11. The Scottish Enlightenment – St. Thomas

I waited ages for this album to materialise, and then once I’d loved the preceding EPs so much I started to get paranoid about over-anticipating it and ruining it for myself.  Once the ludicrous over-thinking was over, however, it turned out to be slow-burning gem: an album that simply fixes you in its gaze and keeps on reeling you in, sometimes so slowly that you wonder how it is so impossible to escape.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Pascal

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12. Liars – Sisterworld

There are times when I really think this is the album Grinderman should have been; not entirely, but here and there.  It does embody that drooling malevolence however, grumbling intimidatingly along before exploding into fearsome, thumping noise.  And when it does go mental it inspires some of the most unhinged leaping around that our living room has seen in ages.  There is more spite and rage in the fiercest moments of this album than pretty much anything else I’ve heard for years.  Not pure noise, just oozing malice.

Liars – The Overachievers

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13. Titus Andronicus – The Monitor

I have to confess that the first few times I heard this I just thought it was a big, ridiculous mess.  Honestly, there are guitar solos in here which sound like Celtic bagpipes, and all manner of other rambling digressions, often in the form of massive, proggy wig-outs.  Slowly though, once the ‘fuck, what?‘ impulse had worn off, I found myself loving this album, to my considerable surprise.  It is still a massive, preposterous mess, but it is done with such joyful abandon that I just can’t help myself.

Titus Andronicus -Richard II

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14. Run On Sentence – You the Darkness and Me

This record flavours its dark, fairytale folk atmosphere with that touch of glamorous theatricality which has been so badly done by so many others – only Dustin Hamman absolutely nails it.  There’s rattling percussion and a touch of exaggerated dramatics, marvellous vocals and a genuine emotional grip which doesn’t let you go from the start to the finish.  It’s not emotional in that uptight, inwardly focussed indie-kid way either, instead it erupts out of the album in an unabashed, unfiltered way which, for all it can seem over the top at times, always feels so genuine that even a professional sneerer like myself can’t be cynical about it.

Run On Sentence – Lost in Winter

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15. Glaciers – Here Come the Glaciers

In many ways I thought this was going to be a slow album of carefully constructed noises, drifting between the experimental and the odd, but it is far from that.  There are certainly those aspects to it, but there is a fullness and a pop sensibility to much of this which belies the introverted DIY aesthetic of the label and the album artwork (in other words, I made groundless assumptions and was wrong).  Nevertheless, this is a bold alternative to the acoustic sessions I had already heard, and an album I have come back to many a time since first hearing it.

Glaciers – Brooklyn

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I first got into Glaciers via some acoustic sessions recorded a while ago, and I’d come to think of the music as matching the name, which it still sort of does, just not in the way that I first thought.

Initially I saw the glacial nature of the band in the stillness.  Acoustically this is quiet, quiet music, of the sort that is drowned out by scrunched footsteps in the snow.  In this incarnation, with cymbal crashes muted but nevertheless everywhere, and the jangle of guitar never far away either, it seems more that it is the quiet, stubborn insistence which makes the name of this band so appropriate.

Because there is definitely something very purposeful about this album.  It may not rub it in your face, but it reminds me of trying to get a consensus in a meeting – you ask the quiet one last because everyone assumes that their hush represents assent, but in this case there is a silent but unshakeable denial.

It’s also far poppier than I expected. For some reason I was anticipating a rather austere album full of electronic clicks and distorted gain, but this is a tight, confident album with plenty of melody and a happy allocation of upbeat, toe-tapping songs.

There is still a fair bit of the aforementioned elements – the pops and clicks, the distorted atmospheric sounds, harmonium drones, songs which completely change direction about half way through, and the vocals certainly sound like they are snipped from a more experimental album than this one.  But with the piano and the lovely guitar sounds, this album has ended up as an immediately enjoyable and very satisfying record indeed.

It’s oddly all over the place too.  How Long ends with a distinctly trippy guitar and cymbal wig out, whereas at other times, such as In the Meeting of Tides, the piano staggers around the song like a drunken Wolf Parade.  This makes for a very rich album which very much rewards repeated listens, as much from song to song as across the record as a whole – a really impressive piece of work.

Glaciers – Happy Halloween

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Glaciers – Golden Tones

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Website | More mp3s | Buy direct from the band

This podcast is called the Greencast because we have the most hobbled government in recent memory – Cameron has kinda, sorta, maybe won, in the sense that he is actually the PM.

On the other hand Clegg, having been butchered at the polls, after a promising campaign, is now in a position of more influence than he was ever likely to gain from the election alone.

