As well as providing an invaluable source of new Scottish music, Neil Wilson's Scottish Fiction is also well known for its gig nights. Last night at The Hug And Pint on Great Western Road, Glasgow, the Scottish Fiction Presents gig put on three bands who were all different in style and sound but complimented each other perfectly to give everyone there a hugely enjoyable night.
First up were Dec. '91. The band's track
When You Come featured on the most recent Almost Scottish Fiction e.p. (
here) but the acoustic feel of that track was no preparation for what was to come. We instead got a mix of early Pixies, some Jack White like guitar sonic waves and, as spotted by Dougie the venue's sound engineer, a distinct Jonathan Richman feel. It was loud, chaotic and superb with the Pixies influence felt not only in the sound but also in some of the lyrics. One to watch no doubt.
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| Dec. '91 - picture taken from Scottish Fiction's Twitter feed |
Next up were Akela, a band who I'd never heard before but one who certainly made a good impression. Their sound brought to mind Talking Heads in places or the likes of Vampire Weekend with even a little bit of Wilco like alt-country thrown in for good measure. Their new single
Past Sunrise was one of the stand out tracks (
https://soundcloud.com/akela-music/past-sunrise) but the whole set worked really well. One of the good things about a gig like this is discovery of a new band to keep an eye on - Akela were that band last night.
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| Akela |
The headliners were Mt. Doubt, whose debut album
My Past Is A Quiet Beast has been getting a lot of attention from many places including this very blog this week (
review). As I said in my review, it's a powerful release that really impresses but live, it's taken to another level entirely. Leo Bargery is transformed from the man on the album to someone who seems to have mashed together Eddie Vedder and Bruce Springsteen and had them backed by The National. It's engrossing and incredibly powerful stuff. The whole set flew by and was quite superb. I'm quite sure that Mt Doubt are on the verge of something very special indeed - music this good and this powerful can't fail.
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| Mt. Doubt. |
So that was that - a fine evening featuring a diverse selection of bands that came together quite wonderfully. Thanks very much to Neil at Scottish Fiction for arranging it. You must all keep an eye out for future Scottish Fiction Presents gigs as you won't want to miss them. I've got to say as well that The Hug And Pint is a cracking small venue. The sound was spot on and the bar is a great, friendly place. I'll certainly be back there for gigs.
