You have the briefcase

Frightened Rabbit interview - Bold bunnies in spotlight, not headlights

2009-06-05T11:22:00.007+01:00

This is an interview from The Herald I did with Frightened Rabbit that appeared in the paper on December 20, 2007. Since I couldn't find it anywhere online as I prepared to preview them for STV's RockNess coverage this year (expect some more articles up there soon), I thought I'd put it onto this here blog. They're doing pretty well now, for which I of course claim full credit... Though strangely I've not seen any royalty cheques yet. Enjoy!

They are a hotly tipped act for 2008 who thrive on the crackling electricity of their live performances, and who trade in delicately charged alt-indie

music laced with emotion. With that in mind, it makes much more sense for the Borders-based Frightened Rabbit to release a song attempting to sum up those intrinsic festival season sentiments than it does for your usual flash-in-the-pan novelty act.

While their song - It's Christmas So We'll Stop - isn't exactly aimed at taking the band to the top spot of the pop charts (that position seems permanently rented out to The X Factor nowadays anyway) the low-key 7" single that came out on Monday does reflect one of the real reasons behind celebrating the annual occasion on which you used to think Santa Claus was coming to town.

"It's about just accepting the things you would usually complain about; pausing for Christmas," explains singer and guitarist Scott Hutchison. "It can be as simple as just making up with people. On Christmas Day it's easier to get along. It's a nice thing, and kind of essential."

Referring to the band's home town of Selkirk, he adds: "Where most of the song comes from is the fact that on Christmas Eve everyone goes up to this one pub at about eight o'clock, and you find people that well, perhaps you hate them, but it's all good. What have you been up to?' Well, I'm in a band.' It's fine, but it's not like on Boxing Day you're going to phone them up."

The three-piece - who signed to the respected Brighton-based record label FatCat earlier this year - had been debating whether to release the song now at all or hold it back for inclusion on their impending second album The Midnight Organ Flight, which has already been completed and is due for release early next year. Eventually, they decided it marked a nice stepping stone between their new effort and their debut album Sings the Greys.

Originally put out by the band themselves, It's Christmas So We'll Stop was re-released on FatCat last month with some supplementary recording and mastering. Sings the Greys has also just been re-released, which has put the band in the slightly strange situation of working on the new material in New York with Interpol/Mercury Rev producer Peter Katis, then returning home to promote a debut that originally saw the light of day in May 2006.

Drummer Grant Hutchison, Scott's brother, admits: "It was very odd because we went out to record and get into the second-album mindset, and then we come back and all they're talking about is the first album, which is slowly creeping into people's heads."

But, as Scott explains, it was important that the songs on Sings the Greys didn't just disappear. "I always feel like those songs are the mainstay of our live set," he says, "and for them to just get lost - as might have happened that would have been a shame, if we couldn't have played those and have the audience know them."

"It would have been frustrating as well, knowing how good those songs are," adds Grant.

It's been a fast-paced couple of years for Frightened Rabbit. They've transformed from a teeny-weeny local band doing everything off their own backs into a fully fledged touring act, signed to an internationally renowned label, who just this month were on the road as main support for popular indie-rock upstarts We Are Scientists. The band started out with Scott performing solo as support for his friends, the skewed dance-punk collective Shitdisco - who have seen a similar rise in fortunes during 2007. He roped in Grant as he realised gig-goers would be in an upbeat frame of mind for the main act, and then guitarist Billy Kennedy to fill out the sound - and because "he was coming to all the gigs anyway, so we thought he may as well not have to pay."

It was the anarchic intensity of the trio's shows that soon gained them fans by word of mouth, although - as anybody who has heard their debut will attest - Frightened Rabbit are an equally intriguing recorded proposition, with subtleties and intricate layering waiting to be discovered within the mix.

The band are keen to make the most of the separate advantages offered by each medium of making music. Scott explains: "I definitely see the two things playing live and recording in the studio as completely different. It seems pointless to have these two spheres that are completely different, and not use them in separate ways."

Grant adds: "When we first went to America to record the new album, one of the first things the producer asked us was, Do you want to make this album as a three-piece?' And we said, We want to include everything. We want to make this the best album we possibly can.'"

After the successful endeavours of the past year, the band are eagerly anticipating their last show of the year tonight - not least because it will give them a chance to catch up with old acquaintances and new friends alike.

Their label has decided to throw A FatCat Christmas at the Arches in Glasgow, in celebration of the considerable Scottish contingent on their roster. Frightened Rabbit will be joined by another top tip for 2008, The Twilight Sad (the two bands actually performed together in Glasgow last Christmas at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut), as well as the acclaimed Edinburgh-based folk singer Vashti Bunyan, for what promises to be a night of some magnificence.

"We've done a lot of touring in the second half of the year," Grant says, "and a lot of our gigs haven't been in Glasgow, so that's going to be one of the biggest things - seeing a lot of our social group we won't have seen in so long."

