Apparently no-one visits websites anymore, because it’s all about the social media and so on and so forth, so I suppose most of you have already seen this.

In case you haven’t, however, I have uploaded a free Song, by Toad Records sampler to Bandcamp, with songs from some of our more recent releases, as well as a healthy dose of new material from the releases we have planned for the rest of the year.

Our release schedule is slowly filling up, as well.  Before a brief break for the Edinburgh Festival we have four-song 7″ releases by King Post Kitsch and Lil Daggers, we have Surrender to Summer by The Japanese War Effort on 10″ vinyl, and we have albums by Lach and King Post Kitsch.  It is going to be very fucking busy indeed.

So, before all that excitement starts I figured I might as well give away some free sweeties to get people excited.  And here it is, downloadable for free from Bandcamp.  Enjoy!

It seems like a very long time since I have given you anything like a news update on Song, by Toad Records, and that’s because I usually keep these things restricted to times when I have something to give away, like an mp3 or a new video or something like that.

In this case I don’t have any such thing, but there has been a lot going on so I thought I should probably give you a wee update anyway, because somewhat amazingly, we have no less than five new signings to announce (I hate that word, but you know what I mean).   So, in order of their forthcoming releases:

King Post Kitsch

I have been a fan of Charlie’s for some time, since Lloyd from Peenko very kindly introduced me to his music a year or so ago. He’s just moved up to Glasgow from London and is putting together a new band, if you’re interested and can drum or play guitar.  On the 16th May we’ll be releasing a four-song single Don’t You Touch My Fucking Honeytone on 7″ vinyl, and then his debut album The Party’s Over comes out on the 13th June.

The Japanese War Effort

I hesitate to use words like ‘signed’ with Jamie, because he’s such a creative wee bastard that he’ll probably turn up on things released on half a dozen different labels over the next few years.  Anyhow, he has agreed to let us release the absolutely blinding Surrender to Summer EP on 10″ vinyl, and although we don’t have a date set just yet, I am thinking that the tail end of June makes sense – it is called Surrender to Summer, after all.

Lach

Yes, for some reason the gentleman who invented the New York anti-folk movement which, as well as kind of defining an entire genre of music, nurtured the early careers of the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches, Beck and Regina Spektor, has decided he wants to release his next album on Song, by Toad Records. Ramshackle Heart is coming out on the 18th July, and Lach will be reprising his stellar turn at the Edinburgh Festival again, both as a one-man show as well as bringing back the Anti-hoot.

Rob St. John

Having recorded his album in just two and a half days in February, Rob is going to have to wait until the Autumn to see it released.  I am not sure of the title yet, but we have a release date of 26th September and a plan to put it out as a gorgeous gatefold vinyl 12″, with Rob’s own photography forming the bulk of the album artwork.

Lil Daggers

This one isn’t quite what you would describe as a done deal, although it is agreed in principle, in the sense that we’ve asked if they’d like us to release their stuff over here (the band themselves are actually from Florida) and they said yes.  So that’s about as done a deal as we usually have, here at Song, by Toad Records.  Anyhow, we’ll be putting out their 7″ King Corpse EP over here sometime in July, followed by their self-titled debut album, probably sometime in October or November depending on what we all decide together when they get back form their current tour.

Crucially, King Post Kitsch and Lil Daggers are ‘Approved By Mrs. Toad’, a phrase you can expect to hear a little more of from time to time around these parts.  Basically, it means that she likes them because they make a racket.  And here, because I had to give you at least something to download for free, is the promotional track their US label Livid Records is using to promote the US release of Lil Daggers: Slave Exchange.

Lil Daggers – Slave Exchange

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Ruth and I were back on Fresh Air Radio last night, but due to all sorts of massively annoying database problems with the site, I couldn’t put up one of those live playlist updatey things like I usually do, which was really kind of frustrating.

After spending last term more or less missing one another every single show I must confess I am looking forward to getting things right in 2011 and the chance to spend an hour and a half every week bickering with the old trout about music.

So given you had no opportunity to agree with Ruth about how fucking awful my taste in music is, I thought I would at least post the actual playlist online so you can see what we played and have a think about whether or not you can really be arsed tuning in next week, by which time my Toady IT problems should be well and truly behind me.

