Radar recommends: 16 - 22 August

[Frightened Rabbit: happy bunnies]

So the Scottish summer is in its last death throes and all we have to look forward to are shorter days and worse weather ahead, right? Wrong. Wrap up warm and get yourself down to one of the good-looking gigs happening in Scotland this week. One word of warning though: avoid Hampden Park like the plague on Tuesday.


Aberdeen

The Fire and I
Friday @ The Tunnels / 8pm / £4
Bathgate-based two-piece The Fire and I take their grungy power pop to the Granite City. One bass, one drumkit, a whole lot of noise.

Fudge Present: Element 106, Scandal Extracts, Ded Rabbit
Saturday @ The Moorings / 8pm / £3
Ear-splitting progressive death metal from local heroes Element 106. Lo-fi grunge rockers Scandal Extracts and Highland blues rock outfit Ded Rabbit round out one of the week's more eclectic gigs.


Edinburgh

Retreat!
Sunday @ Bristo Hall / 11.30am - late / free
Okay, here goes...Wounded Knee, Tisso Lake, Hexicon, Jo Foster, Moustache of Insanity, Allo, Darlin', Withered Hand, Rob St. John, My Tiny Robots, Enfant Bastard, Come In Tokyo, The Pineapple Chunks, Meursault, The Leg. You know there's only one place to be this Sunday.

Broken Records
Monday @ Queen's Hall / 7pm/ £10
Heart-string plucking lilts and bombastic throbs of instrumentation from the 4AD-signed local boys.

Frightened Rabbit
Tuesday @ Queen's Hall / 7pm / £11
Frantic guitar caterwauling? Check. Mushy lyrics bellowed by Scottish brogue? Check. Borderline irksome sing-a-longs? Check. Yep, that must mean Frightened Rabbit are back in town folks. Support comes from Meursault.

Alex Cornish
Tuesday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / TBC
Acoustically strummed ballads from a man who continues to divide the UtR offices like a melody making fraction.

Snoopy!! The Musical
Wednesday (actually, every day until 21 August) @ Venue 45 / 10.35am / £6
Oh come on, don't be so po-faced. This is music. It's happening in Edinburgh. It gravitates around Snoopy. What's not to like?

The Phantom Band
Wednesday @ Electric Circus / 7pm / £8
Can't decide whether this mob are the next Beta Band or the next no-hit wonders? Here's your chance to decide.

Bang Bang Club: Paul Vickers & The Leg
Thursday@ Guilded Balloon / 12.30am / £7.50
Depending on which way you look at it, this is either a late or early showing from decibel-pushing psycho babblers Paul Vickers & The Leg.

Sparrow & The Workshop
Thursday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / tbc
Another chance to see one of Scotland's finest purveyors of woodland pop

cryoverbillionaires, The Strands, I See Shapes
Saturday @ Sneaky Pete's / 7pm / tbc
We do like a spot of cryoverbillionaires' shake, rattle'n'rock here at UtR so this gig with The Strands and I See Shapes is just the ticket.

Zoey Van Goey
Saturday @ The National Portrait Gallery /5pm/Free
Sugar-coated folk-pop will be sprinkled all over the National Portrait Gallery by this long-touted Glasgow band. Be in attendance if you want a sweet little pick-me-up that could have you buzzing like a four-year-old who’s had his run of the treat cupboard.


Glasgow

Enfant Bastard, The Foundling Wheel, Asthmatic Astronaut
Tuesday @ Pivo Pivo / £3 / 8pm
A trio of Edinburgh acts invade Glasgow. Enfant Bastard and The Foundling Wheel make esoteric noise-core, while Asthmatic Astronaut deals in dark hip hop beats.

A Band Called Quinn
Thursday @ The Dive / 8pm / £5
One of the first bands 'on our radar', stylized glam rockers ABCQ launch their new single at this intimate gig.

Smiths/Morrissey Tribute Night
Friday @ King Tut's / £8 / 8.30pm
Even if you're not a devotee of Mozza, there's enough musical talent on offer at this charity gig night to entertain you, including UtR-tipped Miss the Occupier and Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers.

Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, Ming Ming & the Ching Chings, French Wives and Sol Diablos
Friday @ Corinthian/Lite Bar / £5 (£4) / 8pm
On the same night those busy Woodenbox boys play another gig with two of our recommended bands in Ming Ming and French Wives, as well as Sol Diablos.

Words: Jodi Mullen, Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell, Aimi Gold

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

Radar recommends: 28 June - 4 July

[There Will Be Fireworks: lighting the fuse on their debut album this week]

So farewell then, Michael Jackson. The twinkle-toed king of pop, who played Scotland just once at Glasgow Green in 1992, is no more. The question is, will any of our nation's up and coming musicians have a go at a Jacko cover this week? You'll have to get out there and find out for yourself.