Tonight will give them a chance to relax with friends before, in a few days' time, they meet up with those they see so rarely at their local pub and - however briefly - pause for Christmas.

It's just as well they're allowed a moment to absorb everything that's happened in their career thus far. Next year promises to be one on fast forward for Frightened Rabbit.

Observe and Report the rapid rise and fall of anti-comedy

2009-05-05T11:32:00.003+01:00

Can you call something a comedy when it doesn't seem primarily intended to be funny?

Observe and Report is the latest effort from director and writer Jody Hill, who has previously turned his hand to the recent successful HBO series Eastbound & Down - in which protagonist Kenny “You're fucking out, I'm fucking in” Powers went about as low as you can go in the conventional comedy format - and slow-gestating cult feature The Foot Fist Way, which also starred Danny McBride, this time as a horrifically socially inept karate sensei.

Like both of those, the main character in Observe and Report is hard to empathise with, and you'd be more likely to find yourself identifying with Michael Jackson (well, pre-Black Or White anyway) than Seth Rogen's loathsome and lecherous misfit Ronnie Barnhardt.

The boundary-pushing blitz of bad taste ‘gags’ seem to escort to its logical conclusion the gutterward path of cringe comedy, which has boomed since The Office and its numerous versions found itself an ardent worldwide audience, though in the US it seems to have also melded with the earlier, more purile-minded work of the Farrelly Brothers.

Now we're given comic archetypes whose character arcs propel them instead towards tragedy - as would most likely be the case in real life - when before the bizarre characters and scenarios would have been presented with a more optimistic hue. It's a twist playing on your expectations of the genre, which is where the humour is supposed to be found.

(Forest Gump as played by Seth Rogen would most likely have caught a venereal disease courtesy of a catastrophic misunderstanding involving a couple of prostitutes, become an unwitting drug smuggler for Pablo Escobar, before running into the path of a locomotive long before he got the chance to use any similes involving some Milk Tray.)

However, doesn't that level of self-knowingness mean that it's going to be too self-referential for mainstream audiences to digest, requiring a deeper understanding than most are likely to want to invest if they’re just looking for some light-hearted chuckles?

They're unlikely to go along to a comedy to have their preconceptions challenged, and they may already have certain expectations from a Rogen vehicle that are sure to be shattered with Observe and Report. (Well, apart from the fucking cuss words.)

Given that it's been trounced in the box office by the similarly themed but decidedly more audience-friendly (and more dunder-headed) Paul Blart: Mall Cop, movies like Observe and Report are likely to be limited to smaller audiences in future, though they’ll still be a welcome addition in terms of offsetting the more nauseating studio blockbusters which merely challenge the boundaries of good taste through their sheer awfulness.

And anyway, it’s perhaps just as well, even as a fully grown adult I still shudder at the time I tried to sit through Bad Santa with the parents last Christmas...

Critic's choice - July 17

2008-07-17T20:05:00.000+01:00

The Butthole Surfers
Sun, 7pm, ABC, 300 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £16, 0870 4000 818

Though they may join the likes of The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine on the list of influential indie icons making a comeback with their legendary line-ups, the Butthole Surfers still seem a band built for the underground rather than larger stages such as the ABC. But it's their anarchic streak which makes the Texas-based alt-rock sonic terrorists still so intriguing, and which should ensure your devoted attendance on the most holy of weekdays - even if most of the sludgy sounds bound to assault your ears are likely to be anything but godly.

(Appeared in The Herald on July 17, 2008)

T in the Park 2008 review

2008-07-14T17:59:00.001+01:00

Friday
Los Campesinos provided an ideal start to the weekend, with a perky, motivational brand of indie that seemed designed to get people into the right mood. But even they were a timid beast compared to Alphabeat who followed in King Tut's Wah Wah Tent, their unashamed pop stylings gloriously received by a crowd obviously craving a bit of camp.

The Radio 1/NME stage headliners The Chemical Brothers provided the sort of euphoria probably more suited to a final night. The ascendant guitar riff of Leave Home was just part of a frankly fearsome onslaught comprised of electronic beats and neuron-shredding noises.

Saturday
The disposition of Eddy Grant was so sunny that it managed to transcend the cloudy conditions overhead. Grant's reliably reggae-tinged rendition of Baby Come Back found the lunchtime Saturday crowd in their usual resplendent form. By contrast, Gun looked a little wary as they followed on the main stage. Recently reformed, their early-90s pomp rock seemed out of place and out of time, though their spirited cover of Cameo's Word Up is always guaranteed to get things going. In contrast, The Stranglers were living proof that classic songs breed longevity. King Tut's Wah Wah Tent was so full for their set that it proved impossible to get in for their glorious rendition of Golden Brown.

