Don’t ask me why I used a picture of Wayne and Garth on this post I just… well the roadies in their movies were the most memorable, and this post is about touring and stuff, and I couldn’t find a picture of a Wayne’s World roadie quickly so I thought fuck it.

Anyhow, two bits of news:

Meursault are touring the UK and Europe as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s main support. 

Rob St. John is playing SHHH Festival.

The latter won’t clog up the page with tour dates, so I’ll do that first. The SHHH Festival is a celebration of quiet music and film, with bands playing, a film about David Thomas Broughton and musicians soundtracking silent movies.  It’s on Saturday 4th February at the Gallery Cafe in London and is less than a tenner too, so get your tickets here.

Now, as to the former little announcement, Meursault have been very kindly invited to support Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on their tour of the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe at the end of the month.  I’m not sure what else there is to say about this apart from the fact that it’s fucking incredible news, and to thank Clap Your Hands for inviting them. All the ticket info and the like can be found on Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s website, but I’ve included a list of the dates below for ease of browsing. The only gig Meursault will be missing will be the Paris date on the 15th of February (which I haven’t listed below anyway).

25/1/12 – Dublin, Tripod
26/1/12 – Cork, Pavilion
27/1/12 – Galway, Roisin Dubh
28/1/12 – Glasgow, SWG3
30/1/12 – Leeds, The Cockpit
31/1/12 – Norwich, Waterfront
2/2/12 – Manchester, Ritz
3/2/12 – Liverpool, O2 Academy
4/2/12 – Bristol, Thekla
6/2/12 – Birmingham, HMV Library
7/2/12 – Brighton, Coalition
8/2/12 – London, Shepherd’s Bush Empire
10/2/12 – Utrecht, Tivoli
11/2/12 – Brussels, Orangerie
12/2/12 – Copenhagen, Frost Fest, Bremen Theatre
14/2/12 – Berlin, Postbahnhof
16/2/12 – Munich, Theaterfabrik
17/2/12 – Zurich, Plaza Club
18/2/12 – Bologna, Covo Club

For this podcast I am joined by Ian, who is now a member of the Song, by Toad Records team, to go through a bit of a run-down of what’s going to be happening on the label this year.

We’ve got a couple of our more recent releases, like Rob St. John and Lil Daggers, as well as some of our confirmed and ready new albums for next year, by the likes of The Leg, Jesus H. Foxx and Yusuf Azak.

I’ve also got a couple of tracks from bands we’ll be releasing on a split 12″ in the Spring.  We’ll be recording that stuff in our house next week, so the songs we chose to represent those bands are for obvious reasons not the final ones we’ll be releasing, just tracks by the bands so you can get a bit of a flavour of what we’re up to.

With Ian on board and based on the good press we managed last year I am hoping we can really kick on with the label this year and make a decent impression.  Obviously the third Meursault album will  help, what with them being our most established band, but we have a good spread of stuff, from bands like Dolfinz with only a few demos to their name, to the likes of Yusuf Azak and The Leg who people know already and then the Foxx album, which has been ‘much anticipated’ for a while now.

So all in all it should be an exciting year, I reckon.  Enjoy!

Direct download: Toadcast #208 – Song, by Toad Records 2012

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01. Mongrels – I’m Gonna Murder Justin Bieber (00.21)
02. King Post Kitsch – The Make the Same Faces Whether Fuck or Fight (02.46)
03. Meursault – Flittin’ (locationmusic.tv Piano Version) (08.49)
04. Rob St. John – The Acid Test (17.59)
05. Lil Daggers – Dead Golden Girls (22.05)
06. Paws – Bloodline (Toad Session) (31.52)
07. Jesus H. Foxx – This is Not a Rental Car (40.31)
08. The Leg – Twitching Stick (43.00)
09. Sex Hands – Jinglebitch (51.56)
10. Dolfinz – Blowhole (55.36)
11. Yusuf Azak – Lay Me Down (63.12)

 Well, after last year’s neck-and-neck battle between Meursault and The National, this year’s Song, by Toad Readers’ Top Five Albums was something of a stroll by comparison.

