MT. DOUBT - IN AWE OF NOTHING

Mt. Doubt's 2015 debut album My Past Is A Quiet Beast was one of my favourite albums of last year with its blend of deep lyrics and dark, intriguing guitar pop a real breath of fresh air. Leo Bargery quickly established himself as one of Scotland's most interesting new singer-songwriters, and In Awe Of Nothing, a quick follow up to My Past..., shows that the last twelve have only scratched the surface of what Mt Doubt is capable of. Merging dark pop with indie rock, bits of post punk and powerful, affecting songwriting, In Awe Of Nothing is yet another, tremendous Mt. Doubt release.

Recent single Afterglow (below) shows Mt. Doubt at their best with its irresistible melodies encased warm but edgy guitars. Thirst, Sheer And Utter and Soak are in a similar vein, each one distinct from the other, but all following one of Mt. Doubt's key paths - emotional, guitar led, anthemic indie pop with a near the surface undertone of sheer power that is only revealed when the song's are played live. There, songs which grab you on record take on a new life and that's one of the most intriguing things about Mt. Doubt. Both in their recorded and live versions, these songs are impossible to ignore.  Closing track Bastard Sea comes closest to combining the two and it's a thrilling end to the album. Bargery gives us the full Matt Beringer meets Eddie Vedder vocal style that sounds so huge live and it's a real treat.

In Awe Of Nothing is a noticeable step on from My Past Is A Quiet Beast, mainly because the songs here have a fresh confidence to them, feeling less confessional and private that the tracks on the debut. That's not to belittle that album of course because, as I mentioned above, I love it and you really should hear it, but In Awe Of Nothing adds new dimensions to Mt. Doubt's sound and is yet more evidence that this is a very special band indeed. It's a special album too - give it a listen.

In Awe Of Nothing by Mt. Doubt is out now on Scottish Fiction on very limited vinyl, cd and download. Mt. Doubt are playing the T-Break stage this Saturday (9 July) at 2 p.m at T In the Park. Check out their Facebook page below for more details and for all news and upcoming gigs.

Mt Doubt Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MtDoubt/?fref=ts
Mt Doubt Bandcamp https://mtdoubt.bandcamp.com/album/in-awe-of-nothing

MT. DOUBT - AFTERGLOW

Mt. Doubt release their first new music of 2016 on April 30th with a 7" single featuring two new tracks Afterglow and Hotel Key. The single is released through the much missed and much loved Scottish Fiction and purchasing the vinyl will give you access to two remixes of Afterglow by two members of Machines In Heaven under their Magic Daddy and blood blood aliases. 

As we've already come to expect from Mt, Doubt, Afterglow is a masterclass in quiet-loud-quiet dynamics but, as ever, there's more to this than just that. Leo Bargery's sombre yet still uplifting lyrics add layers of emotion to the song and the whole package contains much to delight. Hotel Key reveals a starker, more subdued side to Mt. Doubt, and you can easily imagine listening intently to the song in a dark, smoky, bar somewhere. It's a lovely track.

Mt. Doubt really is one of the most intriguing acts out there just now. As I mentioned before, the band that is put together for their live shows is superb and Leo is quite the frontman. What are superb songs on this single, will doubtless have new life breathed into them when they're played at the single launch at Glasgow's Hug & Pint on 30 April. I'd recommend you get along. The link for tickets and the special 7" single and ticket bundle can be found below.

Afterglow shows why Mt. Doubt is destined for great things. Get into this band now before everyone does. 

Tickets for single launch show https://www.musicglue.com/scottish-fiction/events/30-apr-16-scottish-fiction-presents-the-hug-and-pint/

Mt. Doubt Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MtDoubt/?fref=ts

Facebook Event Page https://www.facebook.com/events/1568729393443381/

SCOTTISH MUSIC IN 2016 - WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO

I wasn't going to do this as many others have already taken care of this topic, most notably Murray Easton's superb post on his Everything Flows blog where he lists 16 things to look out for this year. Have a read of that as there's loads of good stuff there. Anyway, I keep getting emails about new things and reading about bands and their forthcoming releases so, in no order particularly, these are a few things I'm keeping an eye out for this year:

1. New NightSchool records magic

In a recent interview I did with Michael Kasparis, he mentioned that 2016 will see new releases from Happy Meals, Apostille, Molly Nilsson and two as yet unnamed artists. It's also the label's 5th anniversary and it keeps going from strength to strength

2. A new Machines In Heaven album

Easily one of the intriguing electronic bands around, Machines In Heaven's second album promises to have a more experimental feel than their bordersbreakdown debut. It's going to be superb - that's guaranteed

3. Twissted

One of my favourite electronic bands and one who are definitely going to grab a lot of attention this year, Twissted will be releasing a new e.p. and touring this year. Not to be missed.

4. The Insomniac Project

You've read all about them here already (here and here) and you're going to read a lot more about them this year in many more places. There's a reason James Murphy got scared and brought LCD Soundsystem out of hiding you know...