Even without their toplessness Biffy Clyro would have stunned onlookers on the main stage; it was a record-breaking eighth appearance for the Ayrshire band who should have even brighter days to look forward to if the rock-sodden, fist-punching finale of set standout 57 was anything to go by.

Erol Alkan provided an upbeat soundtrack in the Slam Tent, but main stage headliners Rage Against the Machine didn't so much crush the competition as sit astride them like giant rap-rock goliaths, reminding everyone of what they have been missing these past few years. Know Your Enemy and Vietnow were incendiary enough that the onslaughts should have been preceded by a safety warning. The highlight was the brilliant chaos of Killing In The Name. Vicious though it may be, it was a perfectly cathartic way to celebrate the festival's fifteenth anniversary.

Sunday
Sunday opened to some welcome glimpses of sunshine. Sadly, though perhaps with good reason, Bowling For Soup provided a shocking, painful hangover cure for the unfortunately unwary who sidled up to the main stage early on.

The US band's luridly juvenile pop-punk at least provided a nice contrast to the more welcome spasmodic metal lurchings of Mindless Self Indulgence, who created some entertaining moments of sheer unpredictability over at the Radio 1/NME stage.

A particular highlight came when the appropriately named Jimmy Urine batted away a thrown-on plastic pint cup of dubious contents. What better way to get things going early on a Sunday afternoon at T in the Park?

A euphoric presence manifests itself to a grateful audience in the form of British Sea Power, whose anthemic No Lucifer provides a suitably seismic explosion of epic indie-rock. After that the Slam Tent takes centre stage, where Miss Kittin and The Hacker initially dazzle with a live rendition of accessible techno-pop before the mighty Justice floored onlookers with an opening gambit of Genesis and Phantom (Part One). That Pendulum were on at the same time (in the Wah Wah Tent) was a pleasure almost too much to bear.

On, then, to the Relentess Stage, for two acts destined for much bigger things in the future. Holy F*** were simply a revelation, their organic take on electronic music building to such a crescendo that it's almost insulting to see it staged in such cosy environs. And The Presets, despite some technical hiccups, were a suitably exceptional end to the festivities, My People and I Go Hard, I Go Home proving particularly joyous.

Critic's choice - July 10

2008-07-10T09:57:00.000+01:00

Red Sparowes

Thu, 7.30pm, Stereo, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow, £7, 0141 222 2254

Not so much a gig as the chance to experience first-hand a stunning, mind-altering sonic soundscape, Red Sparowes are not the sort of proposition you should use to aid a descent into some messy midweek binge drinking. They hail from Los Angeles, but you wouldn't know it from the swirling, gloomy post-rock they manage to parade on an epic scale, almost unimaginably grand given that the band are merely a superbly dextrous four-piece rather than a hundred-strong rock orchestra.

(Appeared in The Herald on July 10, 2008)

Critic's choice - July 3

2008-07-03T11:41:00.000+01:00

My Bloody Valentine

Thu, 7pm, Barrowland, 244 Gallowgate, Glasgow, £22.50, 0870 220 1116

With some returns popping up you might be able to see one of My Bloody Valentine's comeback shows. If so, you'll catch the band who gave birth to shoegaze and whose influence can be felt years after the release of their last album, 1991's Loveless.

Forsaking the melodies that made their recorded work so enthralling, Kevin Shields's crew left fans clutching their grateful ears at the end of shows by employing deafening noise levels. Bring the ear plugs.

(Appeared in The Herald on July 3, 2008)

Critic's choice - June 26

2008-06-26T11:17:00.001+01:00

Hey You Get Off My Pavement
Sun, noon, King's Court, Glasgow, £18.50, 0141 552 9458

Bored of those immersive long-haul festival treks? Here's a handy solution, with Hey You Get Off My Pavement taking over King's Court in Glasgow's Merchant City to deliver a delightful selection of slightly off-kilter acts to either enthral or enchant. There's worthy local headliners in the shape of indie-tweesters Camera Obscura. Also included in the day's proceedings is the driving folk-indie scuz of Foxface, the precisely intricate pop machinations of School of Language and the twisted rhythms of Felix Kubin. It'll be like a grown-up village fete with better music and more beer, though without as many flower stands. More's the pity.

(Appeared in The Herald on June 26, 2008)

Critic's choice - June 19

2008-06-19T12:41:00.000+01:00

Goose

Thu, 7pm, Classic Grand, 18 Jamaica St, Glasgow, £6 (£7 on the door), 0141 847 0504

While retaining their usual low profile, the Belgians are becoming increasingly adept at delivering finely honed synth-rock acts to the grateful wider world - bands with the ability to fuse dance-inspired electronic beats and distorted instrumentation together, with surprising success. Slowly building up a fanbase since the release of debut album Bring It On through scintillating live shows, the quartet delve into the same sort of slick genre side-stepping as fellow countrymen Soulwax. As a pre-festival warm-up performance, tonight should be good both for Goose and for a gander.