01. Mountain Man – How’m I Doing
02. Ringo Deathstarr – Do it Every Time
03. Rob St. John – Whites of Our Eyes (Toad Session Sneak Preview)
04. P.S. I Love You & Diamond Rings – Leftovers
05. Fleet Foxes – Hopelessness Blues
06. Active Child – I’m in Your Church at Night
07. Francoise Hardy – This Little Heart
08. Dad Rocks! – Nothing Keeps Up
09. Lach – I Won’t Miss You
10. Nana Grizel – Blackbox
11. The Good Ones – Sara
12. The Honorable Worm – Wouldn’t Mind Dying
13. Owen Pallett – Lewis Takes off his Shirt
14. Black Tambourine – Throw Aggi off a Bridge

This is my annual World of Song, by Toad Records podcast, where I prattle on a bit about the stuff we have coming up in the new year.  I play a couple of things we released towards the tail end of the year, and some stuff by some of the new bands we’re going to be working with for the first time in 2011.

I also prattle on at immensely tedious length about the ins and outs of running a record label, which may or may not actually interest you at all, but it’s there whether you like it or not.

We’ve got plans for some changes for the new year as well, with a new imprint for the label being launched, and a partnership with the Brothers Grimm for the creation of new lines of merch to go with every release.  It’s going to be a bit exhausting, I think, but immense fun nevertheless.

Direct download: Toadcast #155 – Song, by Toad Records 2011

01. King Post Kitsch – Eggshells (00.21)
02. Animal Magic Tricks – Heavenly Bodies (06.31)
03. The Savings and Loan – The Virgin’s Lullaby (18.45)
04. Inspector Tapehead – Sugar on Your Sheets (22.00)
05. Rob St. John & the Braindead Collective – The Whites of Our Eyes (28.11)
06. Loch Lomond – Elephants and Little Girls (41.36)
07. Trips and Falls – This is All Going to End Badly (52.37)
08. Jesus H. Foxx – Plans (Alt. Version Demo) (54.59)
09. Meursault – Another (61.34)
10. Lach – I Want to Be With You (65.56)
11. Yusuf Azak – Lay Me Down (Demo) (76.49)

As I have mentioned many times on these pages, Lach has been in Edinburgh this Summer to host an Edinburgh version of his legendary New York anti-folk open mic night, the Antihoot, as well as his own one-man show The Day I Went Insane.

There are some videos of Neil from Meursault and Yusuf Azak performing live at the Antihoot here, and those of you who probably read this page far more regularly than you should do may also have noticed the fact that Lach was also kind enough to guest on the Fresh Air radio show I do with Ruth.

Given that the CD players weren’t working, so neither Lach nor Ruth could play their song choices, and the fact that we ended up almost exclusively chattering rather than interspersing much music I suppose you could say it wasn’t the snappiest show we’ve ever done, but we have since recorded a far more disciplined (well, okay, slightly more disciplined) Toad Session with Lach, and we have these rather good videos from his Fresh Air Session too.

Having missed most of the first week of the Festival by being in Spain, I am now going to miss large parts of this week by pootling about in Anstruther at Haarfest (tickets can be found in the right hand column of this page).

Mrs. Toad will presumably hate me for this of course, as she has to stay behind in Edinburgh and do a proper job, whereas I can fuck off to Fife, get lashed, and call it work.  Mwaaah hah haaa…!

Given the fact that during the Festival the centre of Edinburgh becomes roughly as welcoming as the picture above I think I’ll appreciate a swift relocation for a few days, ready to come back to the last week of the Festival, go to a couple of shows and pretend I always knew it was going to be fun all along.

Anyhow, for those of you not Fifing themselves all to pieces this week I have some very fine recommendations indeed:

Lach’s Antihoot – from Wednesday at the Gilded Balloon.

I was at the first night, which was great, and apparently this week has been great fun, according to the man himself and according to Dylan’s drunken Facebook pictures of himself, Bart and Jamie and Rory from Broken Records who played there on Saturday.

Tuesday 17th August 2010: Withered Hand & The Last Battle at the Electric Circus.

