Newsbits: From 'Scottish krautrock' to Tweet music

[Mitchell Museum: set to entertain the Twitterers of Edinburgh]

Tweet music
The Edinburgh Twestival, the capital's meet-up for those who prefer to live their life in 140 characters, has unveiled its musical line-up. Glasgow's madcap experimentalists Mitchell Museum and new Edinburgh outfit Pose Victorious will entertain the iPhone-clutching audience, with DJ sets from George Wallace and members of Idlewild. It takes place on Thursday 25 March at the new Ghillie Dhu venue in the west end of the city. More acts are expected to be announced this week.

And in case you didn't already know, the generous Mitchell Museum are giving away their new EP We Lost First Prize on their new website.

Frabbits burrow through blogosphere
Frightened Rabbit's third album The Winter of Mixed Drinks was unveiled to the world last week, and we've been interested in the way it's been received outside Scotland's cosy bosom. For instance, self-styled Twitter reviewer (and respected rock critic too, it has to be said) Chris Weingarten, tweeted this on his @1000timesyes account: "Arcade Fire-ready hooks, given a lovely new life as Scottish krautrock.#7.5"

And since "Scottish krautrock" only returns 94 hits on Google, it looks as if we have a new genre on our hands.

In other FatCat news, the label's other Scottish high-fliers The Twilight Sad have been announced as main support for Biffy Clyro's UK tour next month, which includes a date at Perth on 29 April.

Silver Columns 'unmasked'
Not since Burial's shadowy presence on the London dub scene has there been so much Guess Who?-style whisperings over an anonymous musician... Silver Columns set tongues a-wagging late last year with their slinky electro beats lighting up Hype Machine's blog barometer. But in case you didn't hear via Twitter, the protagonists behind the project are none other than Fence Collective co-founder Johnny "The Pictish Trail" Lynch and Adem, the man behind the Takes covers album.

The duo have an upcoming 12" single called 'Cavalier' that's due out on 19 April via Moshi Moshi, and with both halves playing Fence Homegame this weekend, we're hoping for an impromptu show in Anstruther.

Peter Bjorn & John - It Don't Move Me (Silver Columns remix)


Belle & Sebastian set for return
Scots twee-pop legends Belle & Sebastian are set to return from their very long hiatus. In a message sent out to their mailing list, the band said that they have been writing new songs in Glasgow recently and are about to head to Los Angeles to record a new album. But if you want to see them live this summer, you'll have to travel, as the only festival dates announced so far are in Scandinavia and Japan - although more could well be added.

Back to the Futureheads
The Futureheads, the forgotten-but-not-gone Sunderland outfit that once broached the Top 40’s upper echelons with a Kate Bush cover will headline The Mills’ (sort of) two-year birthday bash in Glasgow. The shindig takes place in Oran Mor on Thursday, 29 April, with local tune-churners Lions.Chase.Tigers and Admiral Fallow propping up the bill. In just a couple of years The Mill has seen over 200 acts playing stages in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Given how little most of us achieve in our early years – being unable able to go to the bathroom independent of Pampers Ultra and having no vocabulary beyond ‘waaah’ –it’s an impressive feat. Tickets for the night are £5 and can be found here.

Making Tracks
The good people at TenTracks have launched yet more luscious bundles of music for your listening pleasure. For just a pound you can hear ten specially selected tracks (there’s no subtlety in the name, is there?) from Leith Records that includes such esteemed acts as Over the Wall, the 10:04’s and Come On Gang. For another 100 pence you can own a tasty selection of cuts from last month’s wonderful Hidden Door festival, that includes a ‘hidden mic’ piece composed of conversational clips taken throughout the day.

Meursault? More so
Can’t wait until 24 May to get your paws on Meursault’s new longplayer All Creatures Will Make Merry? Well, if you’re attending the launch nights in Glasgow (Captain’s Rest, 7 Apr) or Edinburgh (Cabaret Voltaire, 10 Apr) you’ll be able pick up a sneaky limited edition pre-launch copy if you pre-order at Song By Toad records here. Based on the band’s recent live excursions with Xiu Xiu, ACWMM (how’s that for an acronym...) looks set to be more volumised than Pissing on Bonfires..., with frontman Neil Pennycook describing the sound as ‘epic lo-fi’, which strikes us a bit of an oxymoron. Anyway, on the back of the new album the Auld Reekie quintet will be jetsetting around Europe in the hope of finally getting the acclaim the deserve.

