TEEN CANTEEN - SAY IT ALL WITH A KISS

Teen Canteen's debut album Say It All With A Kiss is the third release on Glasgow's Last Night From Glasgow label and it's an album that simply doesn't fail to improve your day and brighten your mood every time you play it. The band marry exquisite harmonies with a mix of pure pop and post punk and, in doing so, they've produced one of this year's most exciting debuts.

The song above, How We Met (Cherry Pie), is as fine as example of Teen Canteen as you'll get. Irresistible melodies, a chorus that you can't resist and, simply put, a superb pop song. There are lots of clever touches and a lot of work has gone into creating the wall of sound like feel that surrounds the track and that's a wonderful thing. Sister is another track that pummels you into submission with its incredible catchiness and full on sound and Roses (My Love) follows suit, adding The Cairn String Quartet to give the song extra dynamics. Once you hear the closing "A-L-W-A-Y-S/It's always for you" refrain, you'll find it very difficult to stop yourself singing it for the rest of the day.

The band aren't all about full on powerful pop however. Friends starts off with a buzzing synthbass and sparse guitar, building up to a noisy, thrilling climax. The killer chorus us still there, but this time it's a song about breaking up rather than falling in love, darker but still wonderful. Candyfloss is another slower track, a show stopping end to the album that works perfectly.

The most refreshing thing about Teen Canteen is that there really isn't another band around that sound like this just now. There's a justified confidence to the songs, with a real feel of Phil Spector producing a post punk band throughout that you can only love. I haven't tired of this album since my copy arrived and I don't see myself ever tiring of it. Highly recommended in other words. Go and get it and put some Teen Canteen inspired sunshine into your life

Say It All With A Kiss is available now through Last Night From Glasgow and is available in all the usual digital places.

Teen Canteen Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeenCanteen/

Last Night From Glasgow - http://www.lastnightfromglasgow.com/

MILDRED'S DAIRY - THE HELSINKI BUS STATION THEORY

Mildred's Dairy are a 6 strong music co-operative from Glasgow with Ramones like surnames (each member's last name is Diary) who produce a beguiling mix of post punk and indie pop that is the perfect soundtrack to Scotland's first bursts of summer sun. There's much to love in this album and opener Evergreen is as good an example as any of the band's talents. There are bits of Orange Juice in the music, elements of Billy Mackenzie in the vocals and it's all wrapped up in an irresistible chorus that won't fail to charm you. The mix of styles throughout the album works well, taking in alt-country meets indie pop on You're So Vain's Been Done (And It's All True) and spiky, post punk meets early Cure (I distinguish the two rightly or wrongly) on It's Hate That Wins The Day. You're So Vain... is also riddled with sampled dialogue which brings to mind Morrissey's wonderful Spring-Heeled Jim and that's no bad thing at all.

Common Seed is another standout track, combining spoken word and sung vocals to great effect and it's music reminiscent of Sugar's untouchable Copper Blue is a lovely thing. It's not all urgent, spiky indie pop though, with the likes of Sweet Soul and closer The Child In Me showing a slower side to the band, with softer vocals and acoustic guitars prominent in both. There are a couple of whispered lines that can't help but make you think of I'm Not In Love, but, let's be honest here, everyone, and I mean everyone loves that song really, so that's quite ok.

The Helsinki Bus Station Theory is a fresh, enjoyable pop meets post punk clash that's clever enough to display its influences while still standing on its own feet and sounding fresh. After many years and many guises, it's great that Mildred's Dairy have managed to release what will hopefully be the first of their albums. It's definitely one to check out.

The Helsinki Bus Station Theory is released on 30 April and will be available from all good records stores. There are a few cd's in Glasgow's superb Love Music as you read this. The band are also having a launch gig at Nice 'N' Sleazy on 30 April - tickets here http://tickets-scotland.com/mildr

Mildred's Dairy Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mildredsdairy

ERRANT BOY - A WAYWARD MIRROR

Errant Boy are an Edinburgh based four piece whose debut album A Wayward Mirror is released on 22 April on Errant Media. I've mentioned them here and on Scottish Fiction before when I reviewed their two of their debut tracks The Night Dilates and Black Dress, Black Cab.  Both those songs show off Errant Boy at their best, fusing together influences like Young Americans era Bowie, Talking Heads, Orange Juice and the more melodic side of post punk. A Wayward Mirror builds on those themes as a whole, producing a vibrant, interesting debut that will satisfy fans of darker, spiky guitar pop.

Pulling off the feat of combining the seemingly competing forces of pop and post punk is tricky to get right, but Errant Boy manage that with ease. The likes of Endgame have a dark, early Cure like feel, but it stops short of being overly experimental and keeps its focus on balancing melody with the dark jangly guitars that permeate the track. Opener Hey! Columbus is another track that grabs the attention, with its Peter Buck like Rickenbacker guitar lines complimenting Sean Ormsby's fragile vocal lines nicely.

All in all, A Wayward Mirror is a debut album that doesn't fail to impress and certainly points to an intriguing future for Errant Boy. If you're free on the 23rd of April, head along to the album release show at Leith Depot, Edinburgh - https://www.facebook.com/events/980451825367449/

Errant Boy Facebook https://www.facebook.com/errantboy/
Errant Boy Twitter https://twitter.com/errantmedia