(Appeared in The Herald on June 19, 2008)

Critic's choice - June 12

2008-06-12T13:24:00.000+01:00

Errors

Fri June 13, 8pm, Stereo, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow, £5, 0141 222 2254

Residing on Mogwai's superb Rock Action Records, Glasgow electro-indie mob Errors have just this month unveiled debut album It's Not Something but It Is Like Whatever, and what better way to celebrate than by playing a launch show right in the heart of their home town? It's an intriguingly intricate and complex work, subtly utilising synths while twisting them instrumentally into the sort of melodies that would do their label-owners proud. There's a very real chance that this could be a breakout year for the band, and deservedly so.

(Appeared in The Herald on June 12, 2008)

Rock Ness review

2008-06-10T12:17:00.001+01:00

Rock Ness, Dores, near Inverness
4/5

Despite unheralded rain, Friday night turned into such a party - with an amazing ceilidh performance in the Wrong Ness tent - that Saturday already had a hangover vibe about it. A disappointingly dreary set by Hercules and the Love Affair didn't help (their initially intriguing retro-80s disco let down by lackadaisical execution), and electro duo Digitalism's biggest hit, Pogo, was curtailed after they appeared to have run over time.

It was Soulwax that turned things around, their remixes of Justice and Daft Punk pulled off with aplomb, and a tangible electricity sparking up their set. Two of them also perform as 2 Many DJs, playing a variety of crowd-pleasing anthems. Felix Da Housecat also provided some visceral thrills, with Mr Oizo's Flat Beat received with satisfaction by the Fat Sam's tent attendees. It's a nice contrast to the flaccid flailings of Fatboy Slim, whose set lacked any real sense of vitality.

Sunday provided the strongest music, with sunburn-inducing conditions to boot. If Red Light Company were acceptable indie festival fodder and pop-rockers Team Water Polo irritating even before some ill-advised white-boy rapping, Does It Offend You Yeah? were exactly what was required, in-vogue nu-rave done extraordinarily well. Brattish, but in a vital way, they provided some great dance music mixed with the almost-Rage Against The Machine metal breakdown of With A Heavy Heart (I Regret To Inform You).

An impressively robust performance from Simian Mobile Disco followed and there was an equally deft set in the same tent by Roisin Murphy, whose sultry left-field pop leanings must have captured many hearts besides mine.

Possibly the best set of the weekend was in the Skins arena by Boyz Noize, unveiling the dirtiest techno tunes with an intelligently designed, crushing mix set, and after a brief interlude with Annie Mac, Underworld entranced with the perennial Born Slippy, a suitably sunny climax to a weekend blessed with fine weather and some fine music.

Sunshine, glorious sunshine

2008-06-07T19:17:00.001+01:00

So into the midst of the Saturday we are, and it's been far more fun than should be allowed, thanks in large part to the weather. We'll see how it holds up tomorrow, when the forecast was oh so much bleaker...

The music's been a bit so-so, things kicking into life as we speak with Digitalism at the Soulwax tent, bringing some much-needed energy and vitality to proceedings.

That particular part of the site seems to be the place to reside at afterwards, with Soulwax and 2 Many DJs to follow after. Perhaps a short trip to see Digitalism within the confines of the Myspace bus at 10, seems like something that should not be missed it I can wheedle my way on, especially given their performance. Actually, maybe best to go properly experience the rest of the show...

Rock Ness - the first day...

2008-06-07T18:05:00.000+01:00

As starts to the Scottish festival season go, Rock Ness has already got off to a splendid start, so much so that last night felt more like the event's finale that the mere Friday night prelude.

Some unexpected rain didn't dampen proceedings too much - see what I did there? - with various tents at the main site open into the early hours. The highlight was an amazing ceilidh set, which led to a rather wonderful combination of dancing fiends jumping along and the more bold attempting some proper Highland flings. Engagement with the former crowd led me to believe I'd sprained my foot in an act of foolish impetusousness, but - no! - my dancing days here are far from numbered. Much as some attendees might wish they were... Oh, and a special mention to the biggest conga line I've seen in my stupid little life, twisting inside the tent until I felt compelled to join in, if only I hadn't a drink in my hand. Forsooth!

But yes, here I am, and the weekend's just about to begin...

Critic's choice - June 5

2008-06-05T11:36:00.001+01:00

Rock Ness
Rock Ness Sat-Sun, from noon, Dores, near Inverness, £50-£115, www.ticketline.co.uk

With the recent resplendent weather we can welcome the Scottish festival circuit back with open arms. Rock Ness returns at one of the most scenic locations imaginable, on the banks of the Highland-based body of water that may just harbour a big timorous beastie. Though headliners Fatboy Slim and Razorlight may not match the jaw-dropping might of Daft Punk last year, there's more than enough talent around to demand your attendance. Make sure to catch electrifying dance-punk duo Digitalism, incendiary party-starters Simian Mobile Disco and sultry disco-pop goddess Roisin Murphy.