Dan from Withered Hand is currently working on his second album, although I am not sure how far he’s actually got just yet.  Either way, I’m probably as excited to hear new stuff from Withered Hand as I am to hear new stuff from any band on Song, by Toad Records. Dan’s way with words is as good as anyone I know, and his knack of wrapping them up in simple but effective melodies makes his music both as pleasurable and as rewarding as anything else happening in Edinburgh at the moment.

Withered Hand – Religious Songs

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Tuesday 17th August 2010: John Grant & Rachel Sermanni at the Wee Red Bar.

John Grant used to be in a band called The Czars who had some truly brilliant moments.  I saw him at SXSW, and he stepped up to a piano in a checked shirt and sporting a very alt-country sort of beard and then instead of playing the sort of Bella Union alt country I expected (fairly obvious assumptions based on costume and venue) he played a series of sweet, melodic piano ballads, with just the faintest scent of theatricality about them.  I haven’t heard the album yet, but that was an intriguing show and I’d recommend checking his stuff out.

John Grant – Where Dreams Go to Die

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Tuesday 17th August 2010: The Besnard Lakes, Heart Beats & Penguins Kill Polar Bears at Sneaky Pete’s.

I haven’t seen the Besnard Lakes live, but their sound is really nicely complex and layered, and when their songs are good they are really really good.  If that translates to the live setting as well as I suspect it might then this could be an almighty wall of sound and completely brilliant.  That’s just a guess though, but I would like to think it’s true.  Let me know if you go and find out.

The Besnard Lakes – Chicago Train

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Thursday 19th August 2010: The Scottish Enlightenment, Debutant & Dan Lyth at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

This is something of a stripped back gig for the Scottish Enlightenment, due to the absence of a guitarist, but nevertheless their slow, deliberate sound is a treat I would recommend to anyone.  There is an album due out shortly, which I am heartily looking forward to.

The Scottish Enlightenment – Riverbed

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Thursday 19th August 2010: Sleepy Sun at Sneaky Pete’s.

I’ll be honest with you, I know no more about this than the fact that I had a listen to their MySpace page and thought it sounded interesting.  Interesting it did sound however, so I reckon it might well be worth a chance if you’re looking for something to do on Thursday.

Ruth is back on the air, and she and I commence our weekly Festival special show today at 7pm on Fresh Air. We’re on tonight, Sunday 22nd and 29th, and will be trying to get live session types in for each show, as per usual.

Tonight we are lucky enough to be joined by Lach, the driving force behind the anti-folk movement which started in New York and is relocating to Edinburgh for the Festival in the form of Lach’s Antihoot.

Listen live here from 7pm BST.

For anyone interested in some Neil Pennycook and Yusuf Azak solo acoustic videos and a bit of a review of the first night, click here.  In the meantime, we’ll be updating the playlist live as we go along this evening, so feel free to heckle us in the comments as we go along.

1. Donny Hue and the Colors – Corrine Corrina
2. Adam Balbo – ObligatoryHighway
3. Arcade Fire – Sprawl II
4. Lach – Lego (Live)
5. Lach – Antennae (Live)
6. Lach – Baby (Live)
7. The Chord and The Fawn – Young Executive
8. Lach – Egg
9. Meursault – Crank Resolutions

[Three more videos below.]

Lach’s famous New York open mic night the Antihoot is responsible for launching the careers of many of the bands people who read this site love the most.  He is, in fact, the man responsible for terms like anti-folk and the movement it represents.

I have to confess I find this kind of odd.  The term is something which has been so ingrained in my musical vocabulary ever since I started writing about music that the idea of it having been invented so recently seems really rather odd.

I always kind of knew I was into anti-folk as well, because the rinky-dinky super traditional stuff has never really attracted me that much, so even before I knew the term I was drawn to bands like The Pogues and Bob Dylan (and even to a degree people like Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg) who would take traditional formats and give them a good beating before they sent them out there.  In fact, Dylan’s own struggles with the New York folk establishment rather mirror those of Lach, so the concept of anti-folk has been around for a while, even if the coherent, more unified movement which gave rise to the likes of Jeffrey Lewis and Kimya Dawson did not.

Most of the Edinburgh alt-folkies I know speak of the original anti-folk movement with a kind of hushed reverence, so I guess it’s no surprise that most of them are making an appearance at some point during the Antihoot’s three week Edinburgh run.