5. Kill The Waves

The band are due to record their second album for the rather lovely Bloc Music label and, if it's anything like debut The One That Could Have Been it's going to be splendid. Read all about it and Bloc Music's forthcoming plans here http://blocmusic.org/news/happy-new-year/

6. King Tut's New Year's Revolution

This is basically the best of new Scottish music crammed into one legendary venue, spread over 16 nights. The gig on 13 January featuring Tongues and Machines In Heaven looks unmissable (http://www.kingtuts.co.uk/gig-info/?gig=6862) but there are so many wonderful bands to see over the length of the event (7 January to 23 January) that you'd be best advised to take residence in King Tut's an enjoy the whole lot. The Apache Darling headline set on 20 January (http://www.kingtuts.co.uk/artist-biog/?artist=6870) is also bound to be a belter. I've seen them play King Tut's before and they were magnificent.

7. Chvrches at the Hydro on 2nd April

This is obviously going to one of the gigs of the year. A hometown show, a Saturday night and The Twilight Sad on the bill. Ridiculous. 

8. The Twilight Sad

I missed the Barrowlands gig sadly but I'm making up for it a bit by seeing them at the Chvrches show and then in Berlin later on in the year supporting The Cure. The fact that Robert Smith handpicked them to support on a sold out worldwide arena tour is amazing, The Twilight Sad are going to make thousands of new fans this year.

9. Other blogs

I'm going to be immersed in an all consuming Depeche Mode project until the end of March meaning my writing about new Scottish bands will suffer. But, there are far better places to read about that anyway and blogs like Everything Flows, Gold Flake Paint, Podcart and of course one of my other homes and, frankly, one of the best music blogs there is full stop Scottish Fiction will more than take care of your needs. The job these blogs do in promoting new music can't be ignored - go and read them all. 

After you've read this obviously

10. HQFU

This blog's Best New Band of 2015 is going to have a huge year. A new ep, a tour and no doubt more majestic electronic wonderfulness awaits.

11. Call To Mind and The Son(s) at the Glad Cafe on 30 January

Two of the brilliant Olive Grove Records finest bands playing a gig in a great venue about 5 minutes from my house - how cool is that? Just needs a Martin Gore DJ support to top it off. Maybe you can call him Lloyd? Tickets here http://www.musicglue.com/the-glad-cafe/events/30-jan-16-independent-venue-week-call-to-mind--the-sons-the-glad-cafe/

There are 11 things for you to mull over. I could have gone on and mentioned the inevitable rise of Kloe, a new Friends In America album, Hot Gem continuing to put out some of the most inventive electronic music there is, the SAYS, the BAMS and more but I had to stop eventually. An in-depth analysis of the samples used on the Death Mix of Fly On The Windscreen won't write itself. 

All I would add is that, as far as I can recall, there has never been a better and more fertile music scene in Scotland than we have at the moment. Go and check all of it out, buy the records (at Love Music Glasgow and Monorail), see the bands, read the blogs and enjoy it. 2016 is going to be quite superb.

100,000 VIEWS AND COUNTING - THANK YOU

Today, views of the blog have passed 100,000. For something that started as a way for me to inflict my views on Depeche Mode's back catalogue on people other than my friends and my long suffering wife, the blog has grown into something I'm hugely proud of and something that I love. 100,000 views may not be a big thing for most blogs, but for me it's huge

I couldn't done any of this without any of you readers, so thank you very much. Thanks also to fellow blogs like Scottish Fiction, XS Noize, Podcart, Goldflake Paint and many more for inspiration and for sharing my stuff. I should say thank you to Depeche Mode themselves as they basically started this - give me a bell Martin. As well as them though, thanks to all the artists who have sent me music, granted me interviews and produced such great tunes - without you all this would only be the rantings of a seemingly deranged DM fan.

Finally, thanks to Pam x

We may as well end this on an appropriate note - have some ridiculously good music

SCOTTISH FICTION PRESENTS - WOZNIAK, YUTANI, NOW WAKES THE SEA 6 OCTOBER, HUG & PINT, GLASGOW

As well as providing an invaluable source of information on all possible types of new Scottish music, fellow blog and Almost Scottish Fiction co-curator Scottish Fiction has started putting on regular gig nights. The first one was a huge success (review here) and the next promises to be another cracking night. Taking place at The Hug & Pint in Glasgow on 6 October, the gig features three bands: Now Wakes The Sea, Yutani and headliners Wozniak. It's a line up of such undeniable quality that you would be cheating yourself if you didn't go. Add to that the value - £5 a ticket - and you have no excuse not to go. 

So who are the bands?

WOZNIAK

Edinburgh's Wozniak are a favourite of mine and their recent e.p. Auster is a brilliant thing (review). I'm expecting an ear drum worrying but spectacular set.

YUTANI

YuTaNI is the solo project of Connor Reid from Machines In Heaven and his debut album At The End Of A Day is one of the finest electronica albums I've heard this year (review). I'm really looking forward to hearing how it translates live - I've no doubt it'll be superb

NOW WAKES THE SEA

Combining lo-fi experiments, pop melodies and old guitars and broken pedals, Now Wakes The Sea's set promises to be something really rather intriguing

Having had a listen to the tracks above, I've no doubt that you now want to go to this gig. For tickets, again let me stress at a cost of only £5, go here http://www.musicglue.com/scottish-fiction/events/6-oct-15-scottish-fiction-presents-the-hug-and-pint/ and buy them. It's going to be a great night.

