Review by Ali Quaile

‘Broken Bells’ is the self-titled album from the American indie rock band consisting of artist and producer Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse and the lead vocalist and guitarist of The Shins James Mercer. Burton is no stranger to collaborations having produced for Damon Albarn’s side project Gorillaz , Beck, the Black Keys and being one half of funk-soul project Gnarls Barkley with singer Cee-Lo Green. Burton and Mercer have already worked together on the track ‘Insane Lullaby’ from the quintessential album ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse which when initially released in physical form contained only a blank cd-r but is set for a proper release in June.  Read More

This year Freshair is holding a LIVE Battle of the Bands contest in Teviot Underground on Tuesday 23rd March. Every week on “Evenings with Dave” we interview one of the 5 bands getting ready to fight it out for the winning prize: a slot at The Wickerman Festival. This week we have Vegas Loft in the studio for a chat and to perform a live acoustic set. Tune in every Thursday from 6.30 to get the build up to the Battle of the Bands. Catch up with previous guests (Ok Social Club, Lead By Example) by watching their interviews.

“Evenings with Dave” broadcasts every Thursday at 6.30pm

By Ali Quaile
It’s been five years since Damon Albarn has released anything from his cartoon electronic, pop, hip- hop outfit Gorillaz. The third studio album from the group and one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2010 but is it any good? I think the problem with creating so much hype around an album is that unless it’s an absolute masterpiece one tends to be disappointed and I think that is definitely the case here. Read More

By Ali Quaile

I am unsure whether James Mathe played his own material or whether I just turned up too late to miss his performance as Anna Calvi was setting up just as I had purchased a beer from the bar. I find something intimidating about a woman who is excellent on a guitar as Anna’s slight frame seemed almost dwarfed by her telecaster which she put into expert use as she began her set with some beautiful solo guitar. The dark atmospheric romanticism of her music seemed fitting for the dim atmosphere of the Cabaret Voltaire. ‘Blackout’ seemed to be definitely popular amongst the crowd as red tainted lips uttered confident vocals and ‘Marionette’ was a personal favourite with the use of a vintage harmonium giving the song an enchanting Parisian feel. Definitely one of the better support acts I have seen for a band. Read More

By Simon Vansintjan

Eluvium’s newest album – Similes – is absolutely striking. I’ve been a fan of Matthew Cooper’s work for a while now, it’s ambient music that I can relate with. I can identify his songs while generally other artists just blend into one happy humming noise that I can blissfully ignore while I study away. Copia, for example, is filled with tracks that I can put on to listen to for themselves while also enjoying it and studying. Read More

By Samantha Field

Is Tropical are still relatively unknown. Based in London and signed to Hit Club Records they seem a long way from home in Glasgow’s Captain’s Rest. Clad with bandannas across their faces; they look more prepared for an elaborately dressed bank heist than their UK tour. Their set starts convincingly with an instrumental comprised of electro backing tracks played over energetic guitar lines and bass heavy drums. They are a three piece clearly attempting to bring the electro influence into their alternative sound, as their setup sees the guitarist and bassist alternate between a Microkorg and a Yamaha synth. Read More

Review By Chris Imlach

It’s been just shy of two years since Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip released their debut album Angles and now they’re back with the follow up – The Logic of Chance.

The major thing you notice about The Logic of Chance when you first listen to it is that it lacks the stand out tracks that grab you straight away, like Thou Shalt Always Kill, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Fixed and… well pretty much everything else on Angles did. However that is not to say that this new record is not any good. Quite the contrary in fact – aside from the bouncy, catchy Great Britain which does have that initial impact the other tracks grow on you and reward re-listening until pretty much every song gets stuck in your head. Read More

By Ali Quaile

The new album from the Scandinavian siblings is one that is definitely different. Rather than a standard release it is the soundtrack for an opera based on Charles Darwin’s seminal work ‘On the Origin of Species’ which they wrote for Danish performance group ‘Hotel Pro Forma’ and so cannot really be seen as a follow up to their 2006 album ‘Silent Shout’ but rather more of a side project. A collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, it really stretches the boundaries of modern music. It seems to be the popular thing in modern opera to recruit the aid of contemporary pop artists as was seen in the ‘Monkey Opera’ whose soundtrack was written by Blur frontman Damon Albarn. Read More

Simon Vansintjan talked to Chris Keating from the band.
FA: First question we were told to ask you by our head of music.

‘what’s with the name?’

FA: haha, no, it’s a bit cheesier.

‘if you could be an animal what animal would it be?’

FA: close. if you could be any cheese what cheese would be?

‘St. Andre.’

FA: any reason?

It’s the most buttery, my father in law attributes his heart attack to St. Andre. It’s incredible.

Read More

By Kapil Seshasayee

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of creative borrowing. Robert Plant borrowed many a lyric from Howlin’ Wolf and the phrase “Folsom Prison Blues” wasn’t even written by Johnny Cash. There is, however, something wrong with lifting the core of your main single from a hit song by the co-founders of your chosen genre. Read More

By Kim Humphrey, Photo Credit: Rosie Isaac

On Sunday, my flatmate, Rosie, and I spent the evening being pushed and squished by screaming 14 and 15 year-old girls. Perhaps not the most romantic way to spend Valentine’s day, but the gig was far too good for me to care about that. Read More

Review by Ali Quaile

It’s been a while since Peter Gabriel has given us something to really sink our teeth into with his last solo album ‘Up’ being released in 2002 almost a decade ago. His latest album ‘Scratch My Back’ which came out today features a selection of covers of various new and old artists encompassing a diverse range of styles. Unlike the standard cover, Gabriel offers an insight into his own creativity by giving us his own interpretations of the songs aided only by various orchestral instruments arranged by John Metcalfe and none of the standard rock band set up. His husky voice gives a sense of raw emotion to each of the songs which conveys new meaning to them and allows the listener to approach them from a different perspective. Read More

Reviewed by Ali Quaile

Norwegian band Casiokids bravely opened for Hot Chip at the HMV Picture house last Saturday. A relatively new band they did well to please the fans of one of the UK’s most popular electropop acts. The vocals which are entirely in Norwegian didn’t seem to put people off as their exuberant stage presence made for an enjoyable set. Despite this however, their focus on an array of eclectic electronic sounds seemed to deviate from the coherence of the music as a whole and as a result there were moments where the music sounded a bit sloppy and confused with too many contradictory sounds. A band definitely to look out for in the future and to do them justice they are still in their early stages and have already come a huge way in such a short time although I feel that they need to focus on the basic structure of their song writing before experimenting with different sounds/instruments. Read More

Its back to business for the The Sound Spektrum as they kick start the 2010 broadcast – with a special 2 part series of interviews from their Producers of 2009 Awards! The first part, all the way from Montreal Canada… Sultan & Ned Shepard on Harem Records.Sultan & Ned Shepard Read More

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Reviewed by Ali Quaile. Few bands have been as consistent in the quality of their music as Hot Chip. From their debut album ‘Coming on Strong’ in 2004 they have been giving us their quirky electronic pop which the nation can’t get enough of. Their latest album ‘One Life Stand’ is no exception containing its fair share of blippy synthesizers, drum machines and Alex Taylor’s dulcet falsetto. The epitome of geek chic, Hot Chip manages to combine an array of electronic instruments with heartfelt lyrics giving us their original sound. Read More