TONGUES - RELIGION

Tongues are one of the bands I've featured on my ongoing New Bands 2015 series (right here) and they caught my ear because the superb Colours In The Dark and Anymore were two of the finest examples of synthpop I'd heard in a long time. Anymore also featured on the second Almost Scottish Fiction e.p. which you can still grab at no cost at all here. It's no surprise that Tongues have continued to attract praise from all sorts of places and their recent set at T In the Park on the BBC Introducing stage unsurprisingly went down a storm.

The excellent news I have for you Tongues have released a new track today and that track, Religion, is available for you to listen to below. Religion is a cracking track; a combination of chants, vocoded vocals, laid back beats and instantly catchy synth melodies that you can easily see a packed venue bouncing along to very happily indeed. This track is a prime example of why Tongues are fast becoming talked about in more than just blogging circles. Religion is a prime slice of clever, hook laden electronic music that you are bound to fall in love with.

For more info about Tongues, check out their Facebook page

LIVE: MIRACLE STRIP, LE THUG, APACHE DARLING - KING TUTS, GLASGOW 21 JULY

Over two weeks in July, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut is hosting a series of gigs under the heading Summer Nights. Throughout the month, over 50 Scottish bands and DJ's are playing at the venue, showcasing the best new music Scotland has to offer. The full list of gigs is pretty impressive and can be viewed here - click

Last night, I went along to a show to see three of my favourite new bands. Unfortunately, I had to leave before AmatrArt came on which was a pity as I'd have love to have seen them too. Before I go on to the bands, I've got to say how much I enjoyed the Podcart DJ set betI cween bands too. Superb tracks including Bjork's Violently Happy which never fails to make me make me at least consider dancing. Nice work Halina

Miracle Strip (dodgy pics above and below my own) kicked off the night and started us off well. Their Miracle Milk  is something I've been playing a lot recently and it was really pleasing to see how well the songs came across live. Took A Running Jump was a highlight for me, mainly because it's one of the best tracks I've heard in a while but the whole set worked. The band's combination of New Order and early Cure like atmospherics with vocals that marvellously bring to mind The Magnetic Fields is a winner and tracks like Lemon Sorbet  and Girl Gang were just fantastic.

Le Thug followed Miracle Strip and their set was just as good as I hoped it would be. Their Place Is ep is a stunner and it's one that I've played over and over on my clear vinyl 12" copy. I have to mention that as clear vinyl is surely the coolest of the coloured vinyls. Anyway, their set featured most of the e.p.with Pals  and Basketball Land sounding just as menacing yet noisily beautiful as the do on record. Live, the band generate a quite mesmerising sound and it was a really powerful show that I couldn't take my eyes off. There's a shoegaze influence at play no doubt but more towards the louder end of Ride or My Bloody Valentine where noise meets melody and works incredibly well. Le Thug are a special band no doubt.

Next up were blog favourites and recent interviewees Apache Darling who, despite writing about a lot, I'd never managed to see live. Like Le Thug, Apache Darling's live show more than matched up to their releases and they gave the crowd half an hour of quite marvellous synthpop. Opening with the superb More Than Me the band grabbed the crowd's attention from the off and the whole set was excellent. More Than Me aside, one song that really stood out for me was Go which was almost Yazoo like and that can only ever be a good thing. The band have recently spent a good bit of time honing their live sound and that work has paid off. The combination of their crisp electropop with Stefanie's frankly brilliant voice is a winner and you really want to catch them live if you can. The fact Andrew manages to play three live synths with no backing tracks is no mean feat either. It was a great set and it really got the whole room going, 

As I said at the start, apologies to AmatrArt who I really wanted to see but couldn't stick around for. I gather their set was unsurprisingly great and I'll make sure I catch them next time. In the meantime, if you can, try and get along to one or two of the remaining King Tut's Summer Nights and enjoy what is clearly something of a golden age for Scottish music. Keep an eye on all the bands above too as you will want to see them live as soon as you can

Miracle Strip Facebook

Le Thug Facebook

Apache Darling Facebook

AmatrArt Facebook

NEW CHVRCHES ALBUM AND TOUR

Chvrches are back. This is, of course, exceptionally good news not only because The Bones Of What You Believe remains an outstanding album and a follow up to that is therefore a rather exciting prospect, but also because it again shows the world that Glasgow is the current world leader in synthpop and, if nothing else, that helps this blog immensely.

