It’s the Gigpocalypse! Gigmageddon! A gigantic week-long party of musical funz! The final kick in the balls your exhausted, fading liver can’t quite handle before it gives up the ghost and implodes altogether.

After a pretty lacklustre musical showing thus far, the Edinburgh Festival finally earns its spurs this week with what can only be described as the inevitable descent of total and utter carnage.

Lach’s one-man show is back on (after illness) at Cabaret Voltaire, free every night this week at 8:45pm, and of course the Antihoot will be on every night this week except Tuesday from midnight to 3am in the Gilded Balloon.

Then there’s also the next two Toad at the Circus gigs, firstly an acoustic strummer affair, and then on Friday a thumping racket.  I will be DJing at these gigs, but don’t let that put you off, they might still be quite fun.

As well as conventional gigs, Avalanche Records have a full list of really rather excellent in-stores this week too, featuring the likes of Emily Scott and Edinburgh School for the Deaf – full details here. Oh, and of course the week finally stumbles to an alcoholic close with the return of the fantabulous Retreat Festival.  It will be awesome, and my liver will be begging for mercy long before the end.

Tuesday 23rd August 2011: Ulrich Schnauss & Jonnie Common at the Electric Circus.

This will be a carnival of electro loveliness.  I know less about Mr. Schnauss, but Jonnie’s album is pretty damn close to being the best Scottish album of the year, for my money.

Jonnie Common – Summer is For Going Places

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Wednesday 24th August 2011: Neil Pennycook, Benjamin Shaw & John Egdell at the Electric Circus.

It’ll be an all-acoustic affair for our third Toad at the Circus gig.  Apart from Meursault’s Neil Pennycook performing solo, we have the amazing Benjamin Shaw coming up from London and the equally excellent John Egdell from Newcastle.

Benjamin Shaw – 12,000 Sentinels

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Wednesday 24th August 2011: Sebadoh at Cabaret Voltaire.

This is a bit straightforward isn’t it.  Sebadoh are lo-fi indie rock legends (to paint with the broadest of brushes) and they are playing in Edinburgh.  I think this might be sold out though, so there might be little point listing it but umm… it’s Sebadoh, y’know.

Sebadoh – Nothing Like You

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Thursday 25th August 2011: Withered Hand, eagleowl, Woodpigeon (solo) & Meursault (solo) at the Queen’s Hall.

Something of an Edinburgh all-stars gig this one.  If you aren’t from here and want to know why those of us in Edinburgh have been so excited by our homegrown music scene recently, then this and Retreat are the ones to show you.

Withered Hand – Religious Songs

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Thursday 25th August 2011: Willy Mason at Cabaret Voltaire.

Willy Mason has sort of slipped off the critical radar since the pop smash (relatively speaking of course) of Oxygen back in about 2005 or so.  I saw him live back in London before moving up here actually, and it was absolutely brilliant.

Willy Mason – We Can Be Strong

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Friday 26th August 2011: Brown Brogues, Ghost Outfit & Rollor at the Electric Circus.

Let’s see the babbling hen sluts talk over this.  Fuck you, motherfuckers, tonight is going to be loud!  Brown Brogues are a clattering racket and according to The Pigeon Post Ghost Outfit are the best live band in Manchester at the moment.

Brown Brogues – Treet U Beta

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Friday 26th & Saturday 27th August 2011: Lach’s Antihoot Antifolk-off at the Gilded Balloon.

As the Antihoot has been taking place this year Lach and myself have been selecting, with the help of the audience, the favourite act of each night and we’re inviting them all back this weekend, where we’ll be recording the performances to release as The Best of the Antihoot on Song, by Toad Records.  It’ll also be a fantastic way to have a big fuck off party to celebrate the end of an awesome run at this year’s Festival which has, of course, seen me make my stand-up comedy debut.  But the less said about that the better.

Saturday 27th August 2011: The Machine Room, Land of Cakes & Plastic Animals at Sneaky Pete’s.

Continuing the excellence of their Festival booking, Sneaky Pete’s have three excellent new Edinburgh bands on on Saturday.   I’ll be at Retreat, but if it happens to sell out then this looks like an excellent alternative.

The Machine Room – Your Head on the Floor Next Door

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Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th August 2011: Retreat Festival at Pilrig St. Paul’s church.

