Bwani Junction - who were longlisted for the Scottish album of the year award - have been in touch. Their next big challenge is their first headline show in Edinburgh at a BIG venue next Sunday (The Liquid Room). They are doing this in conjunction with some Events Management students from Stevenson College - and would like everyone and their dog to turn up for this one.

It’s a fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis so try and persuade as many of your family and friends to come to this one - it’s an Over-14s night and £6 tickets are available at the link below.

£6 Tickets are available here

Read my interview with Bwani Junction here

Cornershop -’Urban Turban.’ (Music For Motion)

I first heard Cornershop on John Peel’s late night Radio 1 show back in early 1993. Loud and unruly, I was smitten and went around with ‘Cornershop: In the days of Ford Cortiona EP’ scrawled onto my school bag. According to legend, said debut EP was pressed on curry-coloured vinyl (I’ve got the 7″ in front of me and that’s definitely black vinyl). Truth or not, the band were uncompromising and defiant, in their politics and their music. They’d bamed themselves Cornershop as a comment on British people’s perceptions of the Asian community in the UK. My scrawling Cornershop on my school bag raised the usual ‘why’ questioning from my contemporaries at school (but I was a weirdo who didn’t play Rugby and liked The Cure, so they didn’t really expect any better from the lieks of me). But itr was exciting to someone feeling isolated in a God-forsaken market town in England’s East Midlands.

By the time I saw Cornershop live, four years down the line (bizarrely at the Christian-orientated Greenbelt festival, then held near Corby, where the bill also featured 3 Colours Red and Bennet…er ask your Dad), they had expanded their sound , mixing the Indian folk and angry guitar pop with dance and hip-hop influences. Their second album Woman’s Gotta Have It was as much of a progression from their debut Hold On It Hurts as Blur and Radiohead would make between their debut and sophomore releases. They bookended their brilliant set that afternoon in Northamptonshire with ‘6am’ and ‘7:20am Jullander Shere’ like on the album. Yet the next six months would prove even more extraordinary. Their third album When I Was Born For The Seventh Time would prove to be a massive hit. Not only did the song ‘Brimful Of Asha’ top John Peel’s Festive 50 at the end of the year, but the remix of the song by Fatboy Slim (allegedly done by Norman Cook for free after then-label Wiiija said they oculdn’t afford to pay for a remix) helped take it to no.1 in early 1998. Whilst they have yet to make the top ten since, the single has had a couple of other Cornershop songs also make the UK Top Forty and it’s meant that there has always been an interest in new material released by the group. Their second decade might have seen longer between releases from the group but they still generate a considerable amount of interest worldwide.

Thing is, no-one wants just to be remembered for a no.1 hit nearly fifteen years ago that came about as the result of someone else’s remix. The fact is: Cornershop show, yet again, on this their eighth album, show that there’s so much to be celebrated about them in the present time. They have continued to grow and evolve over time, and yet impressively for an album that has such a huge amount of influences, it very definitely sounds like Cornershop.

From the hip-hop inflexions of the single ‘Milkin’ It’ to the gorgeous French-influenced ‘Non-stop radio play’ this is Cornershop firing on all cylinders. It has actually taken a long time to write this review not just because of my reflections on how much I have rated Cornershop, but because it’s just such a flaming great album to listen to. ‘Who’s Gonna Lite It Up’ mixes Beck, Indian influences and Hip-Hop. And it makes sense that there was also a disco side project that they put out as Clinton, because that’s still an interest here (’Solid Gold.’)

I genuinely believe that there is not a duff track on this album. Yes, I’m a fan (in case that wasn’t already obvious enough). And listening to this album shows that nearly into their third decade as a grop, Cornershop are still one of the most creative bands out there. Get them on your stereo now. This album deserves to be a hit; it’s up to you to m ake it the smash it deserves to be.

One of the strongest releases you are likely to hear this year.

****1/2

Urban Turban is out now on Music For Motion.

‘Blink and you’ll miss it’ to coin a cliche, but in the case of the video MS MR’s video for their forthcoming single ‘Hurricane’ it really is true:

The New York duo are apparently going to be touring with Marina and the Diamonds in the US, but details about who they actually are are seemingly scarce. Just enjoy the music -which is like Lana Del Rey covering Massive Attack, on the evidence of this track.

Download “Hurricane” in exchange for an email at MS MR’s site.