(Appeared in The Herald on June 5, 2008)

Critic's choice - May 29

2008-05-29T11:20:00.002+01:00

Sauchiehall Crawl
Sunday, 7pm, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £15, 0870 4000 818

Much like London's infamous Camden Crawl, this inaugural event sees acts performing at various venues on Sauchiehall Street, 10 Scottish acts in total taking to the stages of the Beat Club, Nice and Sleazy and ABC2. All the bands are worthy of your attention, though you should particularly be present for the electro-experimental stylings of Galchen, hotly tipped indie troupe Make Model, above, and brooding headliners the Twilight Sad, who should prove reliably sweeping as they gear up to release superb new EP Here, It Never Snowed. Afterwards It Did on June 9. Hopefully, this is one crawl set to run and run.

(Appeared in The Herald on May 29, 2008)

Critic's choice - May 22

2008-05-22T12:43:00.003+01:00

The Hazey Janes
Tonight, 7.30pm, Oran Mor, Glasgow, £5, 0141 357 6200; tomorrow, 7pm, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, £6, 0131 220 6176

Looking for some power-pop to perk you up before the weekend's debauchery? Look no further than the Hazey Janes, whose laid-back summertime vibe should really see them hailing from across the Atlantic, rather than the slightly less sunny climes of Dundee.

So it makes perfect sense that they decamped to New Jersey to record forthcoming album Hands Around the City, teaming up with Sonic Youth producer John Agnello. Their single New York - which was released on Monday - merrily blazes along with such momentum that I can only hope their amiable attempts to lay claim to a place in your record collection succeed with similar swiftness of pace.

(Appeared in The Herald on May 22, 2008)

Connect news

2008-05-21T13:02:00.003+01:00

I'll dispense with the witty headline and introduction, and just paste the press release instead, like a good little boy. But yes, Joan As Policewoman, should be good, very good, and a special hurray for Optimo and Soma being there, makes things look all the more promising:

The latest addition of audio delights have been confirmed today (Wednesday 21^st May) for the Hydro Connect Festival which will take place at Inveraray Castle from 29^th – 31^st August.

The Young Knives, Black Lips, Joan as Police Woman and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks have all been added to the festival line up and promise to add their very own twist to the proceedings. Up and coming festival favourites’ The Young Knives will add flavours of indie punk rock to the festival’s musical melting pot, shaking up the waters of Loch Fyne in the process! Joining them will be Brooklyn three piece Joan as Police Woman with front woman Joan Wasser’s mystical, soulful sound and poetic libretto set to provide festival goers with a chance to get lost in a breathtaking set and amidst heather clad hills.

The addition of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and Black Lips will be a rare delight for music fans with Black Lips being renowned for their phenomenal live shows and many festival goers being familiar with Stephen Malkmus from his days in cult band Pavement.

Additionally, DJ’s from Soma and Optimo have been confirmed as curators for The Unknown Pleasures tent and will be booking some of the hottest electronic talent around as well as programming in performances from top club nights Vegas! and Club Noir. It’s safe to say the lineup will be second to none!

There will also be a plethora of alternative entertainment available throughout the festival weekend including activity from Red Bull, Kopparberg and Havana Club.

Deep in the heart of the forest, Red Bull will be throwing a party that forgets it's 2008. Leave the shackles of the 20th century behind and lose yourself with a hearty slice of music, dancing, drinking and merry making, keep it quiet though, this is an experience that is for you to discover! But before you embark on your journey, remember the forest can be a dangerous place, so beware of highway men...stand and deliver!

Kopparberg will be providing music fans with the ‘One Big Tree’ chill-out experience under the amazing natural canopy of the ‘Kopparberg Tree’ which is situated in the Grand pavilion tent. With live DJ’s playing throughout the day and into the night, revelers can relax and enjoy an ice-cold Kopparberg in the ultimate fairytale atmosphere of this sumptuous area.

FULL LINE UP SO FAR:

Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, Bloc Party, Paolo Nutini, Sigur Ros, Manic Street Preachers, Goldfrapp, Amy MacDonald, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Grinderman, Duffy, The Gutter Twins, Elbow, Gossip, Spiritualized, Mercury Rev, The Coral (acoustic), The Roots, The Breeders, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Levellers, Asobi Seksu, Foy Vance, Howling Bells, Camera Obscura, Sia, Beardyman, Gomez, Joan As Police Woman, Black Lips, The Young Knives.

Tickets for Hydro Connect 2008 are on sale now. Weekend tickets are priced £120 and weekend tickets with camping are £140. To buy, log onto www.connectmusicfestival.com or call Ticketmaster on 08444 999 990. Bespoke camping packages and travel are also available from the website or by calling Ticketmaster.