There are a couple of events which define my musical calendar.  Most Fence events would pretty much be included in there, and the other would be Retreat.  The best bands in Edinburgh, fucking lovely people and the nicest atmosphere at any music even I’ve been to in the city.  Bart Owl is a hero. A sarcastic, ginger hero.

These things never really seem to last so I guess I better say something nice about it while I can: it’s really quite a pleasant morning here in Edinburgh today.  Presumably by the time I hit ‘Publish’ all that will have changed and we’ll be back to the shitty old January we’re all so very familiar with around these parts.

Still, at least the old live music machine is coughing and spluttering its way back to life.  Just wait until the second week in February though, because judging from my calendar that’s when it really does kick off something chronic.

In only tangentially related live music news, Fence Records today announced that tickets for Homegame are going on sale this Saturday at noon – presumably hoping the fact that absolutely everyone in the fucking country is flat broke at this time of year will keep the resulting rush under control, unlike last year, when their server crashed within five minutes of tickets going on sale, having already sold out.

Monday 17th January 2011: Mama Rosin, The Stormy Seas & Barret Wise at Sneaky Pete’s.

It’s a really rather varied lineup this one, but it’s raucous as hell and should be excellent fun for those of you itching to get out to see some music after a very slow start to the year in these parts indeed.

Tuesday 18th January 2011: Woodpigeon and friends’ secret acoustic show at the Forest Cafe.

This show has literally gone from my Facebook feed to this post within seconds, consequently I know nothing about it apart from the fact that Woodpigeon are good, and that lots of Mark’s friends are in bands which are equally good, so I highly recommend this one.  There are some benefits to being tardy with a post I suppose.

Withered Hand & Woodpigeon – I’m Set Free

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Saturday 22nd January 2011: The Scottish Enlightenment, Johnny Reb & Morris Major at The Wee Red Bar.

Our first monthly Ides of Toad night, with plenty of guitars.  Broddy guitars, in terms of the Scottish Enlightenment, raucous guitars from Johnny Reb and jangly guitars from Morris Major.  I have already gone on about this gig at plenty of length, so I shall remind you once more that tickets can be bought here, and hope you all turn up.

Johnny Reb – Nine on the Line

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Saturday 22nd January 2011: The Lowly Knights, We See Lights, Washington Irving and Micah Vincent at The Lot.

I remember my friend Matt from Northern Ireland going on about the Lowly Knights at great length when we were both at Fresh Air Radio a couple of years ago and this is, I believe, the first time they have come here and of all night to do it, it’s on a bloody night when I have my own gig on and can’t go and see them.  ARSE! Still, the Lot as a venue will be gone by the end of January, so this might be your last chance to enjoy it.

Serendipity struck for Woodpigeon at End Of The Road this year, when fellow Canadian act Timber Timbre were delayed on the way to the festival, leaving a vacant slot to be filled on the site’s main stage, the Garden Stage.

Frontman Mark Hamilton was the only Woodpigeon to make the trip over from Calgary for the festival. Fortunately, however, he has a ready-made backing band waiting for him on these shores in the form of our very own Eagleowl – the two band’s origins are entwined with each other following Mark’s time spent living in Edinburgh a few years back – and the collective heroically stepped into the breach.

The band had performed the previous day on another stage, and – during a barnstorming set – had covered Withered Hand‘s wonderful No Cigarettes.

I was looking forward to a repeat performance when I heard about them covering for Timber Timbre, and thought it might be a good idea to film the song this time.

The video quality’s not exactly High Def because it’s only from my little Sony point-and-click instant camera, and it’s a bit shaky in places because - well – it’s me filming it; but it’s not too bad all things considered.

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.

I always like it when people sucker me into a misjudgment, because it tends to expose the lazy assumptions we can all drift into making, which are the first steps down the road to becoming very stupid.

Foonyap supported Loch Lomond at the Slaughtered Lamb last Tuesday in London at a gig in London rendered almost entirely barren when half the bill, including the headliners, were forced to pull out for volcano-related reasons.  Foonyap is a side project by the violin player in Woodpigeon, and she took the stage like a nice stereotypical indie-girl: not really looking the crowd head on, telling tales of songs being borne of inner self-loathing and wearing a dress which paired the slightly eccentric with the slightly twee whilst still being quite pretty.  Her first song was lovely – pretty, again, see where I’m going with this? – a solo ballad in which she accompanied herself with the plainest of strums on an electric ukulele.