And yet Labour, despite being deposed, seem to have come out of it all better than anyone.  They may be out of power, but they are free from the millstone of the next few years of cuts, they can sit back and watch the Tories and the Lib Dems squabble for a couple of years and achieve nothing at all, and once the coalition has made fools of themselves for a couple of years Labour can pop up again with a new, smooth, television-friendly leader and trade on the inevitable failure of the preceding government.

So, as read in the Guardian, Labour may actually have won by losing.  And here are some tunes.  Utterly unrelated tunes!

Toadcast #122 – The Greencast

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01. Loch Lomond – Spine (05.49)
02. The Man From Delmonte – Drive Drive Drive (13.00)
03. The Magnetic Fields – Drive On Driver (15.24)
04. Modernaire – Bloodshed in the Woodshed (21.27)
05. Rats With Wings – Hungry Like the Wolf (29.27)
06. Pet Shop Boys – Rent (36.09)
07. David Bowie – Let’s Dance (40.59)
08. Huey Lewis & the News – The Power of Love (54.50)
09. Glaciers – Brooklyn (61.15)
10. The Moulettes – Bloodshed in the Woodshed (71.25)

Little Matthew, who helps us out with the record label and filming of Toad Sessions and guzzling of gin and whatnot, wrote about a band called Glaciers a little while ago, the musical and artistic project of a Mr. Nicolas Burrows.  And here is a little more news.

Burrows recently recorded a session with The Golden Owl, which is one of the loveliest looking music blogs I’ve happened across in a long time.  The results included a long interview, which I highly recommend reading here, and three lovely new recordings.

The performances are very simple – just an acoustic guitar, the gentlest of vocals, and lots and lots of empty space – but they really are lovely.  His voice reminds me a lot of local gentleman Thomas Western, actually – there’s just something in the inflections and slightly glutinous nature of it which sounds rather similar to me.

In any case, both of these projects look really interesting to me, both The Golden Owl and Glaciers.  Both seem to pay incredible attention to detail and put great love into their work.  I tend to be more focussed on giving myself as much work as possible, so it’s probably only natural that I end up nursing a sort of envious admiration for people who slow it down a bit and really do things properly – Kilter Records here in Edinburgh spring to mind as well – but it really does warm my heart to see this kind of wonderfully considered and beautiful work being done.

There are three mp3s to download from the session, including a splendid cover of Paper Planes by MIA, of all things, but you are going to have to go to The Golden Owl to find them.  Trust me, it is well worth your time to do so.

Glaciers – Meeting of Tides (Live for The Golden Owl)

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[The second part of this week's Sunday Supplement is a gig review written by (the other) Matthew, who helps us out with label work, for which we are hugely grateful, and is also working with Meursault, helping them organise and publicise their tour.  And in return for all this help we give him...  erm, we, er, give...  oh dear.]

This was superb. End of.

I thoroughly enjoyed each performance, though I don’t have much to say about Edward & The McCalls as this was my first real impression of them and I’d like to maybe take some time to get to grips with them a little more – though they did play some rather snazzy toe-tappers.

The thing I was particularly looking forward to was seeing My Kappa Roots perform. It would be really silly for me to try and describe how much I love this guy’s music. Everything about it is just perfect. There’s nothing like a good stroll with the iPod in playing The House of St Colme Burnt Down. I hadn’t seen Pablo play before so I was really fucking excited. He did not disappoint one bit. Each song was played with absolute perfection and at times I couldn’t help but let my jaw slip. I wasn’t aware if I was drooling or anything, but there’s a chance I was. Urgh. So. Fucking. Good.

The thing I noticed about Pablo was how good a guitarist he is. I’m really quite jealous actually. His songs are played so delicately and intricately with such a good balance between simple strums of emphasis and complicatedly plucked melodies. Beautiful.

Another thing is Pablo’s voice. If there is a sadder sound in the world I implore you to find it. I really, really love sad voices. I don’t know why. Perhaps my depressive tendencies make me a little more partial to them. Perhaps it’s because sadness is beautiful. Beauty is a sad thing. Was it not Oscar Wilde who said “all art is quite useless”? What a bloody distressing thought. Apologies. But it is very true. All things of beauty are useless – love, or indeed any emotion at all, music, literature. It’s all completely and utterly fucking useless. But we love it anyway.

I think I went a bit off the point there (though I hate people with “points”, I want to break their fucking point off and shove it…(yeah, there I go again)). Right, what was I saying? Oh yes. It was bloody good.

I’d actually only heard Glaciers maybe a week before this gig so it was still really fresh in my mind. I was really eager to see Nicolas play because I couldn’t – and still can’t – understand how someone can be so talented. Not only is he a damn good song writer  and amazing illustrator, he’s a bloody good performer. I’m about sick of falling in love with a band’s recorded work and then being disappointed by them live. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m just so unfortunate I keep catching them on an off day or something. But anyway, Glaciers was brilliant, to say the least.

