Under the Radar podcast #5

...or, the one where we headed down to Oxjam Edinburgh, grabbed a few bands in various states of inebriation and recorded the results, with a few songs thrown in for good measure.

We have interviews with Meursault, Boycotts, Dead Boy Robotics, The Little Kicks, Jesus H Foxx and Y'All is Fantasy Island which we've stitched together quite simply in the order they happened.

Stevie, our Bowery correspondent, chatted to three of the bands at that venue, while Billy caught up with Dead Boy Robotics after their Cab Vol set and Nick spoke to Boycotts backstage at the same venue and The Little Kicks later on outside the 'aftershow' party.

Listen for tales of yacht sailing off the coast of Barcelona, Aberdonians "trying harder" out of town, and the conundrum of how to fit seven band members into one tour van (answer: tow a trailer).

Play: Podcast #5


Running order:
00:07: Interview: Dead Boy Robotics
04:57: Dead Boy Robotics - All Sixes & Sevens
09:22: Interview: Y'All is Fantasy Island
10:52: Y'All is Fantasy Island - With Hand Claps
14:26: Interview: Boycotts
18:20: Boycotts - Luella & Lies
21:33: Interview: Jesus H Foxx
24:22: Jesus H Foxx - I'm Half the Man You Were
27:32: Interview: Meursault
30:14: Meursault - A Few Kind Words
33:17: Interview: The Little Kicks
37:22: The Little Kicks - We Came Alive

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Podcast: Stevie Kearney, Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell

Previous UtR podcasts

Radar recommends: 20 - 26 Sep

[French Wives: playing Sneaky Pete's on Saturday]

We've been busy recording our latest podcast today, hence the later-than-usual appearance of the weekly gig guide. Apologies for the disruption, normal service will be resumed now. Please remember to take all your bags and possessions with you. Ticket barriers are in operation.

Confused? I know I am.

Aberdeen
Trapped in Kansas, Cast of the Capital, El Dog
Wednesday @ The Tunnels / 7.30pm / £4
We've already called Trapped in Kansas 'Scotland's most accomplished math rock act'. They'll be playing with Aberdeen upstarts Cast of the Capital in this Freshers' week gig which is open to people who aren't even Freshers. Such equality!

Right Hand Left, Jack Butler
Thursday @ Snafu / 9pm / £4/3
A little bit Franz Ferdinand, a little bit Television and a little bit something of their own. One of the best live bands in Aberdeen headline this week's Dirty Hearts Club.

Dundee
Sucioperro
Friday @ Dexter's Lounge Bar / 8pm / £tbc
According to the band they try to write a great rock song before they 'Sucio' it. You can hear another reason why there must be something in the water in Ayr as Sucioperro play Dundee.

Edinburgh
Drever, McCusker & Woomble, Heidi Talbot, Boo Hewerdine
Monday @ Brunton Theatre / 7.30pm / £13.50 (£11.50)
Folkster trio led by the shaggy-haired Idlewild frontman.

The Pineapple Chunks, Jesus H Foxx
Wednesday @ Wee Red Bar / 7.30pm / Free
Huey Lewis and the News tribute band The Pineapple Chunks are joined by Edinburgh punk-funkers Jesus H Foxx.

Jeniferever, Midas Fall, Beerjacket
Thursday @ Cabaret Voltaire / 7pm / £9
Swedish post-rock from Jeniferever, while Glasgow's fast-rising Beerjacket will be strumming along in support.

**UtR's gig of the week**
French Wives, The Occasional Flickers, Cancel the Astronauts
Saturday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / £5
If you want a taste of some of the best new music Scotland has to offer, look no further.

The Low Miffs & Malcolm Ross
Saturday @ Cabaret Voltaire / 7pm / £tbc
Whether it's The Low Miffs and Malcolm Ross or Malcolm Ross and the Low Miffs, one thing is clear: this gig will feature both the Low Miffs and Malcolm Ross, and comes highly recommended.

Ladyfest: Sellotape, Zorras, Hailey Beavis, Jo Foster
Saturday @ The Bowery / 7.30pm / £3
All the ladies of the world... diverse bill of local female-fronted acts join forces. Watch out men!

Glasgow
David Thomas Broughton, Twi the Humble Feather
Tuesday @ Captain’s Rest / 8pm / £tbc
Experimental folk, making use of samples and found sounds. Also playing on Wednesday at Sneaky Pete's in Edinburgh.