Although the field behind this album was congested, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins’ Diamond Mine was a comfortable winner in the end.  Whilst I doubt this quite makes up for missing out on the Mercury Prize to P.J. Harvey, it’s interesting to note that after a very strong initial showing, she didn’t even make the top five of this particular list.  And you can bet your arse she won’t be on mine.

A wee nod must also go to King Post Kitsch.  Home field advantage, whilst I assume it must have some effect, doesn’t seem to behave all that predictably when it comes to these votes, because other than Rob St. John, no-one else from the label has managed to force their way onto the podium. King Post Kitsch did really well on both the song and album of the year votes, however, missing out on a place in the top five by a single vote in each case, which is really impressive for an album released so early in the year by a band who haven’t played a single gig in 2011.

=4. FOUND – Factorycraft A little like King Post Kitsch, I thought this album might suffer a little from being released so early in the year, but it seems long memories and awesome live shows have kept this bloody brilliant record at the forefront of everyone’s minds.  It made a very late run to get into the top five, but I am delighted you lot decided to vote for this one.

FOUND – Machine Age Dancing

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=4. Josh T. Pearson – The Last of the Country Gentlemen This is a long, morose and emotionally rather heavy album, which makes the impression it has clearly had on people a little surprising, as far as I’m concerned.  I mean, I bloody love it, but I didn’t necessarily expect everyone else to.

Josh T. Pearson – Country Dumb (Piano Version)

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=2. Rob St. John – Weald Well well well, once again, I’m not sure if I’m slightly embarrassed or highly gratified to have one of our own albums on here.  This whole thing was pretty much recorded in two days downstairs in our living room, and I knew that they were brewing something quite special.  Apart from the actual bits I heard, Tom, Neil and Rob were so giddy with excitement when they finished on the Friday night that you could tell something was definitely up – and up it most certainly proved to be!

Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea

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=2. Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – Everything’s Getting Older It’s probably going to come across as a little hypocritical from someone who loved the Josh T. Pearson album, but I actually find a lot of the introspection here a bit suffocating, meaning I never really got into this record to the extent a lot of other people seemed to.  Still, it’s been bloody popular, so fair play to ‘em.

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – The Copper Top

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1. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine I am not entirely surprised that this won, but I have to say that I considerably prefer That Might Be it, Darling, if we’re discussing King Creosote’s recent output. That album has the tension and awkwardness which I think makes KC’s music so great, contrasting as it does with his incredibly lovely voice.  This record I just find a little smooth, if I’m honest.  KC for Guardian readers, I suppose.  The songs are exceptional, so I still enjoy the album, but I am not sure I’d have picked it myself.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Bubble

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Ha ha no P.J. Harvey.

Well here we are again, with lists this time generated by yourselves rather than me.  With one exception none of these songs would have been anywhere near my personal Festive Fifty, and the one which would have made it is forbidden due to an obvious clash of interests.

It’s weird, but it does at the very least go to show that the idea of the blogosphere being just a great big mutual back-slapping exercise, with everyone telling everyone else just how awesome they are most of the time, isn’t entirely accurate.  Still, just because I am an opinionated fucker doesn’t mean I don’t want to be disagreed with – just the opposite in fact, because it’s generally much more fun.

Honorable mentions must also go to FOUND and Adam Stafford, who managed an awful lot of votes as bands, but not consistently for the same song, resulting in them missing out on the top five, despite having a lot of votes in total.

So, without further ado, I hereby present the Song, by Toad Readers’ Top Five Songs of 2011:

=3: King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Bats in the Attic Despite being one of my favourite artists, and previous remix work by Jon Hopkins being some of my favourite KC stuff, this album didn’t personally grab me as much as it seems to have everyone else, but this is most certainly my favourite song on it.  I included votes for the ‘Unravelled’ version from their EP as well, partly because it only seemed fair, and partly because I too preferred it.

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Bats in the Attic

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=3: P.J. Harvey – The Words That Maketh Murder Alright, I’ll admit, I just don’t get P.J. Harvey.  She won the Mercury Prize though, she’s on every damn end of year list I’ve read, and some of my best friends and favourite musicians think she’s awesome.  So I guess I just have to shrug and let this one pass, and confess that I must just be missing something.