Mark Linkous RIP
In much, much more sombre news, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Mark Linkous committed suicide on Saturday. As the man behind the wonderful Sparklehorse, Linkous released four albums of extraordinary psych-folk. He also produced Daniel Johnston’s 2003 album Fear Yourself and collaborated with Danger Mouse on Dark Night of the Soul. A statement from Linkous’ family said: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.” A tragically depressing day for music.



Got news for us? Let us know at utr.scotsman@gmail.com or tweet us @under_the_radar

Radar recommends: 12 - 18 Dec

[The Twilight Sad: bringing the festive decibels to Edinburgh and Glasgow]

Status Quo are rocking all over Scotland this week (well, Aberdeen and Glasgow to be precise), so surely there's nothing more to be said for live music over the next seven days? What can possibly survive in the wake of the ponytailed rock gods, you ask?

Well, if Francis Rossi & co don't satisfy your cultural appetite (and what's wrong with you?), then you can at least take your pick from this lot...


Aberdeen
Luke Leighfield
Wednesday @ The Tunnels / 8pm / £5
Piano-based pop from the globe-trotting 22-year-old, in support of his recently release pay-what-you-like download album Have You Got Heart?
Also playing Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh on Thursday


Dundee
Findo Gask, Popolo
Saturday @ Dukes Corner / 8pm / £5
Glasgow's deranged electronic pop purveyors ply their trade at the Dukes on Saturday, with support from highly rated Popolo. Bring your dancing shoes.

Dividing the Line, Proceed, Paradian
Sunday @ Dexters / 8pm / £6
A night of screamo-emo action at Dexter's as part of the 'Fezant is Present Tour'. There will be shredding riffs (and shredded fringes).


Edinburgh
Trampoline All Day Event: Mitchell Museum, Lyons, Jonnie Common, Debutant, The Scottish Enlightenment, Jill Leighton, Esperi, Lady North, Conquering Animal Sound
Saturday @ Wee Red Bar / 2pm / £5 (£3)
Over the past few months we have recommended no fewer than six of the acts on this all-dayer from Trampoline, so all that's left to say is get down there if you want to hear some of the best new music in Scotland. Simple really.

Hey Enemy, Gatechien, The Fatalists
Monday @ Sneaky Petes / 7pm / £4
Post-punk beats from London's Hey Enemy on tour with twisted French duo Gatechien. Support from local noiseniks The Fatalists
Also at The Tunnels, Aberdeen on Sunday

The Pineapple Chunks, The Leg
Tuesday @ Wee Red Bar / 7pm / free
You'd be hard pressed to find a more gloriously ramshackle, insane gig than this eccentric pairing of Edinburgh bands.

**UtR's gig of the week**
The Twilight Sad
Tuesday @ Voodoo Rooms / 7.30pm / SOLD OUT
Fresh from taking on the USA yet again, the strangely uplifting home-grown miserablists play a pre-Christmas show. If you have a ticket, enjoy, if you don't, too bad.
Also playing Nice'n'Sleazy, Glasgow on Wednesday

Little Comets
Wednesday @ Cab Vol / 7pm / £7
Recent Columbia signings Little Comets bring their major label alt-pop up the road from Newcastle, with support from local indie-rockers The Debuts.

Pulled Apart By Horses, Taking Chase
Wednesday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / £6
Energetic and highly-rated hardcore from Leeds' Pulled Apart By Horses with support from Edinburgh's own melodic rockers Taking Chase. Lots of ruckus in one very small room.

Hardcore Christmas Party: The Colour Pink Is Gay, Corpses, Shields Up, Hey Vampires, Fights & Fires
Friday @ Bannermans / 8pm / £6
Good value hardcore punk rock christmas bonanza featuring some of Scotland's freshest talent, plus Worcester's Fights and Fires.
Also at Nice N Sleazy in Glasgow on Thursday 17th


Glasgow
The Phantom Band, Lord Cutglass, Sparrow and the Workshop
Saturday @ The Arches / 7pm / £10
Chemikal Underground double whammy as the Phantom Band celebrate having one of the albums of 2009 in Checkmate Savage.

Remember Remember, Happy Particles, Cheer
Saturday @ CCA / 8pm / £4
The lovely Remember Remember wants to say Merry Christmas - and how better than to share beautiful looping tinkly tunes in a party with the equally pretty Happy Particles.

eagleowl, Woodenbox, Withered Hand
Monday @ 13th Note / 9pm / £tbc
E(e)agleowl have a very nice new single called 'Sleep the Winter' which they are launching in Glasgow on Monday. Dan of Withered Hand and Ali of Woodenbox are both keeping it solo in their support slots.