Critic's choice - May 15

2008-05-15T14:07:00.003+01:00

Jens Lekman
Thu, 7pm, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, £10, 0141 357 6200

There's a lushness in suave Swedish singer Jens Lekman's songs that means they greet you like a big warm fuzzy hug from a friend, so if you need your mood lifted before the weekend begins, there's no better place to be tonight than Oran Mor. Lekman's rich, sensitive croon nestles among the layers of ornate orchestration that help sweep you off your feet, placing you firmly within his beguiling flights of fancy. In an alternate, far better reality he'd be charming us all from atop the charts, so take your chance to see him in such intimate environs.

Skipping a generation

2008-05-14T17:40:00.070+01:00

As I was watching Madonna take to the stage on Saturday at 'Radio 1's Big Weekend', via the BBC's iPlayer - the oddly wrinkle-free queen bee of pop violently thrusting her groin at all and sundry as she performed a six-song set - a rather disturbing thought hit me.

I'd assumed that the middling reviews for Hard Candy were mainly due to it being a less-than-stellar release, which is frankly fair enough when you're 11 albums into your career. You're bound to have a few small blips here and there.

But watching the performance I realised that she's redesigned herself for an age group that - for the first time in my own experience - is younger than my own, meaning that more than likely I'm just not going to 'get it'. Instead I am left to gloomily mumble about how much better she was when Vogue came out, or when she had Sacha Baron Cohen starring as Ali G - you know, if you can cast your mind back to pre-Borat days - in the video for Music. By hooking up with Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams she's latching on to a previously clueless audience who would have little idea about her 80s, 90s or even early 21st-century heyday, and who might otherwise balk at the prospect of buying music made by a 50-year-old multi-millionaire mother, someone who has been performing for well over 25 years.

However, Mrs Ritchie's move is perfectly understandable in one sense, I guess she doesn't want to become irrelevant and long past her sell-by date, as Paula Abdul, Cyndi Lauper and so many of her former peers did long, long ago. Haggardly miming along to Holiday on one of those 'Stars of the 80s' package tours wouldn't bear thinking about, never mind trying to belt out Like A Virgin with any degree of sincerity. It's just a shame that instead of maturing and developing as an artist in a dignified fashion - while refusing to capitalise on her past glories - she's instead splaying her legs gracelessly and prancing about like a stroppy A.D.D.-addled teenager, all while pretending to seduce someone half her age. Not that I can really talk about such things, but I at least I need a good bottle of whisky first to get into that sort of state.

Critic's choice - May 8

2008-05-08T14:34:00.004+01:00

Silver Jews
Fri, 7pm, ABC, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, £15, 0870 4000 818

A seminal alt-rock troupe that's seen cameos from many of the scene's luminaries - including Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, Lambchop's Tony Crow and Will Oldham - Silver Jews have been guided by David Berman, pictured, for going on 18 years। Only starting to tour in the last few years, this is a rare chance to catch the band live and revel in the sardonic glory of their singer's lackadaisical lyricism, soon to be given another airing in the good old recorded form through next month's release of their sixth album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.

(Appeared in The Herald on May 8, 2008)

Steady tiger

2008-05-06T13:23:00.004+01:00

Fife may not have the reputation as a musical hotspot, but it is increasingly the place to be every May, with Tigerfest again taking grip on the area this year like some sort of mammal of the Felidae family (thanks my wondrous Wikipedia skills for that 'hilarious' quip).

Fret not if you're in other parts of Scotland though, as the event has long since spread its, uhh, legs to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and this year is coming to Aberdeen (with the marvellous A Hawk and a Hacksaw performing). The events at Carnegie Hall are especially worthy of mention, the two marvellous three-band line-ups on the 15th and 17th both must-sees; if you're looking for up-and-coming bands then make sure to check out Fangs, Dirty Summer and The Scottish Enlightenment.

Elsewhere there's the stunning Stars of the Lid and Caribou, but anyway, take a look at the listings for yourself. If there's any time for an introduction to the finest alternative musical talent Scotland has to offer then it's surely in these next few weeks:

Dunfermline / Fife

Fri 2nd May, Monty’s

Molly Wagger, Hippo, + Joint Chiefs of Staff (DJ set), 9pm, £5

Sat 3rd May, The Greenside (Leslie, Glenrothes)

Root System, Bombskare, Big Hand, 8pm, £5

Fri 9th May, Tower House

The Manicdotes / System Arcade / Established, 7pm, £2

Thursday 15th May, Carnegie Hall

Twilight Sad / Frightened Rabbit / Dirty Summer, 7.30pm, £8

Friday 16th May, Carnegie Hall

Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake / The Pearlfishers’ David Scott, 7.30pm, £10