P.J. Harvey – The Words That Maketh Murder

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=3: The Twilight Sad – Sick This is a very good song, but I’ll admit it ain’t in my personal Festive Fifty.  They were fantastic at the Bongo Club a couple of months ago though, and I have really high hopes for the album.

The Twilight Sad – Sick

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2: Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – The Copper Top The only song which came even close to giving the winner a run for its money. This is from another album which hasn’t really captured my imagination anything like as much as it seems to have with everyone else.  Nevertheless, of all the songs I heard on it I will agree that this was my favourite as well.

Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat – The Copper Top

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1: Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea Part of me thinks that this poll would look more genuine if one of our own acts hadn’t finished at the top, and part of me knows full well that if no-one had voted for any of our bands then I would have had a gigantic sulk to myself, so I guess there’s no winning, really.  And oddly enough, I might have picked Domino, Stainforth Force or maybe Vanishing Points ahead of this, if I were picking favourite songs from Weald. Nevertheless, this is a stunning record, and I am glad you voted for it, because I obviously can’t do so myself and it clearly deserves some sort of bloody recognition!

Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea

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 Okay, angry mob of the Toad readership, do your very worst.  Today, as promised, is the day we vote on our five favourite songs of the year so there will be no foolish questions as per usual, but what there will be is the chance for you to write down your favourite songs, in no particular order, and I will count them up and find out which songs the readers of Toad have enjoyed the most this year.

There aren’t any real rules, although the song should have been released in 2011.  And also, just to help me count, I’d appreciate it if you could write in in the form Artist – Song Title please.  Other than that, umm… well, do your worst, I suppose.

And, as per usual, El, Brian and myself will be live on Fresh Air Radio from about half three in the afternoon.  We have special guests this week, but they were invited by El and I have no idea who they are, what they do or why they are there.  I guess I will find out when I get there.

Live on Fresh Air Radio from 3:30pm UK time – listen here.

Now, to get you in the mood for voting for your top five songs, here’s a quick recap of last year’s winners, as well as a link to the thread itself where the voting took place.

1. The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio

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2. eagleowl – No Conjunction

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=3. Meursault – What You Don’t Have

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=3. Broken Records – You Know You’re Not Dead

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=3. Foals – Spanish Sahara

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And the playlist for this week’s show shall appear live below, as we play the songs:

1. Whirling Pig Dervish – Bawjaws
2. The Cure – The Love Cats
3. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – John Taylor’s Month Away
4. Ringo Deathstarr – Do It Every Time
5. Twin Shadow – Slow
6. Hooray for Earth – True Loves
7. DZ Deathrays – Teeth
8. Joanna Gruesome – Lemonade Grrl
9. Class Actress – Weekend
10. Shirley Ellis – The Clapping Song
11. Blondie – Hanging on the Telephone
12. Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea
13. Foals – Spanish Sahara
14. The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
15. Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

As we get closer and closer to the official release of Weald, Rob St. John’s debut album, we figured one last freebie was worth offering up, and if you still aren’t into it, then frankly there’s no redeeming you, sorry.

After the gorgeous Your Phantom Limb (available to preview and to buy on 7″ here) we figured something bigger and more upbeat was in order, to showcase the full range of the album.  Sargasso Sea may start out small, but it builds to a great crescendo of harmonies, charging forward with forceful bass and drums in a rousing ending which apparently lasted longer than the song itself, until an executive decision was made by Rob and Neil to maybe fade it out at the five minute mark or so.

There’s always  part of me which secretly regrets these sensible decisions, but at least it does mean that the song is radio-friendly, and as such it is excellent to see Gideon Coe giving it a couple of spins this week.  Gideon has been consistently supportive of Song, by Toad Records since our very first release, so I really appreciate the fact that he’s continued to stick by us for so long.

Anyhow, the album is out on gatefold vinyl (with download code) on the 22nd or something like that, but if you order one from us I’ll post it out, and I gave Avalanche Records in Edinburgh a couple of advance copies too. In the meantime you can download Sargasso Sea for free from the embedded Soundcloud widget below.  Enjoy!

Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea by Song, by Toad

 This is called the Barfcast because I feel like utter, unmitigated shite this morning, after another awesome evening with Mrs. Toad getting scooshed and playing records.  I think I had Weald on at the maximum volume our amp can actually manage.  Which, for the record, is pretty fucking loud.