Every Open Eye will be released on 25 September and features 11 new tracks which are:

1. Never Ending Circles

2. Leave A Trace

3. Keep You On My side

4. Make Them Gold

5. Clearest Blue

6. High Enough To Carry You Over

7. Empty Threat

8. Down Side Of Me

9. Playing Dead

10. Bury It 

11. Afterglow

The band have already released one song, Leave A Trace, which you can listen to below. It's a quite magnificent slice of near perfect synthpop that is virtually impossible to stop playing once you give it one play. What strikes me as especially interesting with the song is that Lauren's voice sounds much more powerful and features much higher in the mix than previously and if that's a sign of what's to come with the album, then things look very promising indeed. I'm sure it's bound to be one of the albums of the year.

The band have also announced new tour dates with a run of shows in America in September and October and 4 European shows in November. There are bound to be more added to that list and I've got everything crossed for a pre Christmas Barrowlands show or two as their last gigs there were spectacular. The European shows announced thus far are

Nov 10 - Trianon, Paris
Nov 12 - Docks, Hamburg
Nov 13 - Melkweg, Amsterdam
Nov 14 - AB, Brussels.

Tickets go on presale to Chrvches mailing list subscribers on Wednesday 22 July and on general sale on Friday 24 July.

More news about the album and tour dates as they arrive....

NEW MARTIN GORE REMIX E.P.

Hot on the heels of this year's superb MG album (review here), the marvellous Mr Martin Gore has announced the release of a double vinyl remix e.p. which will come out on Mute records on 2 October. As well as the MG remixes that have already seen the light of day such as those by Christoffer Berg (Pinking) and Andy Stott (Europa Hymn), the e.p. will feature two previously unreleased tracks and a remix of Featherlight by a fan as part of a remix competition.

The stems for Featherlight can be downloaded here and all entries must be submitted by 21 August by uploading them to Soundcloud. The winner will be announced on 31 August. I'm going to have a go and you should too.

More news on the e.p's name and final tracklist as it arrives. Meantime, here's Andy Stott's remix of the superb Europa Hymn to get your competition entries inspired

YuTaNi - AT THE END OF A DAY

As well as producing some of the finest electronic music to come from Glasgow in many a year, Machines In Heaven's three members also busy themselves with solo projects. Now, alongside Davey Gwynne's blood blood project and Greg Hurst's Magic Daddy work, Connor Reid has released the quite wonderful At The End Of A Day album as YuTaNi on Hot Gem.

The album has, in the main, an ambient feel to it that brings to mind the likes of Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol II with many of the songs sharing that albums other worldy feel. The opening three tracks For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky, All Goes Onward And Outward...And Nothing Collapses and Trocchi combine an underlying menace with a sparseness that is really quite magical, pulling you into the album's dense, dark soundscapes. Entrance Stone then adds some beats and muffled sounding samples before the quite brilliant Mt. Minakami arrives like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. It's an outstanding track and one that I've been playing on heavy rotation all week. It combines a New Order like bass and guitar line with beautiful electronic and piano melodies squiggled all over the top. An absolute stormer. Splay comes next with its crackling vinyl samples reminiscent of The Caretaker before the trip hop feel of All's Well That Ends Well leads into the poppier City You Love which is one of the few tracks to have a prominent guitar lead throughout and features vocals by Jomez. Agalama returns us to an Aphex Twin feel albeit more the first Selected Ambient Works album as there are beats present before the short Kashasha Tanganyika brings us to the penultimate track Wabi-Sabi. It's another superb track built around a recurring piano motif and surrounded by a wide array of tasty beats and bleeps. The album then concludes on the Croatoan Roanoke, a lengthy early Brian Eno like soundscape that you can't help but get lost in. 

