NEW SCOTTISH SINGLES REVIEW - TUFF LOVE, CAMPFIRES IN WINTER, FRIENDS IN AMERICA AND PREHISTORIC FRIENDS

There has been a spate of great new singles released by a few excellent Scottish bands recently, so to help you navigate your way to them, I thought I'd do a Singles Review section rather than the usual thing focusing on one band only. So here we go.

TUFF LOVE - JUNK EP

Tuff Love are a Glasgow based three piece who make summery sounding almost lo fi in places guitar pop that instantly catches and burrows into your brain from where you'll struggle to remove it. Imagine if the Pixies had let Kim Deal sing more or if REM had managed to fuse the jangle of their Fables era to the amps they discovered they had around Monster time and you'll get part of the story here. All 5 songs on this e.p. are wroth your time. This is a hugely promising debut release and whats more it's available on a rather lovely 10" white vinyl from the marvellous Lost Map records.  

Tuff Love Faebook page https://www.facebook.com/ReallyTuffLove

Lost Map band page http://lostmap.com/tuff-love/

CAMPFIRES IN WINTER - WE'LL EXIST

Campfires In Winter are one of the most exciting bands around on the Glasgow, or more precisely Croy, scene at the moment. Their new single We'll Exist is an absolute cracker and, frankly, you're letting yourself down if you don't get it. I heard it live a few weeks ago at the Call To Mind album release show and loved it from the off. It is an example of the power and just general genius of Campfires In Winter and from May 12th you can own it. Here's the video in the meantime

Campfires In Winter webiste http://www.campfiresinwinter.com/

Campfires In Winter Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CampfiresInWinter?fref=ts

FRIENDS IN AMERICA - THE MORE I HAVE THE LESS I OWN THE MORE LEARN THE LESS I KNOW

It's lucky people don't copy songs onto tape anymore (ask your parents) as writing that on an inlay card would be a nightmare. Thankfully, that's the only quibble I have with this single which is another first class release from Friends In America. Carrying on from their impressive debut album What It Is To Be, the band again show why they are one to watch with another fantastic combination of guitar pop and thought provoking lyrics. The single release party is on 15 May at Nice N Sleazy's and you can get tickets and the single form the link below

Friends In America single party info https://friendsinamericamusic.bandcamp.com/merch/ticket-to-friends-in-america-the-more-i-single-launch-may-15th-with-free-single-download-a-week-early

Friends In American Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FriendsInAmerica?fref=ts

PREHISTORIC FRIENDS - BERMUDA TRIANGLE

Prehistoric Friends  first came to my attention at the Call To Mind album release show and I was impressed from the off. Their debut single Bermuda Triangle was one of the highlights of an excellent set and you can watch the video, which is currently streaming on The Skinny, below. The band are an intriguing mix of synth pop, lo fi and much more and you should really investigate them.

Prehistoric Friends Facebook https://www.facebook.com/prehistoricfriends?fref=ts

So there you are. Four Scottish bands, four new things for you to get. Do try and check them all out

REVIEW - CALL TO MIND ALBUM LAUNCH PARTY, GLAD CAFE, GLASGOW 12 APRIL

Call To Mind recently released their exceptional debut album The Winter Is White on Olive Grove Records (review to follow) and to celebrate that, the band held a launch party at The Glad Cafe in Shawlands, Glasgow on 12 April. Support came from two bands, the first of which was Prehistoric Friends who were new to me. They play a brand of melodic pop music that is really interesting and I thought their set was great. Highlights were the fantastic Hallucinations and the forthcoming single Bermuda Triangle which comes out on 10 May. 

The next support came from one of my favourite local bands, Campfires In Winter. As well as material from the Picture of Health and White Lights ep's (available here) the band played their new single We'll Exist which will be available from 12 May. It sounded great and you must check it out. The highpoint of the set was the brilliant With A Ragged Diamond which is a song everyone must hear.

Great support acts then but the main reason we were there was to see Call To Mind and they didn't disappoint. Their music is beautifully atmospheric with, to my ears, influences ranging from Sigur Ros to Slint to Mogwai through Krautrock and beyond. As well as their at times stunning music the band were backed by films by Mark Lyken and Emma Dove which complimented the music perfectly. Opening with the outstanding A Family Sketch, the band quickly got into gear playing a set culled from the album and the Call To Mind ep. As with listening to their album, Call To Mind's music grabs you straightaway and is mesmerising in places and the gig swept along in no time at all with everyone in the audience immersed in the sound. As well as A Family Sketch, other highlights were Over The Machair, Running With Scissors and A9. If you get the chance, go and see Call To Mind.

Call To Mind, live at the Glad Cafe 12 April 2014

For more information on Call To Mind check out their website and Bandcamp page 

REVIEW - THE SCOTTISH FICTION SESSIONS

Scottish Fiction is a Scottish music blog run by Neil Wilson which in his own words is "one man's attempt to promote, discover and introduce new (and old) music." It's as comprehensive a guide to the Scottish music scene as you're likely to find but what makes the whole project more pleasing is that it is augmented by Neil's Scottish Fiction radio show on Pulse 98.4 FM which means that shortly after reading about new music you can hear it too which is really cool.

As well as tracks by all the Scottish artists you'd expect Scottish Fiction gives airtime to many unsigned bands or bands on small labels giving them crucial exposure especially in these times of the airwaves being filled with mundane crap in the main. There are regular session tracks too and 21 of the best of these feature on The Scottish Fiction Sessions which is a download only release from which every penny raised will go towards supporting local independent radio like Pulse Community Radio. The album will set you back £3 which is less than the price of a pint so there's absolutely not reason not to go and get it - https://scottishfiction.bandcamp.com/album/scottish-fiction-sessions

The album features a whole host of artists from Campfires In Winter to Fake Major to Julia Doogan to RM Hubbert and beyond and it's already brightened up what is a drizzly cold in Glasgow. Campfires In Winter's version of See Us There, Both is an absolute cracker. Whether you want to support what is a thriving local music scene or you want to support local radio or if you even just want to discover 21 new artists that you really should hear then you've got to go and get this. 

For more about Scottish Fiction follow the blog (http://scottishfiction.blogspot.co.uk/ ) or find them on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/scotfiction984 ) or Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/thisisscottishfiction?fref=ts )