Paper Planes, Peter Parker, Symbolics
Thursday @ Pollokshields Burgh Hall / 8pm / £3
Lucky Number Nine and Say Dirty records team up for a Christmas piss-up in the southside - with UtR-loved Paper Planes and added DJ action from Chris 'Beans' Geddes and Andrew 'Divine' Symington.

Panda Su, Kid Canaveral, The Darien Venture, Tokyo Knife Attack
Thursday @ 13th Note / 9pm / £tbc
Those Glasgow PodcART chaps have good taste, eh? And not just because it's similar to ours. Proceeds from this festive frenzy go to the Yorkhill hospital Christmas fund - which should give you a warm seasonal glow.

Big Ned, Nacional, Black Jash, If You Lived Here You'd Be Home By Now
Friday @ Captain's Rest / 8pm / £1
"Doom'n'roll" Stooges-esque topless cowboy fun from Big Ned, for the Green Door studios birthday bash.

Words: Craig Dickson, Elaine Liddle

What have we missed? Tell us below, or add it to our gig guide by emailing utr.scotsman@gmail.com

Radar recommends: 23 - 29 August

[We Were Promised Jetpacks: Milling about on Thursday]

Edinburgh and Glasgow always mop up the most gigs in Scotland, but usually we find a few in the likes of Aberdeen, Dundee or Inverness. Not so this week. Diddly squat.

If you don't believe us, leave a comment to tell us what we missed.


Edinburgh

YourSound showcase: Mitchell Museum, RBRBR, Dupec
Sunday @ Cabaret Voltaire / £6 / 7pm

Three of our favourite Scottish bands on one bill. Mitchell Museum and RBRBR are dab hands with the synths, while Dupec are an all guns blazin' indie three-piece.

Neoviolet, Hannah O'Reilly, Jym Ponter and Come In Tokyo
Thursday @ The Ark / £4 / 7.30pm

Local bands, including hard-rocking duo Come in Tokyo.

Strike the Colours and Zoey Van Goey
Thursday @ Electric Circus / £4 / 7pm

Twee goodness, with Glasgow indie songstress Jenny Reeve's Strike the Colours and the finely-honed melodies of Zoey Van Goey.

Malcolm Middleton
Thursday @ Cabaret Voltaire / £12.50 / 7pm

Everyone's favourite miserablist stops by for the Edge Fest. But with talk of a hiatus, will this be his last show for a while?

Withered Hand, Meursault
Friday @ National Portrait Gallery / Free / 5pm
The lastest Rough Cut Nation gig comes from Edinburgh's Withered Hand, with a little help from friend and collaborator Neil Pennycook of Meursault.

Penny Black Remedy, The Red Well, Fanattica, The Stormy Seas
Saturday @ Henry's Cellar Bar / £5 / 8pm
A night of Balkan-ized tunes and bracing rock shanties.

Attic Lights, Sketches
Saturday @ Sneaky Pete's / £7 / 7pm
Teenage Fanclub devotees Attic Lights haven't lived up to the early hype, so they have something to prove at this show.


Glasgow

Bill Callahan
Sunday @ Stereo / £12.50 / 8pm
Smoggy no more, the legendary lo-fi songwriter promotes one of this year’s best albums, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle.

Sleeping States, The Seventeenth Century, Andrea Malini
Monday @ Captain’s Rest / £6 / 8pm
Gorgeous, melancholy instrumentation from hotly-tipped Bella Union band. Support from Radar recommended folk The Seventeenth Century, and Andrea Marini.

Soulsavers ft. Mark Lanegan
Tuesday @ Oran Mor / £12.50 / 7.30pm
Dark electronic project featuring the former Screaming Trees frontman’s unmistakeable vocals.

**UtR's gig of the week**
We Were Promised Jetpacks, Some Young Pedro, Broken Records, Sparrow and the Workshop
Thursday @ The Mill (Oran Mor) / Free but ticketed / 8pm
Celebrating its first birthday, one of the better things corporate America has done for independent music welcomes back some favourite headliners and their own hot tips. Tickets are predictably like gold dust, but it’s sure to be a great night.

Proud Mary, John Rush, Majestic Dandelion, The Scuffers
Thursday @ ABC2 / £10 / 7pm
Up-and-coming Glasgow-based Americana from the Scuffers, kicking off a night in support of Proud Mary’s new album. Local acts John Rush and Majestic Dandelion complete the bill.

