Brownbear

What is Home? is the debut album from Brownbear. Combining strong melodies and indie riffs that have come to be expected from the band with an added lyrical maturity, the album covers love, loss and life whilst questioning what exactly home is. The album is preceded by an addictive and accomplished single release by the band in the shape of Truth Without Consequence which is accompanied by an equally accomplished and stylish video.

Brownbear are a four-piece indie-rock outfit led by singer/songwriter Matt Hickman.

The group released their debut single Dead or Alive in May 2014 which subsequently gained them national radio exposure and high profile gigs which included supporting The Libertines at their comeback show at the iconic Barrowland’s Balllroom in Glasgow.

Brownbear then went on to join The Libertines again at their BST Summertime show at Hyde Park before playing at a number of festivals including T in The Park & Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. An acoustic version of Dead or Alive recorded in the BBC Treehouse became the most viewed clip online for T in the Park 2014 ahead of the likes of Arctic Monkeys & Biffy Clyro. 

The bands first London headline show was a sell out and received a positive 7/10 review from the NME. Brownbear then embarked on a European tour before starting work on their debut album. Early in 2016 they supported The View on the Scottish dates of their UK tour before returning to the studio to finish recording the album, produced by Joe McAlinden. 



With What Is Home? now complete and set to be released Brownbear are gearing up for getting back out playing live this year starting with the album launch show at Stereo in Glasgow on Friday 20th April and that's one not to be missed!

April 20th – Stereo, Glasgow (Album Show) 
May 3rd – Clarks, Dundee 
May 4th – Mr C’s, Thurso 
May 5th – Bakers, Kilmarnock 
May 11th – The Drouthy Cobbler, Elgin 
May 12th – Gig in the Goil Festival 
May 13th – Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh 
May 26th – Ayr Town Hall w/ Tom Clarke 
June 23rd – Upside Doon Festival, Ayrshire 
June 30th – Kelburn Garden Party 
July 27th – Kendall Calling

Mt.Doubt

After giving the Mt.Doubt single Afterglow a spin on Ralph's Radio KC Indie Show a few weeks back it's about time we had a shuftie at the album from whence it came. Entitled In Awe Of Nothing it's the follow up to My Past Is A Quiet Beast, one of the best debut albums to come out of Scotland last year. It was released by Edinburgh based Leo Bargery as a solo project prior to the Mt. Doubt moniker and is a joy to listen to.

With In Awe Of Nothing he steps it up a gear, blending fine songwriting capabilities with his distinctive yet familiar vocals. I recently compared Glasgow's Mildred's Dairy with a more grown-up Orange Juice and this album from Mt.Doubt has that same quality vibe.







There's undertones of Lou Reed in the likes of To A Cusp and Thirst and Sheer and Utter but Mt.Doubt manages to plough a very individual furrow with his darkly pop songs. No surprise also that he's been invited to perform on the T Break stage at this years T in The Park this weekend. 

With this album; released on the fiercly independent Scottish Fiction, Leo Bargery is approaching the crest of his musical wave. 



The gloomy, bluesy Soak is a radio-friendly gem and it's closely followed; if not overshadowed, by the excellent Bastard Sea. 

After a few plays In Awe Of Nothing quickly becomes that comforting old jumper you never throw away. One for every honest music lovers collection. It's braw.

Westfield Music Festival

Unless you live in Glastonbury or Kinross it's not often a music festival turns up on your doorstep, however, Ralph's got lucky because the inaugural Westfield Street Festival in St Helens is just over a week away! Taking place over a number of venues in the town's Westfield Street and featuring some of the North West's best Indie bands it's a breath of fresh musical air for the towns live music fans.




The day kicks off at 12pm-ish with Becky Leigh in The Sefton, Cold Turkey in The Zoo Bar and 2 Piece Suit in Tank. Highlights for Ralph later in The Zoo Bar will be a first time viewing of the excellent Jeremiah Ferrari and a catch-up with St Helens own Titors Insignia who were good enough to travel down to London and play at the Ralph's Life CD charity gig in Proud Camden.