There is something special about this album and it's a real must hear for fans of electronic music of all genres really as there's something here for everyone. If I have to recommend one track it would have to be Mt. Minakami as it's genuinely one of the best things I've heard in a while. Don't just stop there though - delve right in.

The album can be streamed on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/connor-reid/sets/at-the-end-of-a-day-full-album) or below and can, and indeed, should be bought at Bleep 

YuTaNi Facebook https://www.facebook.com/yutanielohei?fref=ts

Hot Gem http://hotgem.co.uk/

INTRODUCING....DEATH OF HI FI

Death Of Hi Fi are an trio from Oxford comprising Andy Hill, Dan Clear and Lucy Cropper. Performing a rather tasty mix of electronic, dub and hip hop, the band have been picking up quite a following down and, this weekend, they're playing a huge show at the Truck Festival, sharing a bill with the likes of The Charlatans, Public Service Broadcasting and Peter Hook & The Light. I caught up with Andy Hill, a friend of mine and fellow Liverpool FC sufferer to find out a bit more about the band.

APA: So - who are Death Of Hi Fi? 

AH: It started off as idea I had in my bedroom to make weird, challenging electronic music, very much influence by the L.A. Beat scene (Flying Lotus, Mr Dibiase etc) - short experimental tracks with clipped kicks and snare, filters and off beat rhythms. Things changed when I met Dan at Record Store Day and we decided to work together. Dan brought the opposite; long songs with structure and melody which seemed to work quite well. It was a loose project originally based around working with rappers and singers from all over the world, but that meant it was impossible to play the tracks live so we looked for a permanent vocalist. Luckily, we found Lucy who was looking to work on some new material With her on board, our style evolved with more chord progressions and richer, deeper "proper" songs.

APA: Tell us about your sound

AH: It's basically a compound of all our influences. I come from a Hip Hop production background, but grew up loving electronic music such as Kraftwerk, Gary Numan and Jean Michel Jarre (I was young). (APA - nothing wrong with a bit of JMJ now and again). Dan came from a more metal background but also had a love of dance music. Lucy has very wide tastes and I wouldn't know where to begin describing them. This means that elements of all these influences can be felt in our tracks but we always try to make the music sound natural rather than contrived. It's why our next album will take in several genres because we want to make tracks we feel are natural rather than try and focus on one genre too much.

APA: You're already one album plus numerous live shows into your career following 2012's Anthropocene. How does the first incarnation of Death Of Hi Fi compare to the band that will take to the stage at Truck Festival?

AH: It's a totally different animal. We used to hide behind our stage masks as we felt a bit self conscious about playing in front of people whilst standing behind laptops. That was why we used to make weird videos to distract the crowds from the us seemingly doing nothing. With Lucy on board, not only has the sound evolved, but live we are much more engaging. 

Death Of Hi Fi - (L-R) Dan, Andy, Lucy

APA: Looking at the festival, you've ended up on a high profile bill with the likes of The Charlatans and Peter Hook there. How did it all come about?

AH: We've enjoyed strong support form the guys at BBC Introducing for a few years and we got on the shortlist to play a couple of times but never got picked. This year I think the evolution in our sound maybe convinced them that we belong there. I'm proud that we are an electronic act who more than hold our own in the midst of a more indie focussed city in Oxford.

APA: What can we expect from you at the festival?

AH: It depends on whether or not I'm allowed to drink before we go on! Seriously though, we've been putting together a high energy show that will hopefully satisfy the people that already know us and interest some new folk as well. Either that or I strip naked and run amok. (Not happening!)

APA: What are the band's future plans?

AH: We are releasing an e.p. at the end of August/beginning of September so we're finishing that up just now. We're also going to record the bulk of the album over the Summer. It's all written and demoed but needs putting together. It's hopefully going to tell a story; the first album was a wider look at humanity from a neutral point of view whereas this one is a much more personal look at an individual's world.

