This week we have been mostly listening to...

Ordinary Allstars – I See


Having spent the last few days trying to make a podcast out of Scottish hip hop acts, we realised how little there were around worth playing. This makes the Ordinary Allstars all the more remarkable, as this track can hold its own in any company. With raspy vocals and slick production, MC Hasta and the troops have pulled off something rare – quality Scottish hip hop.

MySpace / UtR profile

Stevie Kearney


Roddy Hart - Dead of the Night


The trouble with iTunes (oh, insert your computer-based music management system of choice) is that you have a tendency to add tracks and forget all about them until they pop up in shuffle mode one day. It took me a long time to place this slice of summery guitar-pop, because the last time I came across Roddy Hart he was playing a weekly acoustic Americana session in a Glasgow pub. If 'Dead of the Night' is anything to go by, second album Sign Language (due October) is going to be a stonker.

MySpace

Lisa-Marie Ferla


Money Can't Buy Music – Thunder + Lightning


A couple of weeks ago an album by a duo called Money Can't Buy Music winged its way onto the UtR desk. Whether the name is a knowing stab at the heart of the record industry or an attempt to put music on some kind of artistic pedestal is anyone's guess, but what is noteworthy here is that one half of MCBM is Gordon McIntrye of Edinburgh indie veterans ballboy. The album is a gentle thrum of autumnal soundscapes and brittle drums, while McIntyre - joined by Swedish singer Maja Mångård - observes Edinburgh life from his own detatched but curious stance.

MySpace

Nick Mitchell


And So I Watch You From Afar - Set Guitars to Kill


They may not be Scottish but I was lucky enough to catch Belfast-based math-rock juggernaut And So I Watch You From Afar at Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh last weekend and was utterly blown away. The studio version of 'Set Guitars to Kill' doesn't nearly do justice to ASIWYFA's jaw-dropping live performance but it's still an absolute belter of a track.

MySpace

Jodi Mullen


The Foundling Wheel - Mixed Minds and Missteps


Some weeks were made for The Foundling Wheel - this was most definitely one of them. With its pulsing drum undercurrent and peel of melting chimes, 'Mixed Minds and Missteps' catered for every vicissitude in the wayard roller coaster that was the last seven days. Played loud, it’s one of the most furious, grey-matter gnawing booms to emerge from Edinburgh in the last few years. But, de-volumised, a delicate tapestry of melody emerges that tugs heart strings and dampens tear ducts. Climaxing with a cacophonous flush of keys and beats, its one of those cuts that just makes everything better.

MySpace

Billy Hamilton


What have you been mostly listening to this week? Tell us below...