From Manchester, the four young men in Jeramiah Ferrari fuse reggae, rock, ska, punk, and more to create a sound influenced by the likes of Bob Marley and Sublime, yet unique enough to call their own.

They won the 2012 Key 103 City Soundwave competition appearing at The MEN Arena with Will Young, Labrinth, Tulisa, Taio Cruz, Professor Green, Rizzle Kicks & One Direction.

Titors Insignia formed mid 2008 and have supported Paloma Faith, Alabama 3, Don Bronco, Steve Craddock, The Guillamots and Proud Mary, building themselves a solid reputation in the process with a crowd pleasing live set and pride themselves on raw performances show after show. Their debut album "Fair City Riots" is an electrifying concoction of influences ranging from Britpop to classic rock with a sprinkling of Indie, and healthy dose of Punk thrown in for good measure.

They released the single 'Freedom Fighter' to help raise funds for ABF The Soldiers Charity.  The single and video was launched in The Cinema Bar, St Helens to a full house including a number of local celebrities including Andy Reid, a former corporal with the 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment and was the inspiration for the song. 











Another highlight is local band Stillia, who also played the Ralph's Life CD Camden gig. They're self-taught musicians who've come together to create a unique sound influenced by their rock 'n' roll heroes.  They've spent time in the rehearsal studio refining their sound and their musicianship and the end result is a tight hard rocking unit with strong songwriting ability.  Whilst they have many influences they've managed to carve out their own style.

I'm also looking to catch Scarlet. in Bar Java so I'll be wearing my running shoes! After touring the UK as lead guitarist and backing vocalist of up and coming band The Thespians, being signed in Japan with Vinyl Junkie Records and supporting bands such as Catfish and the Bottlemen, Findlay and SPACE, as well as receiving support from Elbows Guy Garvey, Radio 6, Radio 2, and XFM, Jessie Scarlet launched her solo project Scarlet. in February of this year.







Needless to say there are a legion of acts playing over the day and at a number of different venues, so I'll leave you to peruse the list and make your own mind up as to who you'll go see on the day. 

United Fruit

When the vet advised Ralph he should check out United Fruit I thought he was advising that he needed to get his five-a-day, but no - he was recommending a Glasgow band with a new album in the making and a track being streamed from it this very day. The four piece Alt Rockers United Fruit, who formed in 2009 describe their style as - 'fusing noisy, fast-paced, discordant, post-punk with catchy melodies and crunching riffs'. 





Their first album 'Fault Lines' hit the ground running, gained no end of critical acclaim seeing them perform live sessions on Radio 1, BBC Radio Scotland, toured the UK and Europe over 5 times and played festivals such as T In The Park, Wickerman, Brew At The Bog and Stag And Dagger. United Fruit have also supported bands such as the late lamented Dananananaykroyd, Twin Atlantic, And So I Watch You From Afar, Die! Die! Die!, one of Ralph's favourites The Twilight Sad and Maps And Atlases.



How Long (Change You Into Something Better) by United Fruit




The taster track from the album is 'How Long (Change You Into Something Better)' which is in a lighter vein than their usual frenetic, more aggressive style and it's sure to garner them wider acclaim. It's catchy, current and the change of pace intrigued Ralph so much he made it Record Of The Week on this Sunday's Indie Show on Radio KC and asked United Fruit bassist Marco Panagopoulos a few pointed questions...not all related to the track...

Ralph: I'm a fan of your more 'punky' style - and whilst I understand the want for a bigger listenership, is the 'injected pop whack' a change of direction/spread throughout the album or just a blip?

Marco: The rest of the new record is a lot different from 'How Long(Change You Into Something Better)'.  It is much faster paced and punky but we have a couple of tracks where we wanted to experiment and try something we hadn’t really done before.  The entire record is much more direct and melodic than 'Fault Lines' but still has the same unhinged energy.

Ralph: Given the current trend for EP's over Albums what's your preference?

Marco: I always prefer full albums.  I takes a lot more time and effort to record and compile a great album than it does an EP so when the end product sounds amazing it is a lot more impressive.

Ralph: Scotch Pie or Deep Fried Pizza?