Thanks very much to Andy for sparing the time between rehearsals and the studio. The band have given me a free track for you all to download. Go to http://deathofhifi.co.uk/ and grab yourselves Serenity which I know you're going to love

Meantime, if you're going to Truck Festival, make sure you catch Death Of Hi Fi and keep an eye out here, on their website and on their Facebook page for news of the upcoming e.p, album and future live shows.

NEW BANDS 2015 NO. 14 - BUNNY & THE INVALID SINGERS

Bunny and The Invalid Singers are a project of Edinburgh based singer/artist Bunny and their new release on Bearsuit Records, The Invalid Singers, is my first taste of Bunny's unique and rather enjoyable music. From what I can hear, there are elements of sixties style pop, electronic music, industrial music and even classical music contained within this album. The album itself may well be bewildering in places on first listen, but repeated plays reveal more and more and, ultimately, you end up with something rather special. There are certain bands who I think this record shows traces of like Pavement or Einsturzende Neubauten whose work has a similar effect on this listener and that's no bad thing at all. 

The opening track from the album Ask The Man Inside Your Head recently featured on Almost Scottish Fiction Vol 4 (here) and was a welcome addition to the e.p. It seems to swerve between around 6 styles over its 4 and a half minutes but don't for a second let that put you off. It's a superb track as you can hear below

Throughout the album there are moments that are so inventive you can't help but love it and tracks like the title track itself (with vocals by Japanese singer Asuka Tanaka), Hallucinating Felt Beasts and The Putty Legs of Dusty McGuire are definitely among the most unique things I have heard in a long, long time. The latter surely has Song Title of The Year 2015 sown up too.

Go and check out The Invalid Singers on the links below and let Bunny into your world. It's an adventure you don't want to miss out on

The Invalid Singers by Bunny & The Invalid Singers is out now on Bearsuit Records and is available on cd and the usual digital outlets

Bearsuit Records http://bearsuitrecords.bandcamp.com/

INTERVIEW - TWI§TED

Twi§ted are a band I've been talking about for quite a while, having come across them in the early part of this year and featured them as the first of my New Bands 2015 (here). Since then, they've also featured on one of the Almost Scottish Fiction e.p's that I've put out with Scottish Fiction (grab it here) and I quite honestly can't get enough of them. A Glasgow based duo comprising Vicki Milne and Zoe Burnett, their releases thus far range from the superb electropop of Turn It Up to the dancier, icier and frankly stupendous Machines to the harder sounding but no less melodic Scunnered which you can listen to below. For those of you who aren't from Scotland, the word "scunnered" means fed up or something similar.

Anyway, very soon many, many people are going to know about Twi§ted so, I thought it was only right that we found out a bit more about them. This way, you'll be ahead of the game when all your friends start talking about them. It's the type of service I like to provide. Thanks to Vicki and Zoe for taking time out of their busy schedule to answer a few questions.

APA: How did Twi§ted come together?

T: We met several years ago at a casting audition and, realising we were kindred spirits, we quickly became firm friends. In the early days we had various opportunities to work with some local bands and songwriters. The sound was all very "pretty" and it was all good fun, but we quickly realised this was not really what we were all about and, after a chat with our friend and mentor Paul Buchanan (The Blue Nile), we had the confidence to strike out on our own. From there, we started writing and producing our own songs, finding our own sound. 

To take it to the next level, we approached Dave "Disco" McClean who was preciously in Union of Knives, a band we both loved. He helped add a professional edge to our recordings and as this has progressed, Dave has become an integral part of the band. And so, Twi§ted were born.

APA: Tell us who does what in the band

T: We co-write all the songs and of course do the vocals, recording the rough demos in a home studio. We then move it all into the studio with Dave where we bounce ideas around, pushing each other out of our comfort zones and experimenting until we are happy with the sound.