So now I am off to get ready for not one, but three gigs.  Firstly the Ides of Toad at Henry’s, then Lach and Viv Albertine after that, and then Flamin’ Hott Toadzzz! in Anstruther tomorrow.  When the chance to have a good sleep comes, I think I will have earned it!

Sometime this week I will figure out what the fuck to do with the 200th podcast. Or at least, I’d better!  There have been a good few calls to get Mrs. Toad back on, which is a lovely idea, but will depend very much on whether or not she can possibly be arsed, which I wouldn’t take for granted.

Direct download: Toadcast #199 – The Barfcast
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01. Bobby Fuller Four – I Fought the Law (00.26)
02. Evan Dando – $1000 Wedding (Gram Parsons) (04.41)
03. Easter – Damp Patch (07.39)
04. Preston School of Industry – So Many Ways (13.52)
05. Sparklehorse – Piano Fire (18.57)
06. The Black Tambourines – A Lot of Friends (26.31)
07. Ghost Outfit – Tuesday (30.47)
08. Loch Awe – I Will Drift into 10,000 Streams (35.33)
09. Lil Daggers – Dada Brown (42.32)
10. Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea (44.45)
11. Dan Mangan – About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help at All (55.56)

Malky from eagleowl asked if a friend of his could come along to Rob St. John’s album launch the other week and take some pictures.  Well he did, and despite the lighting being a bit of a challenge, they’ve turned out beautifully.  The gentleman in question is Iain Stewart, whose website is here, and here is a small selection of pics from Pilrig the other week. Thanks – they look fantastic!

 There will be a bit of a change to the format of the Friday Fives for the next few weeks, as I combine it with my radio show on Fresh Air, which is the student radio station here in Edinburgh.

I will be joined by Brian Pokora, who plays guitar for The Last Battle, Loch Awe and Trapped Mice (and probably three or four others), and was selected for this role by virtue of having been stood next to me in the pub when I decided that Friday afternoons would be the best time for the show.

To reduce the middle-class white boy/tedious blokey pub banter factor just a little we are looking for someone else to join the team.  Specifically, someone who is not a nice, polite middle-class white boy. You’d need to be available from 3-5pm on Fridays, and have a rough, but please not exact, agreement with the kind of music we are likely to play.  Get in touch if you’re interested.

Live from 3:30pm – listen here.

As for the rest of the Friday Fives, well they will hopefully proceed very much as per usual I would think.  Five stupid questions, an afternoon to waste by answering them and then talking pish with everyone afterwards, and only one rule: fives first, pish-talking after.

So, for starters, this week’s Friday Five:
1. Which muppet best represents you (Fraggles and Sesame Street ones count too – Yoda does not).
2. What one thing best represents the really early days of the internet to you?
3. Technology you could happily do without.
4. Do you cross the road at the lights or absolutely wherever the fuck it occurs to you?
5. Say you were in a coffee shop trying to get some work done.  Say a sprawling infestations of yummy mummies and copious living evidence of their inability to keep their legs clamped shut came spilling into the place and proceeded to turn the whole fucking cafe into a writhing, squealing, cavorting cacophony of horror.  How many of the little fuckers do you think you could cheerfully batter to death with a fucking cricket bat before it stopped being fun?
Sneaky bonus research question: did Song, by Toad or Fresh Air bring you to these parts?

The playlist will appear live below from 3:30pm:

1. Bon Iver – Bloodbank
2. Rob St. John – Sargasso Sea
3. Tom Lehrer – Bright College Days
4. Randolph’s Leap – Cassie O’Tone (Fresh Air Session)
5. Cub Scouts – Evie
6. eagleowl – Sleep the Winter
7. Bob Seger System – 2+2=?
8. PAWS – Winners Don’t Bleed (Toad Session)
9. The Ukrainians – Polityka
10. The Moth & the Mirror – Fire
11. Evan Dando – $1000 Wedding (Gram Parsons Cover)
12. Yoofs – Sidewalk
13. We Were Promised Jetpacks – Medicine

The above photo is of the Palm House in Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens, and was taken and passed on to me by Dylan, of Blueback Hotrod legend.  And given that the weather outside is all kinds of shit I thought there would be a sort of bitter irony in using it today.  See – that’s how nice Edinburgh can be, so what the fuck is this pissing rain all about?