We’ve all been to enough alt-folk gigs in our time that I doubt I would have been alone in unthinkingly allowing Foonyap to slip drowsily into a nice, comfortable pigeonhole in my subconscious with barely so much as a deliberate thought about the whole thing.  Even the sound guy stepped away from his desk to sip his beer with the other ten or so guests, believing his work was done.

By the time the second song, Gabriel Moody, started, however, it was clear that things were not quite that straightforward.  The Chinese folk (or so I assume anyway, but am sadly too ignorant to know) plucking of the violin was built into an oddly assembled roll of staccato pecks using a loop pedal, before a layer of melodramatic wail was swept out over the top of it.  To this rather beautiful collage was added a suddenly immensely powerful voice, which sent the sound guy scurrying back to his desk, before the bowed violin descended through atonal scrape and beautiful tragedy down to silence once more.

As songs go it was a gorgeous combination of the delicate and lovely with a tornado of powerful emotions, and the carfeul dance between experimental weirdness and traditional beauty served to neatly shatter any lasting illusions that this music bore much more than a passing resemblance to the stuff I had so casually lumped it in with after the first few minutes of the gig.

Listening to The Darling EP, which I bought immediately, the recorded versions don’t quite have the wildness of the live performance, and there maybe isn’t all that much real weirdness in there.  But there is nevertheless a lot of very, very interesting stuff going on over the space of three songs and if that experimental streak can be encouraged I think this young lady might very well end up making music I like an awful, awful lot.  Very promising indeed.

Foonyap – Gabriel Moody

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After a balmy and beautiful weekend in Paris and a couple of warm days in Scotland I am finally persuaded that Spring might just be upon us at last.  Our daffodils – out in January last year – are finally blooming, and I am not wearing a coat to work these days.

Having the edge go from the air and that little bit more sunshine than usual tends to give a spring to people’s step, and even this week’s gig listings are playing along by being nice and benign: busy, but not crowded, with a few interesting little gems thrown in there and a few nailed-on crowd pleasers.

Whatever happens, if it stays nice and sunny like this, I will be spending about as much time outside as I possibly can.

Monday 26th April 2010: Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, performed by The Scottish Ensemble at the Queen’s Hall.

The Queen’s Hall website describes Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet as “one of the iconic works of the English experimental tradition”. I don’t mean to betray myself as more of a philistine than you already suspect, but the only reason I know about this is because of Bryars’ collaboration with Tom Waits.  It looks really interesting though, and a bit of a break from the usual moaning indie-folk pish I go on about on this site.

Tom Waits & Gavin Bryars – Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet

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Tuesday 27th April 2010: Adelaide’s Cape at Cabaret Voltaire.

Sorry people, this is in May, I am an idiot.

Friday 30th April 2010: eagleowl EP launch with John Egdell & The Douglas Firs at the Roxy Room.

Apart from the fact that eagleowl are fucking brilliant, and apart from the fact that their new EP is absolutely gorgeous, there are a couple of other very good reasons to be at this gig: John Egdell and the first live manifestation of The Douglas Firs, the fantastic ‘other’ project of Jesus H. Foxx drummer Neil Insh.

eagleowl – Into the Fold (Toad Session)

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Saturday 1st May 2010: Jonquil at the Roxy Room.

Jonquil have evolved somewhat over the last year or so apparently, so I have rather less idea what to expect from them than back when they were doing distinctlyfolk-poppish things.  They’re a touch more rhythmic and harmony-laden these days though, from the sound of it.

Sunday 2nd May 2010: Woodpigeon, Laura Gibson & Wounded Knee at Cabaret Voltaire.

This is a bit of an alt-folk all-stars lineup, isn’t it.  Woodpigeon have rather close ties to Edinburgh actually, and I believe Mark is rather good friends with quite a few people around these parts so this should almost be like a hometown gig for them!