Nicolas came across as a really lovely, patient chap with a… a, well I don’t want to sound clichéd, but a nice glow. He glowed with enthusiasm and real character, and it was a pleasure to watch. He also had his friend Will with him who played the organ and belted out some really beautiful singing. They made quite a lovely pair.

They started off with some really nice and quiet ukulele songs, which happen to be Nicolas’ interpretation of some found rugby songs. Quite brilliant. Then they moved on to his own songs which, I think, were played with a wee bit more confidence and presence.

The Bowery really is my favourite venue. It’s the perfect place to see these sorts of performances. It’s quiet, small, personal, upfront, modest and just plain wonderful. I love it. It’s the sort of place these sorts of bands can come out of their shell and feel comfortable enough to really get into their show without feeling too overpowering and obnoxious. It feels like you’re just in a room with your friends having a great time, whether it’s relaxing or partying, laughing or crying. I’m so glad it’s there.

 As for the gig itself, I’m not sure I have much more to say about it. Hmm. All I can think is that I wish it went on for a bit longer.

Oh yes. Check out Nicolas’ art stuffs. He’s a genius.

Glaciers – The Horse and Cow

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It’s a rather varied week of gigging this week, with Richard Hawley at the Queen’s Hall at one end of the spectrum and the Japanese War Effort at the Traverse Bar tonight at the other.  There are a few side-notes worth mentioning as well – like the vanishing Whispertown 2000 gig at Sneaky’s on Saturday which I would have liked to go to, but which I assume was cancelled and the appearance, for free, of 4AD’s Big Pink at Sick Note, late at Cabaret Voltaire on Thursday.

I think I can manage maybe a couple of these shows, but probably no more because if I don’t start showing Mrs. Toad some proper attention pretty damn sharpish there may end up being a little jar of pickled toad testicles on a shelf somewhere in our house.

Monday 12th October 2009: Japanese War Effort at the Traverse Bar.

The Japanese War Effort are one of my favourite bands (well okay, we all know it’s just Jamie) in Edinburgh at the moment.  I personally think his recorded stuff has been a little variable, if I’m being honest, but if you’re prepared to pay attention, Jamie is an engaging live performer whose live assembly of his loops and beeps, and the occasional emergence of an actual song from in amongst them, is always worth seeing.
Jamie says it’s somewhere under the Usher Hall, and when I Googled I got this, so good luck to you.

Japanese War Effort – Chocolat Froid

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Tuesday 13th October 2009: Richard Hawley at the Queen’s Hall.

Richard Hawley is one of the best live performers you’ll see.  Charming and witty without being in the slightest over-bearing, he brings his domestic, heartfelt crooning to life on stage to extent he doesn’t always quite manage on record.  It’s fucking expensive though – £21 quid, are they mental?

Richard Hawley – Born Under a Bad Sign

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Wednesday 14th October 2009: Girls, Swanton Bombs & St. Jude’s Infirmary at Sneaky Pete’s.

The band intent on making themselves utterly un-Googlable have named their band Girls and their album Album.  Fuckwits.  It doesn’t matter though, I still really like their music, which is scratchy and rough low-fi indie – breaking back and forth to something warmer from time to time, which makes for a nice dynamic, if you ask me.  I’m still listening to their album, but there will be a review on the site fairly soon.

Girls – Headache

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Wednesday 14th October 2009: Glaciers at the Bowery.

This is rather experimental and peculiar, apparently, so I can imagine it moistening the gussets of a fair few of my readers.  Have a listen on the MySpace link, but it sounds really rather interesting to me – very mysterious and atmospheric, which rhythmic, looping vocals and wheezing backdrops.

Thursday 15th October 2009: Meursault & the Red Well at Cabaret Voltaire.

This is a Mill gig, so you may have to drink unspeakable beer all night.

Friday 16th October 2009: Stricken City, North Atlantic Oscillation and My Cousin I Bid You Farewell at Sneaky Pete’s.

I know next to nothing about these bands, but Stricken City seem to be doing a nice job of re-interpreting female fronted 90s Britpop bands.

Stricken City – Tak O Tak

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Friday 16th October 2009: Panda Su & Last Battles at the Bowery.

Last Battles are about as fresh out of the box as it gets, I think, and I have yet to see them live, but it all sounds very promising if you have a listen to the MySpace stuff.  Male/female duets do it for me every time!

Sunday 18th October 2009: The Wave Pictures, Stanley Brinks & Freschard at Cabaret Voltaire.

I fucking love the Wave Pictures, and I fucking love the Wave Pictures live as well.  The roughness of their recordings translates really well into a free and relaxed live show, and the band generally seem to be really enjoying themselves.

The Wave Pictures – Your Heart is on Your Sleeve

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