Anyhow, traditional British whingeing aside, it’s going to be a pretty bloody mental week this week. Thursday is going to be a particular swine, what with the awesome David Dondero going up against the Fruit Tree Foundation night in Leith, as well as the Travelling Band/Jonnie Common show at the Electric Circus.  Then it’s Oxjam takeover time on Friday.  Then Rob St. John’s album launch on Saturday.  Fucking hell, I’m going to have a liver like a cricket ball  by Sunday.

Wednesday 19th October 2011: This is Music presents Denis Jones & Adam Stafford at Sneaky Pete’s.

My pal Howard, who runs Humble Soul Records down in Manchester, absolutely raves about Denis Jones, as does Jonnie Common, and I can’t imagine two people whose recommendations I would take more seriously.  Apparently Mr. Jones does a lot of looped vocal stuff, but everyone who has told me about it has qualified that with ‘yeah, but it’s nothing like you’d expect’.  Intriguing.

Denis Jones – Elvis

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Thursday 20th October 2011: David Dondero at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

David Dondero is kind of under the radar, I suppose, but from the relatively little I know about him, he can be fucking spectacular.  Rothko Chapel was one of my songs of the year a couple of years ago, and his sparse, acoustic Americana is really gorgeous.

David Dondero – Rothko Chapel

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Thursday 20th October 2011: The Fruit Tree Foundation presents James Yorkston, Rod Jones & Withered Hand at Nobles, Leith.

The Fruit Tree Foundation was set up by former Idlewild gentleman Rod Jones and former Delgado Emma Pollock to raise awareness for the Mental Health Foundation. My personal knowledge is a little sketchy, but I think musicians have volunteered to act as mentors for young songwriters, and together to create new music, and I think it is this which will be performed in Nobles on Thursday. Given the calibre of the musicians involved, it should be really good.

Thursday 20th October 2011: The Travelling Band & Jonnie Common at the Electric Circus.

Jonnie Common actually worked on a track by Adam Gorman of the Travelling Band for his recent Deskjob project, so this pairing makes plenty of sense from that perspective.  As to how the rousing Americana of the band and Jonnie’s idiosyncratic electropop will go together musically, erm… well, remains to be seen.

Adam P. Gorman – Hitchhiker (from Jonnie Common’s Deskjob)

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Friday 21st October 2011: Oxjam Edinburgh Takeover (Facebook link).

This is a beast of an event, with gigs happening at the Electric Circus, Cabaret Voltaire, Sneaky Pete’s, The Banshee Labyrinth and the (recently resurrected) Left Banke.  The full list of bands thus far confirmed as playing is as follows: As In Bear, Black International, Broken Records (solo), Citizens, Dead Boy Robotics, Endor, Esperi, FOUND, French Wives, i build collapsible mountains, The Last Battle, Letters, Loch Awe, The Machine Room, Meursault, PAWS, Sebastian Dangerfield, The Spook School, Trapped in Kansas, Trapped Mice, Vasquez and Verse Metrics.  It’s going to be a beast of a night, I suspect, but you’re own your own with this one, I am not digging out links for all those bands, nor attempting to describe them.  Just go.

Saturday 22nd October 2011: Rob St. John album launch with Meursault, eagleowl & Viking Moses at Pilrig St. Paul’s.

Personally, I think this is damned close to being the lineup of the year.  I’d like to see anyone else top it, in any case.  This is also, the header implies, the launch show for Rob St. John’s gorgeous debut album Weald, out on 12″ gatefold vinyl at the end of November. We have partnered with John Truckasaurus to add Viking Moses to a bill already bursting with goodness. Tickets are available at Avalanche Records and online, here.

Rob St. John – Your Phantom Limb by Song, by Toad

Saturday 22nd October 2011: Patrick Wolf at the Liquid Room.

Alright, alright, a few of you might well raise an eyebrow at this one, but I remember when Patrick Wolf first broke through.  His brand of flamboyant, baroque pop was a bit over the top perhaps, but it certainly had a certain element of fascination.  So I may of course be personally endorsing Rob St. John’s album launch, but this one still kinda caught my eye.