Woodpigeon – Songbook/The Sound of Us Playing Together

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It’s freezing outside and (just slightly) covered in snow (about half an inch) so naturally the entire nation has ceased to function.  Erm, okay, it really isn’t that cold and the snow really isn’t that big a deal in all honesty but of course given the worst weather conditions we usually have to deal with are constant and life-sapping drizzle it seems that it’s all come as a bit of a shock to the nation as a whole.

We live in a city by the sea of course, which means that we never get the sunshine which is promised and sadly, during the winter, we never get the snow or the cold either.  In the countryside it may occasionally be dangerous, but in the city it’s never much more than a stunningly picturesque inconvenience, and the bastard stuff will all have melted by next week anyway, so we might as well enjoy it while we still can.

This week the podcast is not themed at all, it’s just new and interesting stuff from my inbox.  I tend not to just slap up promo tracks emailed to me by PR chappies on the blog because, frankly, I really have nothing to say about them yet and I don’t really like firing out posts on the site when I don’t really have an opinion, right wrong or otherwise, to accompany it.  Podcasts, on the other hand, are a bit more spontaneous so they seem like a more suitable place to put new and interesting stuff before I have any real chance to figure out whether or not I actually like it properly.

Toadcast #103 – Baby, it’s Cold Outside

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01. Timber Timbre – Magic Arrow (Daytrotter Session) (01.47)
02. Drew Danburry – Many are Cold, but Few are Freezing (11.11)
03. Barton Carroll – The Poor Boy Can’t Dance (14.57)
04. Kid Canaveral – Good Morning (21.50)
05. The Middle East – The Darkest Side (28.19)
06. Eluvium – The Motion Makes Me Last (38.04)
07. Final Fantasy – Lewis Takes Action (43.12)
08. Rachael Dadd – Table (50.13)
09. Woodpigeon – Music Belongs to Those Who Make It (56.15)
10. Samamidon – How Come That Blood (62.32)

Obviously, from my perspective there is one big and important gig this week:

Sunday 9th August 2009: Animal Magic Tricks (with Pete from The Leg & Neil from Meursault) at the first Toad House Gig.

Use the link below to buy tickets and please do buy them in advance because we can’t have too many people in the house, and at the same time I would be gutted if it was empty, so it would help us plan ahead a little:

In the rest of the city, however, the Edinburgh Festicle well and truly kicks off this week.  This means that despite a rather quiet build-up, the weekend is just fucking mental, frankly.  My personal choice is going to be Trampoline on Saturday, I think.  I’m really interested to hear what Jonnie Common’s doing on his own, although Rob St. John was excellent at Electric Circus on Saturday and his show at the Portrait Gallery with Emily Scott should be fantastic.  I’ve probably missed out loads, but you really are going to have to expect that during August I think because there’s just going to be so much stuff going on, and not listed in the obvious and usual places either, so I’ll probably miss a fair bit.

I sulk about the Festival, honestly, because it tends to utterly steamroll anything which would actually happen in the city otherwise, but this year there does seem to be a lot of actual Edinburgh stuff taking place, particularly in terms of music.  For anyone wanting a full run down, Bart wrote an excellent summary of what to expect for the next few weeks last weekend, and you really should read it if you want a musically rewarding August.

Tuesday 4th August 2009: Debutant, Plastic Animals & Yahweh at Henry’s Cellar Bar.

This will be quite post-rocky and quite atmospheric and quite noisy.  Yup, noisy. Excellent!

Friday 7th August 2009: Woodpigeon & Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers at Sneaky Pete’s.

I have never been any more than a casual fan of Woodpigeon, but I am sort of liking their recent album Treasury Library Canada.  For me though, the real reason to attend this gig is the excellent Woodenbox who can be phenomenal live.
Woodpigeon – Cities of Weather

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Friday 7th August 2009: The Stranglers at the Picturehouse.

No, I am not a Stranglers afficionado, yes I would just be going for the famous ones, no I don’t care.  Sometimes ‘just the hits’ can be great, especially when they’re as great as Golden Brown.
The Stranglers – Golden Brown

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Friday 7th August 2009: The Radiation Line, The Kays Lavelle & Adam Stafford at the Wee Red Bar.

This is the official launch night for the Trampoline August shows, and will be a good chance to hear live versions of things on the approaching Kays Lavelle album.

Friday 7th & Saturday 8th August 2009: Mumford & Sons at Cabaret Voltaire.