APA: I've always got to ask this one - who are your main influences?

T: The list is endless! We take inspiration from the whole musical spectrum; from Public Enemy through Nine Inch Nails to Leftfield. Seeing as you're pushing us for an answer though, I guess The Prodigy, Fever Ray and Goldfrapp are big influences.

On a personal level, our biggest influence is Paul Buchanan. Although he is infinitely more talented and his music is so massively different to ours, he gave us the tools to write, create and believe in what we do.

APA: For new listeners, describe your sound

T: Our sound is Electropop with a dark/glitchy edge. We write tracks that have meaning and aim to take the listener on a journey. We don't follow plans or structure norms - we just write and produce what feels right at the time

APA: Your songs thus far display a range of sounds and electronic influences at least to my ears. What area, if any, do you see your sound developing into? 

T: As we mentioned earlier, we don't really plan these things. Any change in direction will come about naturally (we refuse to us the word "organically!" APA - quite right). At this point, we enjoy what we are doing and will continue in this vein for as long as we get good reactions and people enjoy it.

APA: How have you found the reaction to the band thus far?

T: The reaction to the band so far has been fantastic. We have had a few reviews that we are really proud of and, so far, reaction from people on social media has been really heartening. We are slowly getting picked up by listeners thanks to blogs like yours, Scottish Fiction, Jim Gellatly and Synthopia (in Australia!) being long terms supporters. So far it has all been very positive which makes us think we might be doing something right!

APA: What are your plans for the future? Will we see any live shows?

T: We will be releasing a 5 track e.p. very soon so keep an eye on Twitter (@Twissted_band) for updates on that. We then plan to take it live and are currently in the process of planning and designing our stage show which we aim to start gigging towards the end of the summer. We have already been invited to play at a few venues but we want to make sure we put on the best shows we possibly can, so we have pushed these back to September.

APA: Finally - what are your favourite electronic albums?

T: There are so many - it's really difficult to pin down any ultimate favourites! Today, however, our answers would be: Music For The Jilted Generation (The Prodigy), The Private Press (DJ Shadow), Moon Safari (Air) and Ok Cowboy  (Vitalic). We're changing our minds as we think of this so we'll top there!

Thanks so much to Vicki and Zoe for answering these questions. Go and check out Twi§ted on their Facebook and Soundcloud pages and, as they said above, keep an eye on Twitter for all information about upcoming shows and, of course, the new e.p. I can't wait to hear that as on the evidence of their previous work, it's going to be something any fan of electronic music will want to hear.

Twi§ted Facebook

Twi§ted Soundcloud

DISCOVERING DEPECHE MODE

Sky Arts in the UK will be showing a programme called Discovering Depeche Mode on Saturday 11 July at 6.30 pm. The show promises to be "a fascinating look at the rise of the English electronic band" so it should be worth watching. The Sky Press release lists People Are People  as being released in 1985 and refers to the 93/94 tour as the Devotional tour which, as we all know, was only the first part of that tour BUT pedantry aside, let's enjoy watching a Depeche Mode programme on British television. That surely can't be a bad thing.

Although, they have been going for 35 years so to call it Discovering...

Here's the link with all the info:

http://www.sky.com/tv/show/discovering-depeche-mode

The show is only 30 minutes long so they'll have to cram a lot in. Live In Berlin follows it so Saturday on Sky Arts is looking rather decent if you're a DM fan

NEW BANDS 2015 NO. 13 - AQUAFAUX

As is now traditional on this post, I find myself apologising for this band only being "new" in the sense of being new to me. Edinburgh synthpoppers Aquafaux are a trio, formed in 2014 and they immediately caught many people's attention with their really rather catchy 80's influenced pop. Their debut e.p. Spellbound (available here https://aquafaux.bandcamp.com/album/spellbound-ep ) is an excellent debut and one you can enjoy as a free download at the address above or by streaming below

The whole e.p. is worth your time with See The Rain, which featured on this week's Almost Scottish Fiction ep, a superb example of electronic pop music. She Will Deceive You is another great track and I especially love it's Cure like guitars that have a wonderfully spiky feel to them. It's a another, really rather wonderful track. Pleasingly for these ears, Fame Game, the e.p's closer sounds a lot like a lost Yazoo track and that is a very good thing.