Run Toto Run, Maple Leaves, Sorren Maclean
Friday @ King Tut’s / £5 / 8.30pm
An eclectic line-up courtesy of Exposure Showcase, claiming to highlight the best of new bands across the UK. Run Toto Run make playful, sweet-voiced electropop while Maple Leaves’ summery folk has already come recommended. Mull-based singer-songwriter Maclean completes the line-up.

Words: Lisa-Marie Ferla, Nick Mitchell

What have we missed? Tell us below, or add it to our gig guide by emailing utr.scotsman@gmail.com

In pictures: My Latest Novel / Copy Haho / Mitchell Museum

Black Tape, the Edinburgh 'anyone-can-DJ' night, went out with a bang on Friday with sets from three of Scotland's most hotly tipped bands, and we were there with a camera.

Headlining was My Latest Novel, the ambitious Greenock-based band who recently released their second album Deaths and Entrances to wide-spread acclaim.

That alone would have justified the ticket price, but also on the bill were Copy Haho, the frenetic Stonehaven band who have been making UK-sized waves, and Mitchell Museum, the giddily experimental Glaswegians who are no strangers to this blog.

Black Tape regulars will be relieved to know that the people behind the night are launching a new, free monthly clubnight at Sneaky Pete's on Friday 3 July. Details here.

Pictures: Nic Rue (nicrue.carbonmade.com)

In pictures: Mitchell Museum / Cats in Paris

One of our favourite Glasgow bands, the kaleidoscopic Mitchell Museum, played the Duty Free night at Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh last Saturday (23 May). They were sharing a bill with the equally colourful Manchester band Cats in Paris, and UtR was on hand with a camera.

Play: Mitchell Museum - Take the Tongue Out


Pictures: Nic Rue (nicrue.carbonmade.com)

Radar recommends: 17 - 23 May

[The Phantom Band: playing Stag & Dagger on Saturday]

Ending with the terrific looking Stag & Dagger festival, this week's already guaranteed to be a thrilling sprawl of giggage. But before the Glasgow jamboree kicks off there's plenty of superlative shows to get your lugs around...

Future of the Left, Pulled Apart By Horses and Super Adventure Club
Monday 18 May, Stereo, Glasgow, £tbc
From the ashes of mclusky and Jarcrew rose Wales' best new band, Future of the Left. That was four years ago, but Future of the Left have tightened up and added electronics without curtailing their hardcore lifeblood. Apt support comes in the equally kinetic forms of Leeds fight-pop mentalists Pulled Apart By Horses and Edinburgh' s most eccentrically talented band, Super Adventure Club. [NM]

Super Adventure Club - Tommy Sheridan


Bullet VI, Casino, Kathleen Mary Duff
Tuesday 19 May, The Ark, Edinburgh, Doors 8pm, £4
Bullet VI are a band who simply refuse to be pigeonholed. Their funk-driven rock constantly veers close to hip-hop territory and dual vocalists Ailsa Bates and Andy Wilson complement each other perfectly, adding rich layers of harmony to the groove-driven rhythm section. Casino, from Falkirk, hark back to the glory days of British indie pop while Edinburgh singer/songwriter Kathleen Mary Duff's piano-driven ballads and soaring vocals are reminiscent of Tori Amos's early work. [JM]

Benni Hemm Hemm, Withered Hand
Thursday 21 May, The Bowery, Edinburgh. 7.30pm, £5
Exulting flurries of parping brass and melancholic rhythms, Edinburgh-based Icelanders Benni Hemm Hemm draw inevitable comparisons with Swedish troubador Jens Lekman. But a penchant for harmony and spacious arrangements suggest they're more attuned to the orchestral folk leanings of Sufjan Stevens. For this particular outing the Benni... line-up will be bolstered by Rob St John’s Owen Williams and Emily Scott, rendering this showing almost unmissable. [BH]

Black Rat Death Squad, Unknown Hagana, The Party Program
Friday 22 May, Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £tbc
Glasgow's Black Rat Death Squad have already earned a reputation as local legends thanks to their anarchic live shows. With influences ranging from crust punk to Norwegian black metal, the band's sound falls somewhere towards the post-hardcore end of the punk spectrum, with a healthy dose of straight-up rock'n'roll mixed in for good measure. Eclectic Edinburgh indie outfit Unknown Hagata and progressive metal/hardcore act The Party Program support on the night. [JM]