Even though I am not really as keen on the band as I was when I first heard them, when they honestly blew me away, they are still phenomenal live.  It’s sort of gospelly banjo raucousness, I suppose, and bloody brilliant.
Mumford & Sons – White Blank Page

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Saturday 8th August 2009: Rob St. John & Emily Scott at the National Portrait Gallery.

I pretty much described why I thought this would be good in the main post didn’t I.  I shall just add that Emily is launching a new album, in case you need even more incentive to turn up.

Saturday 8th August 2009: David Byrne at the Playhouse.

What do I have to say about this?  The man was Talking Heads!  To cap that he’s been incredibly positive about what the internet can mean to young bands and had some very well-considered things to say about how to make the most of the new environment in the music industry.
Talking Heads – Hey Now (Yes, I know this isn’t ‘David Byrne’ per se, but bugger off, I love this album.)

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Saturday 8th August 2009: Jonnie Common, Animal Magic Tricks & Conquering Animal Sound play Trampoline at the Wee Red Bar.

This should be very low-fi and somewhat scratchy but with lovely underlying melodies, if my knowledge of both Jonnie Common and Animal Magic Tricks is anything to go by.  I don’t know Conquering Animal Sound, but then that’s why we go to gigs, isn’t it.

So August is almost upon us. Traditionally –  or at least for as long as I’ve been living here – most bands and promoters in Edinburgh tend to just take the month off and make way for the festival. It’s a bit of a monolith. Every available venue (and most non-venue) space is booked up months in advance, and with so much happening every single day in August, it becomes rather difficult for smaller operations putting on shows. Of course there are exceptions – a lot of the bigger clubs just keep on trucking, and nights like Acoustic Edinburgh embrace the Fringe and put on shows as part of the official line-up.

This year, though – more so than any I can remember – seems to be bucking that trend. There’s a lot of activity going on outside of the festival – and lots of local bands and promoters putting on shows regardless. Which is great to see – another indication of the strength and confidence of the city’s musical community at the moment. I thought I’d give a run down of what’s caught my eye – as with so much on, it’s entirely possible for an amazing show to slip by un-noticed.

The Edge

Firstly, the musical leg of the Fringe – the Edge – has some really great shows this year. The Mum show may have been moved to Glasgow, but we still have David Byrne, Woodpigeon, Andrew Bird, Frightened Rabbit, Malcolm Middleton, and Jeffrey Lewis. And judging by the website, the festival seems to have just absorbed all the shows at Sneaky Pete’s – including Sleeping States (who I can’t recommend highly enough), Monotonix, Sparrow and the Workshop, the usual This is Music night and the mysteriously titled ‘Songs By Toad night’. It’s also great to see some Edinburgh bands forming part of the Edge line-up – with Broken Records at the Queens Hall, a double header from Unicorn Kid and Young Fathers at Cab Vol, and support slots from Meursault (at Frightened Rabbit), the Kays Lavelle (the Lost Brothers) and Withered Hand (Jeffrey Lewis). It’s something that I’ve felt was lacking in previous line-ups, and it’s a step in the right direction.

www.theedgefestival.com

Retreat!

Then, of course, there’s the ‘other’ festival. Retreat! is an all day event at the Bristo Hall on Sunday the 16th. 15 acts (Meursault, Withered Hand, Rob St. John, Tissø Lake, the Leg…), and DJs till 3am. Free entry. I can’t think of a better line-up. But then again, I did help pick it.

www.myspace.com/edinburghretreat

Trampoline

Trampoline are also putting on four shows over first two weekends, and really great line-ups including Adam Stafford (Y’all Is Fantasy Island), Jonnie Common (Down The Tiny Steps), Animal Magic Tricks, Conquering Animal Sound, Golden Ghost and Woodenbox.

www.myspace.com/trampolineuk

Bang Bang Club

Normally at the Speakeasy in Cabaret Voltaire, the Bang Bang Club is hosting a series of shows upstairs in the Teviot Hall. Highlights include Clinic, the Pineapple Chunks, Paul Vickers and the Leg, and a series of soundtrack events from Steven Severin.

www.myspace.com/bangbangclubedinburgh

Playing With The Past

There’s also an exclusive second screening of the Playing with the Past event from this year’s film festival on 22^nd August, with eagleowl, FOUND and Meursault performing live soundtracks to old Scottish films. Tickets are available now from the Filmhouse website or box office.