Scottish Fiction http://scottishfiction.blogspot.co.uk

Scottish Fiction Presents Facebook Event Page https://www.facebook.com/events/1475593282737209/

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

ALMOST SCOTTISH FICTION VOLUME 2

Following the success of Almost Scottish Fiction Volume 1, we and Scottish Fiction are delighted to announce the release of Almost Scottish Fiction Volume 2. For this release, we've increased the number of tracks from 4 to 6, giving you 50% more new Scottish music that is entirely free to download, listen to and fall in love with. Once you've grabbed this, go and check out the bands' websites, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, see them live and buy their music. This month's tracks are:

APACHE DARLING - MORE THAN ME

Apache Darling are a synthpop duo from Glagsow who produce some of the finest pop music the city has produced in ages. More Than Me was the first track they released and it rightly gained a lot of attention. Apache Darling are a genuinely thrilling prospect and More Than Me captures all that is great about this band

very very small inclusions - RAIN RAIN
With a band name taken from the grading scale used to judge the clarity of diamonds, you'd expect crystalline clear music from very very small inclusions. What you get is a dispersion of influences and ideas, with themes of introspection. This track, Rain Rain features heavy tom-toms, with pure and acoustic sounds, and airy vocals. This track is taken from the band's album Dispersions.

TONGUES - ANYMORE

Tongues is Tim Kwant from Kill The Waves solo project and Anymore was his first release. The song was a smash on Soundcloud and the buzz it created spread far and wide. A slice of laid back electro pop with a huge chorus, Anymore will grab you straight away and never let you go.

BEAM - HEX
BEAM is the glorious sounds of singer and songwriter Amy MacDougall, who has been in the past better known for contributing to other people's music; for example King Creosote. However, Hex is the sound of her own music, mysterious vocal loops, cello, piano and an overall dreamy feel.

THE INSOMNIAC PROJECT - BREAKAWAY

The Insomniac Project have kindly allowed us to use a brand new track, Breakaway and it is a cracker. Disco fused with LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip, Breakaway is destined to get anyone grooving. The band play a headline show at Stereo in Glasgow on May 30 - go along and watch Breakaway work its disco magic

SEAS, STARRY - NEWARK
Coming from the Aberdeen four piece's album Tyto Alba, Newark is a perfect illustration of the effects laden ambient music that Seas, Starry produce so well. Taking influence from the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Errors, the band drag the listener's ear to the furthest edges of electronic instrumental music

To download the e.p. head to either our bandcamp page https://almostpredictablealmost.bandcamp.com/album/almost-scottish-fiction-volume-2 or Scottish Fiction's https://scottishfiction.bandcamp.com/album/almost-scottish-fiction-volume-2

Thanks very much to the band's for allowing us to use their tracks and once again, thanks to Findlay at Burnhouse Industries for the artwork. 

Almost Predictable Almost Twitter - https://twitter.com/almostprdalmost

Scottish Fiction Twitter - https://twitter.com/scotfiction984

CASSETTE STORE DAY - 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

Record Store Day's upstart younger sibling, Cassette Store Day is back this coming Saturday and features a whole host of exclusive cassette only releases from the likes of Karen O, Best Coast, The Wedding Present (a personal favourite of mine) and Olive Grove Records' Jo Mango. Independent record shops up and down the land will be selling cassettes and if you're in Glasgow there's no better place to be than the city's premiere record shop Love Music who will be hosting three live bands on the day itself - Boygirlanimalcolour, Gone Wishing and Behold, The Old Bear.

All three of those artists will be releasing Cassette Store Day exclusives too through Scottish Fiction which, you should all know by now, is the best Scottish music blog out there. Boygirlanimalcolour are releasing their debut single Jupiter Fist backed with Cable Tie on a limited edition run of 50 cassettes. Jupiter Fist is a cracking song, blasting along in a riot of squalling guitars and it's well worth seeking out one of the 50 cassettes. 

Gone Wishing and Behold, The Old Bear split the other release with three tracks each; The Watchers, Hoist Your Head Into The Light and Nothing & Nowhere from Gone Wishing and Restless Days, Demons In Love and Seven, Maybe Eight from Behold, The Old Bear. Both sets of songs are really interesting, displaying both bands' unique talents perfectly.

Cassette Store Day is a cool, quirky thing and deserves support. I used to love buying tapes when I was younger and basically kept One Up in Aberdeen in business in the 90's by constantly raiding their second hand tape stash. Get yourselves along to Love Music or your local shop on Saturday and enjoy the day.

LINKS

Scottish Fiction https://www.facebook.com/thisisscottishfiction?fref=photo

Behold, The Old Bear https://www.facebook.com/pages/Behold-the-Old-Bear/144478815569930?fref=ts

Gone Wishing https://www.facebook.com/gonewishingacousticmusic?fref=ts

Boygirlanimalcolour https://www.facebook.com/boygirlanimalcolour

Love Music Glasgow https://www.facebook.com/lovemusicscotland?fref=ts

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 )