Marco: Deep Fried Pizza.

Ralph: You've a faithful following in Scotland and toured the UK & Europe previously- setting your sights on world domination?


Marco: We would love nothing more than to tour all round the world.  We will keep going as far as we can on the road and hopefully we’ll get there some day!

Ralph: More upcoming gigs/festival dates now the UK tour is over? 

Marco: We have a few such as goNorth on the 4th of June and Carefully Planned down in Manchester on the 18th of October as well as another couple that I can’t mention just yet.  We’ll be supporting Flood Of Red in Stereo, Glasgow on the 28th of May and also playing with Tall Ships in Bowlers Bar as part of the Eastend Social.

Ralph: Given your reputation as one of the best live acts on the Scottish Indie scene do you find working in the studio on an album a constraint? 

Marco: Not at all.  We enjoy recording.  Sometimes getting the songs out of your head and recorded makes you notice things you didn’t before and you can actually improve your performance from it!

Ralph: Red Cola or Irn Bru?

Marco: Irn Bru

Many thanks to thelineofbestfit.com
from whom I have 'borrowed' this photo.

Ralph: You've played a number of festivals how do they compare/do you prefer them to the smaller more intimate gigs in the likes of Electric Circus or Stereo?

Marco: Festivals are amazing fun.  We love the atmosphere and it never hurts to play in front of hundreds and hundreds of people but sometimes you can’t beat the feeling of being in a tiny sweaty room, surrounded by the crowd, giving it all you’ve got. Some of our favourite gigs have been the small ones.





So there you have it, the answer to the eternal musical question...deep fried pizza and Irn Bru every time...me, I'm off to have a listen to 'Fault Lines' and book my place for the 18th October in Manchester at Carefully Planned...

Fatherson

Third of the Scottish bands featured this week (Tijuana Bibles on Monday and Laykiller Caterpillar on Tuesday - do pay attention) is the increasingly impressive Fatherson. With the long awaited, much vaunted album about to be released (7th April) they're embarking on a UK album release tour and only this morning have released a video for one of the new tracks - 'I Like Not Knowing'. The good news for me is I've had a listen to the album on the QT and I can assure you the hype is not without merit - the bad news for you is, the wait 'til April 7th!

In the meantime 'I Like Not Knowing' - produced by the inimitable Bruce Rintoul - has been released along with a shiny new, well crafted video that involves a lot of running, jumping and splashing for your listening and visual pleasure. It's a lyrically reflective yet musically joyful track and will be well received at the upcoming live shows.

Fatherson are a four piece based in Glasgow and formed in Kilmarnock. They have been making waves in the Scottish music scene following a string of supports with bands such as Frightened Rabbit, Panic! at the Disco, Feeder, Twin Atlantic and Idlewild.

Fatherson have released two singles. “Hometown”, through King Tuts Recordings, showcases the band’s ability to write anthemic indie songs that will be running around your head for weeks to come. 2012 saw the release of “First Born”, strengthening the band's reputation & helping to build a fanbase all over the country.





Following the inclusion of a song on BBC Radio 1's Introducing playlist, the band performed on the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park where their set was aired on BBC2. Gaining experience through further festival appearances during the summer culminated in a trip to America for an industry showcase, laying the foundations there for the future.

They completed their year with their biggest headline tour to date packing out venues such as The Garage in Glasgow, the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh and The Ironworks in Inverness.

In 2013, in-between recording their debut album, the band have been playing around the country including appearances at The Great Escape in Brighton,This Is Fake DIY in London, Stag & Dagger at the ABC 1 in Glasgow and the Main Stage at Rockness. Fatherson play a few selected festivals and shows throughout the summer and are currently planning a UK tour in November.

	Apr 13	Gullivers	Manchester, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Apr 14	Korova Club	Liverpool, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Apr 15	Thekla	Bristol, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Apr 16	Barfly	London, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Apr 17	The Portland Arms	Cambridge, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share
	Apr 26	The Arches, Glasgow	Glasgow, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share
	May 02	P.J. Molloys	Dunfermline, United Kingdom	Tickets	RSVP	Share