www.myspace.com/playingwiththepast

Cybraphon

FOUND – not willing to give up their ‘hardest working band in Edinburgh’ tag to Meursault just yet – also have a residency at InSpace (a gallery space – part of the new University building) with their Cybraphon project, including a live band performance on the 13^th (which is free but ticketed). It seems to be some kind of automated musical cupboard, containing a series of musical instruments, which reacts to online activity about the project in real time. Or something. For a more coherent explanation, try the Cybraphon site:

www.cybraphon.com

Leith Tape Club

Okay, strictly speaking not an Edinburgh show – but a nice trip out of the city is normally always welcome around the third week in August. Leith Tape Club at the Iso Bar continues in August on the 20^th, with a rather special all-star line-up including the Kays Lavelle and Meursault (solo, I think).

Leith Tape Club

National Portrait Gallery

There’s also a series of rather exclusive shows at the National Portrait Gallery, whilst the gallery is closed for a refurbishment. These include Rob St. John and Emily Scott on 8^th August, X-LionTamer on 21^st August, St Jude’s Infirmary and Zoey Van Goey on 22^nd August, and Withered Hand and Meursault on 29^th August.

National Portrait Gallery

Electric Circus

There’s been some great gigs in Electric Circus since it opened earlier this year, and they don’t seem to be losing any momentum in August, with shows from FOUND, Dent May, White Heath and Rob St. John (1st), Jesus H. Foxx (11th), The Phantom Band (19th), and Trembling Bells and Ben Reynolds (25th), amongst others.

Electric Circus

The Golden Hour

A blend of poetry, music and live visuals at the Forest Cafe on 19th August, with performances from Billy Liar and Withered Hand.

The Golden Hour

Shipping Forecast Garden Party

And I think there’s another shipping forecast garden party scheduled for 30^th August, with Come On Gang!

No details yet, but I’m sure Dave will keep us posted.

It is all pretty exciting. Please spam the comments with anything I’ve missed, as I’m sure there’s loads, and if any more are announced or come to light over the course of the month, it’ll no doubt make it’s way into the weekly listings.

Sleeping States – September, Maybe

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Woodpigeon – In Praise of the West Midlothian Bus Service

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Zoey Van Goey – City Is Exploding

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This podcast contains a large number of songs from albums which I didn’t really enjoy enough to want to review, but which nevertheless contained some excellent songs. I never want to give a small or emerging band a shitty review because it just feels mean. For me there’s a certain threshold to be reached, after which you are fair game for anything I feel like saying because, frankly, why would you care, but smaller bands are never going to get a really hard time on this site. Unless they behave like dicks of course, but I digress.

A lot of these albums contain songs I really like, but only one or two, and I really wanted them to be heard. Also, given that your music taste and mine probably only partially overlap anyway (otherwise it would just be creepy) I think it’s quite possible you might disagree and want to explore further. It always amazes me how seriously people can take my opinion, as some sort of self-appointed arbiter of musical worthiness, when neither I nor any other critic is any better placed or more worthy to judge than any random fanny off the street. The only thing that sets us apart is not musical judgment, it’s the slightly dubious compulsion to constantly be writing or talking about it for some unknown reason.

Anyway, that’s only about half a dozen songs on this list, the rest are just there either because they don’t entirely belong anywhere else, hence the Orphaned Songs title, and partly because I just felt like it. Enjoy…

Toadcast #39 – Orphaned Songs

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01. Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers – Let the Fever Out (HearYa Live Session) (02.40)
02. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (07.30)
03. The Hurricanes – Down Below (13.46)
04. Simon Bookish – Dumb Terminal (21.30)
05. Adam & the Amethysts – Bumble Bee (23.49)
06. KiNo – Won’t Do (29.29)
07. Rags & Feathers – Silent Movie Starlets (33.04)
08. Woodpigeon – Home as a Romaticised Concept Where Everyone Loves You Always & Forever (37.39)
09. Eagle Seagull – I’m Sorry but I’m Beginning to Hate Your Face (44.56)
10. Meursault – Westward, Ho (51.53)
11. Sun Kil Moon – Carry Me Ohio (57.26)