As an avid watcher of the Edinburgh music scene, I feel like I have been waiting for the debut album by Jesus H. Foxx perhaps even longer than the eagleowl one (though I believe that’s due soon).

Song, By Toad Records released their fine six track EP Matter back in 2009, and as Toad Supremo Matthew Young says, ‘their debut album has been, they have assured me, mere weeks away from completion. And two and a half years later, here it is.’

Out very, very soon (can’t see a release date but it’s soon), and entitled Endless Knocking, this is the first track to be made available as a free download, the rather fine ‘So Much Water.’

The album tracklisting, by the way is:

The Reins, Quick
So the Wind Won’t…
Permanent Defeat
Elegy For the Good
Twins
Half the Man You Were
This is Not a Rental Car
So Much Water
Twins (reprise)
J+J
Paris

a review will follow shortly. Oh, and it has the fine ‘cello sounds of Pete Harvey on not one, but two tracks. Matthew Toad told me that he ‘is trying to prise Pete’s solo album out of him.’ Come on, I’m waiting…

I think it’s fair to say at this point in 2012 that Broke With Expensive Taste, the forthcoming debut from Azealia Banks, who I have featured on here several times, is one of the releases I am most looking forward to this year.

Having been voted the coolest person in music at the end of 2011 by NME (Which can be a poisoned chalice), she has been hanging around the UK charts with ‘212′ seemingly pretty much since then, and her new EP 1991, is due soon.

Before the album comes out (due in September), there will be a mixtape entitled Fantastic. Taken from it is this rather fine track called ‘Jumanji’ which is another fine example of why listening to her is -in the finest way possible - like being on the receiving end of quickfire. It’s co-produced by Glaswegian Hudson Mohawke, friend and associate of Rustie, who I championed on this blog back in 2008.

play it loud…

Wavre are a brand new band.

When I say brand new, I mean it. As in: they’ve only just got together as an act (their facebook page is less than two weeks old, fer Chrissakes). They’re from Dallas, Texas and consist of Garry Brents (bass, vocals and keyboards) and Dominique Patton (vocals, keyboards and samples). they first grabbed my attention because they mentioned The Cure and Mogwai in their email (I know! I’m such a sucker!! It worked.). The first influence they list is Twin Peaks, but they also mention 17 Seconds favourites like Burial, Explosions in the Sky and Yuck. This all adds up to an impressive whole. Utterly beautiful and compelling. I am eager to hear more and have had these on repeat this evening.

As far as I can tell they haven’t played live yet. They have however put together an impressive collection of demos and these are free to download. They are also starting to get blog love already, from both The Sound Of Confusion and Indie Middle Of Nowhere
. There will almost certainly be more.

This is from their soundcloud page. If these are just the demos, then God alone knows how fricking awesome their debut LP will sound.

It was never intended that 17 Seconds Records would leave it so long between releases, but this came out today!

The This Kingdom EP by Matt Norris and the Moon can be streamed here and bought from the band’s bandcamp, or from other sites including iTunes, eMusic, and Amazon, as well as being able to stream at Spotify.

I’ve already posted this video before, but I do think it’s rather fine…

You can also download this track for free (not on the EP, btw):

There have been some nice bits of press, including The Scotsman, Rhythm & Booze, dauphin mag, [sic] Magazine, For Folks Sake, Folk Blues & Beyond, and Thank Folk For That.

Not only that but nice pieces have appeared at RingMaster Review and Frost Magazine.

There are quite a few live shows coming up, too, over the next month or so:

May 23, The Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Scotland
May 24, The Cafe Continental, Gourock, Scotland
May 25, Hootananny, Inverness, Scotland
May 26, Newmarket Bar, Thurso, Scotland
May 27, Y-not Bar & Grill, Thurso, Scotland
May 30, The Slaughtered Lamb, London, England
May 31, Knockengorroch World Ceilidh, Castle Douglas, Scotland
June 3, Dirty Weekender Festival, Kilmarnock, Scotland
June 6, Go North 2012, Inverness, Scotland
June 8, 20 Rocks, Falkirk, Scotland
June 9, The Classic Grand, Glasgow, Scotland
June 27, The Third Door, Edinburgh, Scotland
June 30, Kelburn Garden Party, Largs, Scotland

The Leg: ‘An Eagle To Saturn’ (Song, By Toad Records)

One of the things about records being put out by people you know is that you do get a slight insight into at least something about the record that you might not otherwise. I first met Matthew Young of the very fine Song, By Toad Blog and latterly record company, five years ago, at a Camera Obscura gig in Edinburgh. It’s been great watching the label grow and seeing the (and I mean this as a compliment) weird and wonderful releases that have come out.