Aquafaux will be recording a new e.p. soon and appearing live and I for one hope to catch them soon. Keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.

Aquafaux Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Aquafaux?fref=ts

Aquafaux Twitter https://twitter.com/Aquafaux_

Aquafaux http://aquafaux.weebly.com

INTERVIEW - APACHE DARLING

As regular readers will know, I'm something of a fan of Glasgow's synthpop duo Apache Darling, having first fallen under their spell last year when I heard their superb debut single More Than Me. I'm not alone in this as the band's fanbase has steadily grown since that song's release through a series of much talked about live shows, radio appearances (including an appearance on Radio Scotland's Janice Forsyth show this week) and their second single Firebird. Big things are surely about to happen for Apache Darling and this Saturday they take their first steps towards whatever those big things may be with an appearance on the T Break Stage at T In The Park. That will swiftly be followed by an appearance at Glasgow's King Tut's on 21 July as part of that venue's Summer Nights 2015 month of gigs. I caught up with Apache Darling, who are Stefanie Lawrence (vocals) and Andrew Black (synthesizers), to have a chat about T in The Park, King Tut's and more.

APA: You've got some fairly high profile gigs coming up, starting with your appearance on the T Break Stage at T In The Park. Daft question I suppose, but are you looking forward to it?

Stefanie: YES! We honestly can't wait. Although Apache Darling is just over a year old, I've been wanting to play T In The Park for years. For this to be our first U.K. festival show, and with it being the 20th anniversary of T In The Park, it feels like a perfect start.

APA: What can we expect from your T In The Park show?

Andrew: People who have seen us playing live before can expect a totally new experience with this show. We've ditched all trace of backing tracks, which was something we felt strongly about doing, and the band has a much greater energy as a result. Expect huge electronics and pop writing, but with the feel of a pretty heavy rock band. Mixed with the atmosphere of T, it should be an epic sound!

APA: Hot on the heels of that you have King Tut's on 21 July with AmatrAnt, Miracle Strip and Le Thug. That's a rather cool line up - you must be excited?

Stefanie: Yes again! We're really just excited to unleash this new live sound and I think that the line up for Tut's will make for a really exciting night. We still have some tickets available for this one which you can buy via our Big Cartel store for only £5 (http://apachedarling.bigcartel.com)

APA: King Tut's obviously has quite a status as a live venue. What are your thoughts about playing there?

Andrew: We love it. It's of course a very famous venue, but it really does live up to the hype. It's kind of the perfect size and when it's full of people, the energy is amazing on stage. We've played there once before. We've played there once before, but it was a last minute thing and our band weren't involved, so it'll be fun to play there with live bass and drums, and in front of a crowd who know our sound.

APA: You recently played in Toronto at NXNE - how was that?

Stefanie: Toronto was a really special one. We're unsigned and don't even have a manager, so the trip was fan-funded, something we're immensely grateful for. We played two packed out shows in one night and gained a lot of new fans. Canadian audiences are great fun and take live music very seriously: they really have a sincere respect for musicians and Toronto especially is a great artsy town.

APA: What are you plans for the next few months? Can we expect an album?

Andrew: We've just spent a week working on our live show with a musical director from England. He's worked on stadium shows for guys like Robbie Williams and currently tours with Bryan Ferry, so he really knows what he's doing and has really helped us enhance our sound. We're aiming to record some new material in Autumn and start putting out new tracks by the end of the year. We also have some more shows coming up that we'll be announcing soon, so follow our socials for updates on those shows (links below).

Thanks very much to Stefanie and Andrew for sparing the time to chat. As you've read above, keep an eye on the band's Facebook page (Apache Darling Facebook) and follow them on Twitter at @APACHEDARLING for all upcoming gig info.

