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.
Ralph's ideally placed to find out what's happening musically in St Helens and a quick trip to Kaleidescope Records on Westfield Street proved to be worthwhile as local band Vukovar have produced a gem in the shape of their recently released album Emperor on Small Bear Records.
I may have invented the phrase Bleak Pop just for Emperor as it lays it's foundations in all that's good from the likes of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground to The Fall and Joy Division. Similaries with Ian Curtis abound in muso musings just out and that's no bad thing as Vukovar explore the depths of socio-politicality in this album.
Vukovar have created an aural joy in Emperor and their track The New World Order could become a bit of an Indie classic. If uncle John Peel were still with us he'd embrace it and play it relentlessly as will I on Radio KC.
The album is disjointed (in a good way - have a listen to The Staircase with it's narrative overlaid with a deliciously jangled soundscape), industrial, lo-fi, dystopian and addictive.
There's no division in my joy (see what I did there) on listening to it.
The last time I wrote about Liverpool band Kynchinlay was last year on the release of their Drink Me EP when I 'accused' them of sounding like SAHB (no bad thing says I) and exploring their darker side. Well these post punkers have released another five track EP and it's no surprise that it's called Dark Age.
Kynchinlay continue their ominous industrial assault on our ears as lead track I Be Hopin batters them before quirkily walking on the wild side with a slightly Lou Reed-esque (complete with 'the coloured girls going' oooh oooh) vocalising. The mood darkens again as they bring in mean and moody bass and guitar.
It's a slightly more stripped back but no less ominous Kynchinlay that features on second track Wide Awake with its introspective lyric, whilst Back To What She Knows is almost like the soundtrack to a David Lynch movie with it's thumping bass and swirling guitar overlaid with mean and moody vocal.
Fourth track in BatJazz and it's the spirit of Alex Harvey influenced Kynchinlay we're getting with this ska-like batshit crazy track. My personal favourite on the Dark Age EP.
They finish of with Shudder and once again their blend of guitar and bass is immaculate. Kynchinlay have fused together classic rock 'n' roll with their own brand of psych punk to give their fans a guaranteed live favourite which has already featured on Radio KC.