The Atlas Skye, The Darien Venture
Thursday @ The Mill (Oran Mor) / 8pm / FREE
Darkly melodic local rock and roll from Atlas Skye, paired with The Darien Venture’s sonic explosion.

Fuck Buttons
Thursday @ Stereo / 8pm / £8.50
Beats, blips and noise from naughtily-named experimental Brighton duo.

Le Reno Amps, Super Adventure Club, Peter Parker, The Elvis Suicide
Thursday @ 13th Note / 9pm / £tbc
Melodic punk from Glasgow underground superstars. The madcap world of Super Adventure Club provide support, along with Peter Parker and The Elvis Suicide.

Sunny Govan Community Radio Fundraiser
Thursday @ Fairfield WMC / 7.30pm / £5
Five acts for five pounds in support of Govan’s community radio station. The Hellfire Club, ID Parade, Ballachulish Hellhounds, Alkotron and Stephen Maguire provide the entertainment.

Wounded Knee
Thursday @ Box / 8pm / FREE
Under the Radar favourite hits the west coast this week!

Chuck Prophet, Otis Gibbs
Friday @ King Tut’s / 8.30pm / £13.50
Aware that describing a band as the missing link between Big Star and the Replacements is going to endear them to nobody but me, let’s just say that Chuck Prophet’s sound is classic Americana-infused rock. Support from the deliciously gravel-voiced Otis Gibbs.

GGI Festival
Saturday and Sunday @ Stereo / 2pm / £12 (day), £20 (weekend)
Two-day punk extravaganza showcases local talent alongside bands from further afield. Catch Fleas and Lice (the band, not a reflection on the venue) with Poison Sisters and The Bucky Rage on Saturday, while The Plimptons and The Amphetameanies are among the draws on Sunday.

Slow Club, Cate Le Bon, Young States
Saturday @ Classic Grand / 7pm / £7
Hotly tipped harmonious boy-girl indiefolk duo. Cate Le Bon is a Welsh singer-songwriter with a voice like Nico, while Young States complete the bill with gorgeous, local pop in the Frightened Rabbit vein.

Words: Lisa-Marie Ferla, Andrew Learmonth, Nick Mitchell

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

On the radar: The Occasional Flickers

Play: A word of your friend


In this day and age, sounding like Simon and Garfunkel is not the accolade it once was. And when your band originated in Greece and released its first record on a Peruvian label, such languid pigeonholing seems completely superfluous.

It’s safe to say The Occasional Flickers are no run-of-the-mill folk pop outfit. An all-star collection of Edinburgh’s talent, the band’s inner-core has been working on other projects for years.

Drummer Ryan Marinello is generally associated with My Tiny Robots; vocalist Ola Rek has her own audio/visual project Long Long Walk Home; trumpet and double bass maestro Ailig Thomas Hunter is a contemporary classical musician; and electric guitarist Bart Owl has been part of some of Edinburgh’s finest bands, most notably Under the Radar favourites Eagleowl.

Coming together with vocalist/guitarist and band vanguard Giorgos Bouras, this exceptional casting purveys a laid back sound of understated wonderment as The Occasional Flickers.

After starting the band in Athens, Greece way back in 2002, Bouras has, in Auld Reekie, found a fresh creative hub: “I moved to Edinburgh and last year we formed the current band,” says Bouras, “and, although so far it's me who writes the songs, everyone contributes their own parts.”

As Bouras sees it, each member being involved in another project can only be positive for The Occasional Flickers. He explains: “What I really like about the Edinburgh scene is that everyone seems to help each other by playing in each other's bands, going to each other's gigs, organising events together. The atmosphere is very encouraging."

The side-project nature of the band has created a queer sonic freedom; a sound not specific to any one scene. The band refer to their music as “timeless” and it’s an appellation that certainly trickles through tracks like 'A Word of your Friend', where a folk influenced homeliness lies central to its appeal.

Due to the disparate nature of the band’s make-up, prolific gigging is off the agenda for the immediate future. The priority is the production of their second album, which Bouras hopes to complete by September:

“Somehow, the fact that we are recording a second album is an achievement itself,” he says. “When I started I didn't expect that anyone but my close friends would get to hear my music. So knowing that there are a few people who like our music is enough to keep us going”

Signing off with a J.D. Salinger quote, Bouras quips: “The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.”

With album number two almost in the can and gigs lined up for September, there’s little chance fans of The Occasional Flickers will be left even slightly unhappy.

Words: Stevie Kearney

The Occasional Flickers play Capitol in Glasgow on the 25th of September and Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s the following night. Their new album is due for release soon.

Play: Rucksack