Aberdeen

The Muscle Club, Get In Get Out, Come On Gang, :cryoverbillionaires
Wednesday @ Tunnels. Doors £
Welsh quartet headline, with support from local act Get In Get Out and highly touted Scots bands Come on Gang and :cryoverbillionaires.


Dundee

Unicorn Kid, I Wish I Was Weaver
Wednesday @ The Doghouse. Doors 6pm, £5
Sugar-fuelled electro-trancey-pop from teenage sensation Oliver Sabin, plus support from Arbroath-based I Wish I Was Weaver.

The Boycotts, Ross Clark and the Scarves Go Missing
Friday @ The Doghouse. Doors 8pm, £5.
The Boycotts’ hook infused indie-pop is as moreish as candyfloss, while UtR-touted RC&tSGM (nice acronym eh?) ply an eclectic brand of Americana.


Edinburgh

Duty Free: Lost Knives, Dupec
Sunday @ Cabaret Voltaire. Doors 7pm, £free
Mancunian pop from Lost Knives, plus talented Edinburgh indie-rockers Dupec, who we featured on this here blog last month.

I Heart Hirsohima, The Pineapple Chunks
Tuesday @ The Bowery. Doors 7.30pm, £6
Aussie slacker-rock from Hiroshima, with support from fruity Edinburghers The Pineapple Chunks.

We See Lights
Thursday @ Wee Red Bar. Doors 8pm, £4
We See Lights are "connected by the Forth River" and make chiming, folky indie.

Brother Louis Collective, Little Kicks, Saint Jude's Infirmary
Thursday @ Sneaky Pete's. Doors 7pm, £5.
Brother Louis Collective do polished indie with a Scottish accent, flute and piano, and will play the T Break tent at a certain festival next month. What's more, you get to see a band we recommended only last week, Aberdeen's Little Kicks, and perennial local favourites St Jude's.

The Skinny Dip: The Twilight Sad, Adam Stafford, The Foundling Wheel
Thursday @ Bongo Club. Doors 7.30pm, £10
We can hardly stop listening to the two new tracks that have appeared on The Twilight Sad's MySpace of late, and with a hugely anticipated album on the way, this is a real coup for The Skinny's fledgling gig night. As if that wasn't enough, you also get a solo set from Y'All is Fantasy Island's Adam Stafford and experimental sounds from The Foundling Wheel.

Dog Tired
Friday @ Bannermans. Doors 9pm, £free
For thrashing, shouty tattooed heavy metal, you can't beat Dog Tired. Screaming guitars, thrumming bass complimented by comprehensible lyrics - what more could a metalhead ask for? Well, a debut album due to be released this year is one thing, and a gig which promises a 'groove-ridden, train wreck of a sound' is another. An unrelenting, driving cacophony of pure noise should top that off nicely. Dog Tired are playing Bannerman's with Battle of the War Machines. Yes, you will want to start a pit, so get your metal groove on and check them out. [KS]

:cryoverbillionaires
Saturday @ Sneaky Pete's. Doors 7pm, £5
:cryoverbillionaires mix it up a bit; a psychedelic wall of sound battling with hints of dance, drum and bass and topped off with swooping choruses. Add to this their lyrical soundness and impressive skill when it comes to musical experimentation, and you have a band not to be ignored. [KS]

Neoviolet
Saturday @ The Ark Doors 7.30pm, £4
Neoviolet are an indie rock three-piece with a lightly folky tinge. Slowly but surely making their mark across Edinburgh's pubs and clubs, they combine relaxing, jangling guitars with intense, angsty lyrics. If you're a fan of pitch-perfect harmonies and fancy blending this with a smooth undertone of cello, then catch the band at the Ark on 4th July for a reassuringly laid-back gig from a band who have very much found and filled their chilled-out niche. [KS]


Glasgow

Limbo: Zoey Van Goey, Isosceles, Punch And The Apostles, Haight-Ashbury, A-lix, Cancel The Astronauts and Thieves In Suits
Sunday @ Stereo. Doors 8pm, £5
The lauded Edinburgh gig night moves west for a one-off special to give their recent live album an official launch in Glasgow, with a line-up that reads like a who's who of emergent Scottish indie-pop talent.

Jocasta Sleeps
Sunday @ Nice'n'Sleazy. Doors 7.30pm, £tbc
Glasgow alt-rockers launch their new single 'Crayfish'.

The Darien Venture, We Are Trapped In Kansas, We Hung Your Leader and City of Statues
Sunday @ The Twisted Wheel. Doors 8pm, £free
The Darien Venture are in the melodic indie-punk racket, and they are joined by the superb math-rock outfit Trapped in Kansas, blistering rockers WHYL and City of Statues.

