Atlantic set to make waves in 2009
OUR PICK OF THE BANDS TO HIT HIGH NOTES NEXT YEAR
TALENT? We've got it in spades! From Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol to Biffy Clyro, Travis and many more, our country has a knack of consistently turning out world-beaters.
But there's never been a better time to be a music fan because, right now, in every town and city across Scotland there are more great acts than ever before.
Here, we introduce some of the brilliant new bands set for success in 2009...
1. TWIN ATLANTIC: WITH clear air under his feet, Sam McTrusty punches out a ringing guitar chord.
When he crashes back down onto the stage, his bandmates open the throttle on their amped-up alt.rock.
It's a dizzying rush of thundering drums, drilling basslines and electrifying riffs.
There's a surprise around every turn - a king-size chorus here, a sudden pause, swooping solo or heart-stopping stage dive there.
This is Twin Atlantic live and it's an experience not to be missed.
If you like your music loud, exciting and defiantly original then the Glasgow four-piece may be about to become your new favourite band.
"When we're onstage," insists Sam, "we mean every single moment."
The 21-year-old frontman formed Twin Atlantic in March last year after working up a set of sharp, brilliantly individual anthems with bassist Ross McNae.
They recruited drummer Craig Kneale, 22, and then found virtuoso guitarist Barry McKenna who, as a member of local rockers Think:Fire, had toured with Funeral For A Friend and The Used.
Their first gig - which introduced the fiercely energetic, compulsive stage show that has made them one of Scotland's most thrilling live acts - was just four weeks later.
Sam explains: "The whole performance thing is a key part of what we're about.
"We've always felt like we needed to impress people so when we're onstage we go for it 110 per cent.
"It's very important to us that, when people come to see us play live, they walk away afterwards feeling like they've seen something special and had a great time."
Their incredible shows have already attracted the attention of one of Britain's top live agents, who's added Twin Atlantic to a roster that includes indie favourites like Editors and Kasabian alongside heavyweight rock heroes like Rage Against The Machine and Biffy Clyro.
But their releases - including January's brilliant A Guidance From Colour EP and follow-up single What Is Light? Where Is Laughter? - have been making waves too.
We don't want to bore people so everything moves along at quite a fast pace
Now a couple of legendary US rock producers are circling, eager to work with a band that combines the muscle of, say, Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters with the forward- thinking spirit of U2 or Talking Heads.
And they're currently preparing for their first album with a series of test recordings of live favourites like Crash Land, You Are The Forest and Caribbean War Syndrome.
"It's a hugely exciting time for us," adds Ross, who picked up his first guitar at the age of 12 before transferring to bass three years ago.
"The thought that we'd be recording an album is something that, just a year ago, we couldn't even have dreamt of."
As well as their all-guns-blazing live show - partly inspired by the intense performances of US hardcore acts like The Bled - much of the reason for the growing buzz on Twin Atlantic lies in the quality of the songs themselves.
Tracks like Time Is The Enemy, Wonder Sleeps Here or the epic A Guidance From Colour itself, cram in more ideas than some bands manage in a career.
Sam explains: "Before we formed the band, I spent about 18 months in my bedroom, just writing songs.
"But something happens when the others start playing them - they'll sculpt the raw material into something special.
"I think part of the reason is because we all have such a broad interest in music.
"We love everything from Nirvana, Weezer and Biffy Clyro to Jeff Buckley and Sigur Ros. I listen to a lot of Bruce Springsteen too - Iyrically, the way he sets up images is fantastic. But we don't want to bore people so everything moves along at quite a fast pace - we pack in quite a lot of hooks because making music that's memorable is important to us."
Their unique songs are also bolstered by the band's determination to do things their own way.
That's one of the reasons behind Sam's decision not to alter or tone down his Scots accent when he sings.
"We've always just followed our instincts," he says, "and tried to be ourselves as much as possible - it feels uncomfortable for us to do anything else."
(Picture credit: John Lewis)
That attitude has won them a lot of fans and helped them land some prestigious support slots.
"In January, the biggest crowd we'd played to was 150," reveals Sam.