Let me start by a comment from Matthew on the label’s website about The Leg’s latest album: ‘I still can’t decide if I think this album is an amazing pop record or just plain fucking mental. Like most of the best albums I reckon it’s a bit of both.’ I think that’s probably very true. When I first put this on I really wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. It needed to be focused on and given some serious attention, rather than being approached as yet another record I needed to review.

Very wise. Because two of The Leg’s mainstays are both Pete Harvey and Alun Thomas. Pete Harvey has done a lot of work around the Edinburgh music scene and I look forward to his first solo album (I don’t know if such a thing is in existence yet but all the things of his I have heard over the years suggest this is going to be a very fine record indeed). Almost up against him is Alun Thomas, who is on drums and ’singing.’

Barely half an hour long, what at first starts off as sounding almost cacophonous reveals itself to be an exciting and original album. Alun Thomas comes on like a Scots Tom Waits, Pete Harvey is a genius who seems to have been soaked in baroque and classical music as they made this record, and the end result is like a fiery Scotttish Pogues. This record will doubtless unnerve some but if you are prepared to give it the love and attention it deserves, you will find this a rewarding listen.

****

The Leg -’Bake Yourself Silly.’ mp3

Samuel Jackson Five -’Samuel Jackson Five’ (Denovali)

Camper Van Beethoven. Brian Jonestown Massacre. Dandy Warhols. Music is full of bands punning and playing with words. On this, their fourth album, Norway’s Samuel Jackson Five are so much playing with words per se, but are introducing singing and attempting to go beyond the post-rock genre of their first three albums (er, apparently. I haven’t actually heard them.)

It might be a slightly obvious -and therefore lazy comparison to make-but perhaps the band that most comes to mind when comparing this album is Battles. In the sense that there is a sense of ‘prog’ meaning good, nods to math-rock and jazz and even -dare I say it -yes, post-rock. The chiming sound on ‘Never-ending Now’ almost works like a call to prayer. Whilst they may be experimenting with time signatures and sonic textures, this is, perhaps, an astonishingly enjoyable and easy album to get to grips with.

It works as a very successful whole, but there are also some standout tracks here ‘…And Then We Met The Locals’ and the wonderfully named ‘Electric Crayons’ (the mind boggles) that are worth checking out. I may have striggled with the notion of ‘progressive’ for years, but here it is in the sense of moving forward, rather than an obsession with wizards and how many keyboards you can get on a stage whilst mangling classical masterpieces.

Take the time to investigate.

****

Samuel Jackson Five is out now on Denovali

The Son(s): Leviathan EP (Olive Grove)

I think the winters of 2009-10 and 2010-11 are probably going to be etched onto my mind forever. The first was miserable, grappling with long-term sickness, and wondering how I was going to get through. The next one the situation had changed: I was working for library services, and Mrs. 17 Seconds was expecting a baby. The weather was even worse, and we muddled through. Healthy baby boy, now aged fourteen months.

It was clearly a long winter for others as well. The promotional notes for The Son(s) follow-up to last year’s fine self-titled debut LP (do check it out) read: “These songs were sung and recorded in an old cold, empty, echoey flat in Edinburgh. Away from home, stuck in the dark middle of winter. It was the coldest winter there for more than 50 years. Temperatures fell to minus 14C. It was colder at night, colder still at home. Snow fell, trains stopped.” Yet out of it was born this fine six track EP.

Checking in at twenty minutes, there’s sufficient difference in these tracks to really draw you in. Second track ‘If I Hear You Talk apostrophes Again’ is quite uptempo, whereas the opener ‘Roaring Round The House’ and ‘Half Lived’ are more reflective. I’ve always felt the cold, bleak Scottish winters seeped into the sound that Mogwai make (check out anything from their Chemikal Underground phase for particualr proof of this), and in a totally different way so it proves to be the case with Leviathan.

This is a beautiful EP. Take the time to check it out.

****
Leviathan is out now on Olive Grove