On the first night we had a couple of Toad Records favourites down; Yusuf Azak and Neil Pennycook from Meursault.  I’ve seen both of these guys perform like this many times however, so the happiest surprise of the night was actually Finn from Trapped in Kansas.  He hunched over his guitar and sang in an oddly nasal voice, but his was the genuine ‘Oh, hello, what’s this?’ moment for me on the opening night, particularly as I had no idea who he was until he mentioned his band halfway through his set.

Invariably in the midst of a Festival best known for its stand up comedy there were a few in the crowd who, by one in the morning, had optimistically decided that they too were funny, funny guys.  Lach himself, as compere, did a good job of keeping them quiet, but the bands dealt with it well too.  Most satisfyingly, I heard a couple of the performers talking about getting their mates down on a regular basis so that there was always a hardcore presence of people who were there to enjoy the music.

One thing, however, which became increasingly obvious as the night wore on was this: when the bands were good, the shushing didn’t have to last beyond the first thirty seconds of the song because the most talented musicians, irrespective of genre, were consistently able to keep the crowd’s attention.  This, I suppose, is the double-edged sword of the open mic night.

I also thought the show benefitted from the format: eight minutes or two songs, whichever came first.  It meant that if someone was shit, they were off too quickly to become tiresome.  That alone makes it worth going along, particularly if one or two people you know are likely to be playing, because there were a lot of good performers there who I’ve never heard a whisper of before.

Dylan has also put a few photos up on Blueback Hotrod, if you fancied a look at those too.

So, the Festival descendeth upon Edinburgh once more, and once more we are beset by London-based Home County Yahs braying their zany way through the city until finally someone snaps and sets fire to their stupid fucking stilts once and for all.

Actually, as I confess pretty sharpish, I am the classic Edinburgh Festival hypocrite, if I’m being honest with myself.  I love it as much as I loathe it and I enjoy moaning about it almost as much as I enjoy the Festival itself.

As a native you really do have to have the right attitude though.  If you come from outside just for the Festival then there’s little chance of you failing to take advantage of it, but if you live here the only way is to do it by extremes: either totally ignore it and stay as far away as you can, or just stop moaning, get stuck in, get pished and go to lots of shows.  I tend to prefer the latter option, but I’ll confess I don’t always do a good job of actually taking my own advice.

Direct download: Toadcast #134 – The Festicast

01. Thee Single Spy – OK Corral (02.53)
02. Lach – A Quiet Distance (11.50)
03. Bob Dylan – Man of Constant Sorrow (Live) (14.59)
04. Run On Sentence – Wide Open Sky (22.20)
05. Skeleton Bob – Findlove is a Housing Scheme (33.11)
06. Wounded Knee – Coffee Ballad (34.43)
07. The Delta Mirror – He Was Worse Than the Needle He Gave You (39.31)
08. Balkans – Georganne (45.50)
09. Modest Mouse – This Devil’s Workday (50.33)
10. Eels – I Put a Spell on You (58.36)

Well, after a bit of a lull last week there’s all sorts of crap going on in and around Edinburgh this week, so choose wisely because trying to attend everything could just be the end of you.  As well as the usual recommendations there are a couple of half-recommendations this week; gigs I feel I should want to go to, but am actually not that fussed about.  Crystal Antlers (I mean, come on, they have Crystal in their name, they have to be good, almost as guaranteed as having Fuck in your name last year, or Bear the year before that, or Wolf… well, never mind) are playing at Sneaky Pete’s with Times New Viking and Dupec.  These are all bands I feel I should like more than I do, for some reason.

The same applies to all of Glenn Tilbrook, Kristin Hersh and Alastair Roberts who are playing Cabaret Voltaire on Tuesday 19th, Wednesday 20th and Friday 22nd respectively.  I should be excited about them (well, maybe not Mr. Tilbrook in particular, no offence) but for all it is good that these guys are playing Edinburgh I find myself no more than vaguely interested in their gigs.  The splendid Rob St. John is supporting Alastair Roberts though, so that one is definitely the most appealing of the lot.

In terms of gigs I am likely to be attending, well let’s go, shall we.  And, er, just check Saturday out.  The Edinburgh gig going public might well be spread very thinly indeed this Saturday:

Thursday 21st May 2009: White Heath, Yusuf Azak & Colourmusic play Limbo at the Voodoo Rooms.