"Then we toured with Biffy Clyro and we were playing to 2,500 people a night.
"A month later we were playing with Smashing Pumpkins in front of twice that number. It felt a bit like being thrown in at the deep end...but we learnt a lot."
One valuable lesson came courtesy of Pumpkins mainman Billy Corgan who lost the plot when Twin Atlantic accidentally walked in on the US act's soundcheck.
Sam recalls: "They stopped playing immediately and there was a lot of angry yelling. We'd been warned not to look at Billy or catch his eye but no one had mentioned the soundcheck was off-limits. It was a valuable experience though. We learned to treat everyone with respect." Blistering sets at Rock Ness, T In The Park and Connect followed. And the band's live form proved so incredible on a UK tour with The Subways, that they were invited to join the headliners in Europe too.
"That was genuinely one of the greatest things I've ever taken part in," grins Sam.
"Every night, The Subways would be at the side of the stage watching our set. We really felt humbled by their generosity - they helped us for no other reason than the fact they genuinely like our music."
After playing a secret low-key show at Glasgow's Barfly last night, they're focusing on recording duties over the coming weeks.
Sam admits: "All the four of us have done since our first practice together is to live and breathe Twin Atlantic. We're thrilled people are enjoying what we do."
CATCH them at Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow on March 7. Call 0870 534 4444 for tickets.
2. THE RAY SUMMERS: THERE aren't too many bands with songs about boots and cats...but then The Ray Summers simply aren't like other bands. Indie conformists they ain't.
The Falkirk outfit's unique sound is a raucous fusion of ska, reggae, authentic Sixties soul, freakbeat and funk that's more fun than Katy Perry and Britney Spears in a pillow fight. "The reason it sounds the way it does is because all six of us write the songs," confesses singer Andy Ure. "We're all into different things so all those influences come together in the noise we make."
The band has its origins in the year that Andy spent travelling with Summers guitarist Chris Jackson.
"We were in New Zealand," he recalls, "and we began to daydream about forming a group with all our favourite musicians from back home.
"We'd sit there and fantasise about who we'd have on bass, who'd play drums and so on.
"Amazingly, when we eventually got back to Falkirk in January, all the guys we'd talked about were free so we got our dream band."
Taking their name from the mod outfit that bassist Billy Kay's dad played in during the Sixties, the group - which also includes drummer Lee Burgoyne, keyboards player David Horne and guitarist Andrew Douglas - began honing their razor-sharp set.
Over the past 12 months, they've amassed a growing fanbase thanks to thrill-packed tracks like Crazy World, The Shepherd or Heshka Rashka and a brilliant live show that's guaranteed to leave you wearing a grin.
"We take a lot of pride in what we do live," Andy says. "If you're going to do it, do it well."
Typically their signature song Boots & Cats was inspired by something extraordinary.
"We were having a barbecue," the singer remembers, "so we were all sat out in the garden with our guitars.
"Then it started to snow...in April. It was so surreal it gave us the idea for the song."
CATCH them with Paolo Nutini at Glasgow's Hogmanay.
3. PEARL AND THE PUPPETS: ARMED with a series of lilting folk-pop anthems like Mango Tree, Because I Do and Kisses, Kirkintilloch's Katie Sutherland is one of the music industry's "most likely to" after writing stints with Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross and recording sessions with Blur producer Stephen Street.
Having the renowned 21 Management - the masterminds behind the careers of James Blunt and Lily Allen - pulling the strings doesn't hurt so it's almost guaranteed that success will be on the agenda for the 21-year-old and her band in 2009.
"It's shaping up to be a good year," says Katie, whose middle name is Pearl. And she's not wrong. Music publishing giant Warner Chappell have snapped her up and she's planning to head to Los Angeles soon to begin recording her debut album.
And did we mention that Elton John's a fan too? Expect big things.
CATCH them at Glasgow's King Tut's on January 3.