ALMOST SCOTTISH FICTION VOLUME 4

Another month, another new entirely free e.p. of great Scottish music for your listening pleasure from us and Scottish Fiction. This month we've got a superb mix of tracks for you which we know you're going to love. As ever, thanks to the artists for donating their tracks and thanks to you for listening. Remember to go and check out the bands' Facebook and Twitter pages once you've grabbed your free download from here:

https://almostpredictablealmost.bandcamp.com/album/almost-scottish-fiction-volume-4

This month's tracks are:

AQUAFAUX - SEE THE RAIN

Edinburgh's Aquafaux produce driving synthpop and See The Rain from their recent e.p. Spellbound is a prime example of that. Combining the band's trademark electronics with a Garbage like chorus, See The Rain is a wonderful example of electropop.

UBRE BLANCA - TAXED

Every now and again there comes along music that your brain can't quite immediately process. Ubre Blanca are a band like that - with experimental electronica verging on out-of-this-world prog. Taxed is a track from their 2013 release Polygon Mountain and is an excellent introduction to the band.

SHONA BROWN - ALL I HAVE (ORIGINAL MIX)

Shona Brown's ambitious "10 in 10" project, which has seen her release a single a month since November 2014, has been one of the most interesting and enjoyable events in Scottish music this year. All I Have perfectly demonstrates all her skills, with looped electronics and flute combining to quite wonderful effect

BUNNY & THE INVALID SINGERS - ASK THE MAN INSIDE YOUR HEAD

Edinburgh based musician/artist Bunny has just released his second album The Invalid Singers and this track is one of the standouts on what is a superb album

DEC. '91 - WHEN YOU COME

Playing under the pseudonym of Dec. '91, Craig Ferries uses the simples of ingredients - a guitar and his voice - to craft encapsulating stories of melancholia. He's an artist who has been on our radar for a while, with a series of home releases and more recently hooking up with Gold Mold Records for the album Quebec. The track featured here is a brand new one.

WENDELL BORTON - ADJUSTING

Naming your band after an obscure character from The Simpsons is always a winner in our book. Luckily, Aberdeen's Wendell Borton have the music to back it up. Raw, loud and slightly slacker alt-rock - what's not to love?

Stream the e.p. below and go ahead and download it at https://almostpredictablealmost.bandcamp.com/album/almost-scottish-fiction-volume-4

NEW BANDS 2015 NO. 12 - MIRACLE STRIP

My ability to miss Glasgow based electronic bands never fails to amaze me. Rather than speaking to my failings however, I think it speaks more to the city's current remarkable stream of electronic or electronic influenced bands the most recent of which to grab my attention are Miracle Strip. I was delighted to be a guest on proper Scottish music blog Scottish Fiction's radio show on Pulse 98.4 on Thursday this week and, as I sat in silence watching Neil Wilson run around doing several hundred things at once including hosting a radio show, I heard Took A Running Jump by Miracle Strip which blew me away. Listen to it right now...

Combining hook laden music with deep, almost soulful vocals, Took A Running Jump is an instant hit and the whole Magic Milk ep is filled with similarly wonderful tunes. The duo, comprising Fergus Christie on vocals and synths and Malcolm Bruce Jack on synths, guitars and programming, have something quite special about them and, as belated as my discovery of them might be, they are yet another hugely welcome addition to this blog's New Bands 2015 section. They'll be appearing with blog faves Apache Darling, Le Thug and AmatrAnt at King Tut's on 21 July as part of that venue's Summer Nights programme and that is surely bound to be a marvellous evening, especially when topped off with a DJ stint from Podcart. Go and check out Miracle Strip immediately.

Magic Milk by Miracle Strip is out now and is available from their Bandcamp page https://miraclestrip.bandcamp.com/

Miracle Steip http://miracle-strip.co.uk/
Miracle Strip Facebook https://www.facebook.com/miraclestrippp?fref=ts