Well all know I think Yusuf Azak is bloody brilliant, but White Heath were also excellent at Trampoline last Saturday.  Their sound is very crowded, and their lead singer sounds a little like a muezzin who has rather badly lost his way, but they sound really, really promising to me.  Trombone and mental fiddle solos? Count me in!  And they even play the bongos without sounding shite, which is an achievement in itself.  They’re going to be working on some new recordings with Alex from Fentek Audio in the near future, and Alex appears to be carving out a reputation as one of Edinburgh’s most trusted sound guys, so this is very good news.  I’ll definitely be at this one.
Colourmusic – Spring Song

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Thursday 21st May:Benni Hemm Hemm and Withered Hand at the Bowery.

Glacial Icelandicism is no surprise these days, but this is more of a style we might associate with the rest of Scandinavia, with an almost januty instrumental pop style never far from the surface.  Benni will be at the Bowery on Thursday with the brilliant Withered Hand.

Friday 22nd May 2009: The Mannequins, The Pineapple Chunks and quite a few others at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

In amongst a lot of bigger names this week, I reckon this looks like the pick of the bunch when it comes to more under the radar slots.  I’ve been slack at checking the Henry’s listings recently because they’ve been rather quiet since the new year, but I hear that that is about to be taken firmly in hand and they will be making a bit of a push in the coming months.  The Mannequins have some pretty decent pop songs from the sound of it, and The Pineapple Chunks have done well at Limbo in the past, so I think this is gig to go to if you’re looking for something a little off the beaten track.
The Mannequins – Little Black Book

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Cats in Paris & Mitchell Museum at Cabaret Voltaire.

I should really be at the Stag & Dagger Festival in Glasgow watching Meursault on Saturday, but they asked me to sign release forms so that Meursault’s set could be both filmed and recorded and then denied me permission to film at the festival myself, so they can go and fuck themselves with a bag full of scorpions, frankly.  Instead, I will be at Cabaret Voltaire watching the very fashionable Cats in Paris and the very excellent Mitchell Museum.  The last time I saw Mitchell Museum was in a rather large venue, so somewhere more intimate and a little sweatier should be great fun.
Mitchell Museum – Arthur Loves the Shadows

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Found, Player Piano, The Pictish Trail & King Creosote at the GRV.

I just don’t go the GRV, not really on purpose, more because they so rarely have my kind of music on the bill there that I get a little lazy about checking the listings.  This one is pretty bloody obvious though: a kind of Fence Collective Allstars get together, with all the charismatic alt-folk you could wish for.  Player Piano is more of a lush pop band though, and Found aren’t really folky at all, so I don’t think this would be the Fence Collective of hushed and lovely balladry which you might expect if you were coming along on the basis of a hundred-word newspaper clipping.
Player Piano – Anything At All

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Anathallo, Samamidon, The Stormy Seas & Your Boy Blair at Sneaky Pete’s.

Anathallo, although I know very little about them, sound rather lovely from a quick skim of their MySpace page.  Also on the bill is the truly gorgeous Samamidon, and anyone who missed either of his Bowery gigs this Winter really should not miss this.  He has the loveliest voice and the most amazing way with a banjo you are likely to hear anywhere, ever.
Anathallo – The River

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Saturday 23rd May 2009: Lach at the Bowery.

Lach pretty much started what is generally thought of as the modern anti-folk movement in New York, and he certainly coined the phrase itself.  It’s hardly a new thing of course – Bob Dylan rubbed the folkies all up the wrong way when he first turned up as well, but they couldn’t really ignore him for all that long.  Getting a legendary figure like Lach to the Bowery is something of a coup as far as I’m concerned so, er, what the fuck am I going to do on Saturday with all these bands to see.  I can’t miss this one.
Lach – A Quiet Distance

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Sunday 24th May: Defiance Ohio, Madeline, Withered Hand, Torn Strings & Billy Liar at the Bowery.

Madeline is a big favourite of my pal Rich who writes the Georgia (no, the one in the States) blog Cable & Tweed, so I really think I should go to this.  After all, without Rich we would have no Porlolo, no Builders & the Butchers, no Loch Lomond, no Sleepy Horses and no 63 Crayons.
Madeline – White Flag

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