My Electric Love Affair, After Me The Flood, The Stormy Seas, Dave Courtney
Friday 22 May, Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, Doors 7pm, FREE
My Electric Love Affair's entrancing blend of drone, punk and experimental pop could be easily mistaken for that of shoegazing stalwarts My Bloody Valentine on first listen. The Edinburgh veterans have been quiet since the limited release of their Blow Me Down EP but look set to re-establish themselves as firm live favourites with a spate of shows lined up over the summer. After Me The Floods' fast and loud indie rock is complemented by The Stormy Seas sedate and thoughtful Celtic-themed modern folk. [JM]

• Update: The Stormy Seas have had to pull out of the above gig, but are playing the following night (23 May) in Edinburgh at Sneaky Pete's, with Anathallo, Sam Amidon and Your Boy Blair.

Duty Free presents Cats In Paris, Mitchell Museum
Saturday 23 May, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh. 7pm, Doors free
Representing another score for the boys and girls at the wallet-friendly Duty Free, hotly-tipped [is there really any other kind of tipped?] Manchester four-piece Cats In Paris bring their wonky neo-pop to Auld Reekie’s cobbled streets. Of course, UtR’s a tad more excited about the submerged synths and illuminated melodies of Glasgow miscreants Mitchell Museum, but, whatever your predilection, this is shaping up to be a corker.[BH]

Play: Mitchell Museum - Extra Lives


**UtR's gig of the week**
Stag & Dagger
Saturday 23 May, various venues, Glasgow
We're more excited than a politician with a blank expenses form about Stag & Dagger next week. Among the stellar bill are American indie darlings Cold War Kids, the frankly incredible Twilight Sad and Glasgow's finest practitioners of what I'm going to pretentiously call post-pop, The Phantom Band. But enough salivating for now; we'll have a proper preview later in the week. [NM]

Words: Jodi Mullen, Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell

Have we missed something? Let us know below, or add it to the gig guide...

On the radar: Mitchell Museum

Ever since Merriweather Post Pavilion mainlined into the public sphere, the music press's haggard scribes have prefixed every avant-garde pop ensemble with one languid tagline: ‘the next Animal Collective’.

It was inevitable, really. Those wilting quills needed fresh meat to replace New Rave’s demise and, let’s face it, ‘the next Pigeon Detectives’ just wouldn’t pass muster with trend-hopping hepcats.

Yet many of these knob-twiddling upstarts find the bar of expectation set too high for an inaugural leap. Not Glasgow quartet Mitchell Museum, however:

“We’re very flattered that people compare us to [Animal Collective],” says band frontman Cammy Macfarlane. “I think that we’re kind of a hard band to categorise. We don’t sound exactly like Animal Collective, but I do think that since they’ve started attracting a larger audience they’ve become a good reference point for people that haven’t heard us before.”

Play: Mitchell Museum - Extra Lives


But the comparison is unavoidable. Mitchell Museum’s aural tidings are a whirlpool of melody swooshing giddily against inane dog-yelped lyrics and frantic percussive swathes that pummel solar plexus’ into a nervous, twitching pulp. Sound familiar?

Despite such damning indictments, Mcfarlane maintains the band’s inspirations are more opaque: “I’m probably mostly influenced by the day to day things that happen to my friends and family,” he insists. “I’ve started to feel like whenever I play a new demo to somebody that I should issue a disclaimer that reads: ‘Don’t worry. I didn’t write this song about you.’ Everyone seems a bit worried that I’m writing about them. Maybe I am….they’ll never know.”

Formed little more than a year ago, Mitchell Museum are now one of Scotland’s most innovative new acts. Mcfarlane attributes this ascendancy to the band's unique blend of instrumentation: “We use gas canisters as musical instruments [drums] - I’ve not heard of another band doing that yet,” he says. “We use a lot of unusual instruments in our recordings but we’ve yet to bring the gas canister to a live gig...I think there might be a health and safety issue.”

Play: Mitchell Museum - Take the Tongue Out


Currently gestating in the bowels of Glasgow’s Lofi Studios, Mitchell Museum’s debut LP looks set to alleviate everyday toils when it drops later this year. “Essentially we want to entertain people...,” explains Mcfarlane. “We would like to be the kind of band that helps people forget about forget their boss shouting at them at the end of a long day - I think that we can achieve that.”

- Billy Hamilton

Like Mitchell Museum? Tell us what you think below...