Saturday 17th May, Carnegie Hall

Idlewild / Foxface / The Scottish Enlightenment, 7.30pm, £18

Sunday 18th May, Carnegie Hall

Paul Haig / Fangs / Laki Mera, 7.30pm, £10

Fri 30th May, Monty’s

Yoshi / Ives / Chameleon Jersey, 9pm £5

Aberdeen

Monday 12th May, Tunnels

A Hawk and a Hacksaw/ Benjamin Wetherill, 8pm, £8

Thursday 22nd May, Tunnels

Caribou / Born Ruffians, 8pm, £10

Fri 23rd May, Tunnels

Stars of The Lid / Remember Remember / Glissando, 8pm, £9

Edinburgh

Sat 3rd May, Cabaret Voltaire

fourteenhours / The Stantons, Cabaret Voltaire, 7pm, £5

Sunday May 4th, Voodoo Room

Ulrich Schnauss / Funkspiel / Keser, 8pm, £9

Wed 21st May, Cabaret Voltaire

Caribou / Born Ruffians, 7pm, £10

Thu 29th May, Cabaret Voltaire

Vetiver + support, 7pm, £10

Glasgow:

Thurs May 8th, Stereo

ballboy, Popup, How To Swim. 8.30, £5 (more)

Thurs May 15th, 13th Note

Sonny Marvello, Das Contras, Little Kicks. 8.30, £4

Critic's choice - May 1

2008-05-01T22:32:00.002+01:00

Gemma Hayes
Sat, 7.30pm, Oran Mor, Byres Road, Glasgow, £12, 08444 999 990

If you need an injection of loveliness in your life - and who in this weird world of ours doesn't? - then look no further than the absolutely enchanting Gemma Hayes, an Irish singer-songwriter so sweet that the mere mention of her name makes most grown men swoon like the protagonist of a Mills and Boon novel. She's been teetering on the brink of mainstream success for some time now, and her upcoming third album should see her set for the big time, providing it's as full of mesmerising pop-rock gems as her previous releases.

(Appeared in The Herald on May 1, 2008)

Triptych: day three

2008-04-28T16:24:00.012+01:00

And, after seven rather dizty little years, Triptych ended with something of a bang. There was some razmatazz to bring the Last Ever Party at Arches to a close with soul singer Candi Staton, bringing the love to a rather rowdy audience. Other highlights were Four Tet, who played at eardrum-bashing volume but with consummate style, the retro-indie singalong stylings of 1990s (perfect festival fodder), and a rather touching take on Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart by The Parsonage. Leaving just as Derrick May was taking command of the dancefloor, it was a fine finale to the weekend, tempered by the slight sadness that things will never again be the same... still, not such a bad way to go.

Triptych: day two

2008-04-27T16:26:00.021+01:00

The Tramway it was yesterday for the day-long show headlined by Mogwai, though unfortunately late arrival meant that I missed the first few acts - including an apparently superb Frightened Rabbit - though I did manage to catch Errors' rousing electro-rock finale with a frenetic Mr Milk. Their upcoming first album is one to watch out for...

Dirty Projector, who recently signed to Domino Records, were a lovely, technically accomplished skewed take on pop music, complete with a mesmerisingly manic drummer. Malcolm Middleton provided a more sedate prospect, the former Arab Strap musician's songs complemented and perhaps even enhanced thanks to the sparse arrangements that had double bass and Jenny Reeve from Strike the Colours on violin. Clinic were disappointingly bland despite the bright Hawaiian shirts worn on stage, and for most of the time they seemed rather lazy, only briefly hinting at the songwriting suss that saw them championed by Radiohead some years ago.

Mogwai were as sublime as you might expect, premiering new songs which bode extremely well for their next album. Saying that they were epic is to hardly encompass the expansiveness of their sound, a breathtaking Like Herod just one highlight of the set. We'd got seats on the balcony, which made things strangely civilised, a suprisingly pleasant way to spend a Saturday night in Glasgow. It makes the thought of having to stand on my own two legs at The Arches tonight almost too much to bear...

Triptych: day one

2008-04-26T13:52:00.006+01:00

My adventures at the final-ever Triptych kicked off in style yesterday with Sebadoh's gig at The Classic Grand. The reformed indie trio were in fine form, a belligerent burst of noise, with discussions beforehand over whether my memories of them appearing on Top of the Pops were yet another figment of my fickle imagination. But no! They were indeed on, performing Flame - according to the sloppy and carefree internet search I've just performed - meaning that I can rest easy... Copy Haho were first on, and the Stonehaven band looked right at home performing as part of such a stellar line-up, the sardonic musings of Joe bringing some welcome deadpan commentary to proceedings.