4. THE PHANTOM BAND: THEY'VE been described as "Captain Beefheart meets Nick Cave" but the Glasgow six-piece throw an accessible pop sensibility into the mix as well. Their debut album Checkmate Savage, due out next month, is crammed with beautiful melodies that make their off-the-wall gems shine.
Featuring no less than three guitarists - Greg Sinclair, Duncan Marquiss and Rick Anthony - alongside keyboardist Andy Wake, bassist Gerry Hart and drummer Damien Tonner, they create a lush sound that pulls in, er, six directions at once. "We have met the enemy and he is us," says Andy by way of explanation.
CATCH them at Nice'N'Sleazy, Glasgow on Wednesday.
5.BROKEN RECORDS: THEY'VE been likened to Arcade Fire but the comparisons don't do justice to the Edinburgh-based seven-piece.
Formed in December 2006, they've been a hot prospect on the indie scene for a while, gaining fans with singles like Slow Parade and Lies, but it looks like the groundwork they've been doing over the past two years is about to pay off.
Now managed by the team who steered The View to success, they're also being advised by industry heavyweights who've worked with Coldplay and Radiohead. Fame surely beckons...
CATCH them at Edinburgh's Hogmanay (Waverley Stage).
6. ABCQ: WHEN Madonna compliments your voice, it's clear something special has to be going on.
That's surely the case for Louise Quinn, who impressed the pop queen with her appearance on Kid Loco's Kill Your Darlings. After quitting the band Hardbody to work first as Quinn, then A Band Called Quinn due to legal wranglings, she and her band - drummer Bal Cooke, bassist Steven Westwater and multi-instrumentalist Robert Henderson - now operate as ABCQ.
Their great new single The Glimmer Song is due in February, quickly followed by new LP Sun Moon Stars. "It's a whole new start," she says.
CATCH them on tour in February.
7. ALTO ELITE: IT'S clear that Tayside's latest indie export haven't paid attention to the lyrics on XTC's classic Love On A Farmboy's Wages...in a rustic take on The Beatles, the five-piece have moved in together on a smallholding.
In between delivering calves, insulating barns and diving off piles of grain, singer Ian Black and the band have been working on their debut album. "We're really proud of the new material we've been working on whilst holed up on the farm," he says.
Currently slated for a spring release, the album is likely to combine elegantly-crafted pop gems like Walkaway and Has It Come To This with the rockier, more uplifting side of the band's sound.
They're also planning a series of surprise intimate gigs to road-test the new material - but who'll watch the cattle?
CATCH them at Moshulu, Aberdeen, on Jan 16 and Kinloch Arms, Carnoustie, Angus on Jan 23.
8. SUCIOPERRO: THOUGH their debut album Random Acts Of Intimacy won them lots of new fans, it's the Ayrshire trio's soon-to-be-released follow-up Pain Agency that looks set to catapult them into the front ranks.
Frontman JP Reid, bassist Stewart Chown and sticksman Fergus Munro, specialise in welding ultra- heavy riffs to big, memorable melodies but, this time round, there's a more experimental edge too,
Trailed by the recent Mums' Bad Punk Music EP, the eagerly-awaited long-player features some stunning guitar playing by JP. "We're really excited about getting back out there," he insists.
CATCH them on tour in March.
9. MR KIL: FRONTMAN Joe Gallacher and his crew made their live debut back in April and quickly secured radio plays for fan favourite The Boat Song.
It's the flagship number for a set full of high quality gems like Gin And Sin or Hollow that lie somewhere between Jeff Buckley and Starsailor.
The band - which also includes ex-Grim Northern Social keyboards whizz Andy Cowan, his bass- playing brother Pete and sticksman Paul Crawford - have been keeping a low profile lately while they focus on recording.
"It's all a bit of an underground phenomenon with us," says Joe. "But we're hoping to move on to bigger and better things."
CATCH them at next summer's festivals.
This article has 2 comments
Twin Atlantic = Awesome!!!!!
By DM. Posted January 8 2009 at 9:28 PM.
this band is one of the best bands to come out of 2008 keep up the good work guys and good luck in 2009.lolx
By elaine rinn. Posted December 31 2008 at 2:09 PM.