another festival period, and we try to assess the physical and financial damage in a calm and orderly fashion, it doesn’t look like things are slowing down on the gig radar. Which I’m rather pleased about.

Monday 6^th September 2010: Miaoux Miaoux and Wounded Knee at Electric Circus. Bart’s House. Sneaky Pete’s.

The rather talented Justin Corrie – not content in being in one third of indie popsters Maple Leave – brings his solo electronic project to Edinburgh. Also I’ll be intrigued to see how Wounded Knee’s looped folk meanderings go down amongst the glitz and glamour of Electric Circus.

Tuesday 7^th September 2010: Super Adventure Club, Luis Franscesco Arena and Hopwood & Black at Sneaky Pete’s.

I’ve no idea about the other two, but Super Adventure Club are brilliant in a really mental way. Or maybe mental in a really brilliant way.

Tuesday 7^th September 2010: Kath Bloom, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Woodpigeon and eagleowl at the Roxy Room.

Basically, an End of the Road warm up gig. And I may be biased, but I think this is one of the most interesting line-ups the cities seen in a while – an incredible coup for first time promoters Powan Presents. This Frontier Needs Heroes will be playing their own set before joining the legendary Kath Bloom as her backing band, just as eagleowl will do the same before swelling the ranks of Woodpigeon. So basically one big old alt.folk love-in.

Thursday 9^th September 2010: Panda Su, The Occasional Flickers and The Last of Private’s Balladeers at Sneaky Pete’s.

The Occasional Flickers will be playing a stripped down set for their first show in a  long while.

Friday 10^th September 2010: The Buzzcocks at The Liquid Rooms.

The Buzzcocks are one of only three good bands that have ever come out of Manchester. Discuss.

Friday 10^th September 2010: Francois & The Atlas Mountains at The Roxy.

Francois & the Atlas Mountains pretty much single handedly turned this year’s Homegame from a really nice community folk festival into an all out weekend dance party. And I’ll love them forever because of that.

Friday 10^th September 2010: Come on Gang!, FOUND and Jesus h. Foxx at The Caves.

Come on Gang! Single launch, featuring support from two of the most exciting and interesting bands in Edinburgh. You can’t go wrong, really.