The revelation of the night were Pram, who I'd never heard before, mesmerising percussive grooves sublimated by slinking brass, the synthesis of digital and analogue suitably discombobulating, aided by unsettling accompanying visuals. If Twin Peaks was throwing a party this would be the soundtrack, as it would if David Lynch reimagined the cantina scene in Star Wars. Either way, they were sublime, a true, unexpected delight. Enjoy:

A matter of profile

2008-04-25T11:20:00.092+01:00

Oh, last.fm seemed like such a wonderful concept when I joined not so very long ago. The music site would miraculously create my perfect radio station through the mysterious 'scrobbling' of those tracks played on my computer and MP3 player, its player providing me with the songs I already adore, mixed with unknown little gems that would lead me on to acts that I would subsequently worship and adore. Not only that, but it could recommend artists to listen to, videos to stare goggle-eyed at, gigs to go to, badges to adorn my man bag with, and other such useful things. What's not to love?

My last.fm music profile, that's what. Initially I thought it was a great idea - sometimes I still do - enabling me to easily list the musicians I actually listen to, rather than coming up with my own crummy, clumsily written attempts. (One that I'd initially have to update constantly to correct the multitude of mistakes, before then getting bored and leaving it to become increasingly, embarrassingly out of date.) Yep, I could use the power of Web 2.0 to ensure my thousands of social networking buddies - all close, close friends - could look at my 'Top Artists This Week' and, by then visiting the actual page, could then view my 'Top Artists Overall', thus providing an unadulterated, no-holds-barred account of my listening habits, good or bad.

But such transparency doesn't allow for the vicious streak of vanity that seems to splatter my guilt-sodden soul. My last.fm page became an online representation of myself, and - just as with other things of this nature, such as unflattering profile photos and revealing friend comments - suddenly the gimcrack, unedifying reality of my actual existence turned out not to be what I was wanting represented.

For instance, previously

I could quite enjoy those rare moments when I was walking around and a Limp Bizkit track came on thanks to random play (hey, there's only a couple of their tracks on my MP3 player - the one rhyming nookie with cookie and another unreleased, unintentionally hilarious dazzler about Fred Durst's 'relationship' with Britney Spears - both of which are strictly for entertainment value, you understand). Sometimes Too Funky by George Michael would gloriously introduce itself and I'd gleefully play some of his Greatest Hits, inwardly cackling at how amusing it was that no passers-by could possibly be aware of the camp ridiculousness being streamed directly into my ear drums.

No longer. Instead I worry about those anonymous, unseen spectators who - in a successful bid to boost their own sense of superiority - browse my statistics while online, only to find out that I often listen to the sort of dreck that would make even H from Steps feel a little dirty on the inside. My secret shame is there for all to see, and yet I perversely feel too honour-bound to try and manipulate the data being fed into the system, leading to an acute and painful self-awareness that I am indeed a complete dufus who can't possibly look down on anybody else's listening tastes. Ever. Again. Not even that guy who listens to Type O Negative, because now he can find out that I listen to Black No. 1 with alarming regularity.

Then there's the problem that some artists are played way more than others because of track length, or aren't even recorded because the track length was too long, such as on single-track dance mixes. Therefore Dave Clarke appears pretty much nowhere, and I dare not listen to any Napalm Death (not that I did previously though, to be fair). Indeed, DJs doing remix albums are unlikely to feature as they rarely remix their own tracks.

And those artists I listen to when I trying to get to sleep get a disproportionate airing, their records repeatedly repeating as I snore contentedly away. If no one can hear them, are they making a sound? Such cod philosophy matters not to last.fm. I mean, I do like Camille, but not nearly so much so that she has triumphantly trounced all comers to officially top my 'Top Artists Overall'. She'd be, maybe, at about 43 or so. I think. People must also think I'm a huge Battles megafan as well, when in reality I'll be asleep long before the midway point of Mirrored, so can't even name any of the latter tracks off their debut album. Goodness, I don't even own any of their famed first EPs, which is going to prove really embarrassing when the guitarist - you know, that guy with the hair - shows up on the doorstep to present me with a limited edition signed balaclava or something.

(I won't even go into how egotistical I think it must make me appear that the two acts I am a part of appear sandwiched in between Camille and Battles, right at the top of everything I've apparently ever listened to ever. Shame certainly feels like an appropriate emotion.)

Oh, plus I get uber-frustrated when putting something on a player that's not going to record my choice for posterity - you know, like one of those there car stereos that isn't hooked up to the internet. It's as though I'm being cheated out of the recognition that I so desperately feel I deserve, especially if it's something really, really cool that might just boost my flagging rep (I now get openly laughed at in the street, by gormless gonks able to glean that I've been listening to the new Korn album many, many times over). The foreknowledge infuriates me so much that sometimes I'll simply sit in silence instead, getting all cross and huffy like a stroppy, emotionally illiterate teenager, as my entire day is again ruined by the supposed evolution of our information age. Perhaps it's time to reclaim that refreshing anonymity the internet initially offered up and get rid of my profile page: at least then only I'll be aware of how rubbish my music tastes really are...

Baaaaad

Gooooood