**UtR's gig of the week**
There Will Be Fireworks, Lions.Chase.Tigers, We Hung Your Leader
Wednesday @ Nice'n'Sleazy. Doors 7.30pm, £5
The thrilling TWBF launch their jaw-droppingly good self-titled debut album, with support from one of our favourites, Lions.Chase.Tigers, and the aforementioned We Hung Your Leader.

*Check the blog this week for an exclusive track-by-track album preview from Fireworks singer Nicholas McManus.

Jocky Ventakaram and The Mickey 9s
Friday @ Pivo Pivo. Doors 8pm, £3/2
Album launch for the enigmatic, Malcolm Middleton-influenced Ventakaram.


Words: Nick Mitchell, Kirstyn Smith

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

Radar recommends: 7 - 13 June

[Miss The Occupier: playing The Twisted Wheel on Sunday]

In the past we've been guilty of catering only to the gig-goers of Edinburgh and Glasgow in these here Radar Recommends. Granted, that's because 95% of the best gigs take place in Scotland's 'big two'. But we don't want to be seen as narrow-minded Central Belters (especially when one of us hails from wind-battered Thurso), so this week we've tried to cast our nets a bit wider.

Miss the Occupier, Come in Tokyo, We, The Last Men
Sun 7 Jun, The Twisted Wheel, Glasgow. Doors 7pm, FREE
Widely touted as one of Scotland's most exciting bands, Miss the Occupier make clattering, vampish alt-rock in the style of Sonic Youth and Sleater Kinney. We featured them on the eve of their Hinterland show, and this date, with support from bluesy Edinburghers Come In Tokyo and local hardcore trio We, The Last Men, promises to be unmissable. [NM]

Play: Miss The Occupier - Whilst I Stared


Teitur, The Seventeenth Century, Empires
Sun 7 Jun, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, £8
The Faroe Islands may be just beyone our musical radar, but that doesn't mean we can't recommend you head along to this gig by Teitur, an inventive singer-songwriter who opened for Radiohead at the Roskilde festival last year. Especially when he's playing with recent UtR stars The Seventeenth Century and Glasgow rockers Empires. [NM]

Play: The Seventeenth Century - Traffic


The Void, cryoverbillionaires
Tue 9 Jun, The Tunnels , Aberdeen. Doors 8pm, £tbc
Big, swooping indie always has a place on the UtR stereo and The Void are quickly becoming regulars on our shamefully beat-up tape deck. Both anthemic and anathemic, the Glasgow/Edinburgh ensemble produce effervescent, guitar driven totems tinged with sleek college rock production. No stranger to these pages, the hard-working cryoverbillionaires expel chiming chasms of riff across taut, hairpin percussion to produce a sound that quivers neck hairs and shudders the soul. [BH]

Unicorn Kid, Soft Toy Emergency, Crayons, Skitten
Tue 9 Jun, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, £tbc
Not since The Proclaimers wrote a song about that very long walk has Leith known a success story like that of Unicorn Kid. 17-year-old Oliver Sabin is the epitome of the bedroom DJ, except he also has a nationwide and American tour lined up and is fast becoming a worldwide hit with his ringtone-friendly electro-pop. [NM]

We Were Promised Jetpacks
Wed 10 Jun, Doghouse, Dundee, 8pm
If it’s indie-pop you’re after then look no further than the spikey guitar riffs of We Were Promised Jetpacks. The quartet's new album These Four Walls is due out on 15 June and has been produced by Ken Thomas, who has previously worked with the Sigur Ros and David Bowie. Featuring guitar driven pop ranging from 70s influences such as the legendary Gang of Four to more modern tracks reminiscent of British Sea Power, their sound blends seamlessly over Adam Thompson’s distinctly Scottish vocals. [SK]

Play: We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quiet Little Voices



Punch and the Apostles
Thu 11 Jun, Captain’s Rest, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, £3
If you're in Glasgow this Thursday evening, head along to Captain’s Rest to catch the wonderful Punch and the Apostles, who will be performing a new show complete with visuals by Graham Tiler. For the uninitiated, Punch and the Apostles bring a frenetic energy to their live set with stylings not unlike a mid-80s freak show era Tom Waits crossed with some Balkan plate smashing. A mysterious and eclectic band, fans of the musically diverse will be delighted to find something macabre straight out of the leftfield. [SK]

Trampoline featuring Meursault, Wounded Knee, The Foundling Wheel
Sat 13 Jun, The Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £5
Another month, another stellar line-up at Trampoline. Local luminaries Meursault need little introduction, their startling folk-tronica having already broached public consciousness over the last 12 months. Less renowned, the hymnal rabble of Wounded Knee and The Foundling Wheel's serrated electro-bending are just as beguiling; both beginning to ripple waves of interest in Edinburgh's oceanic scene. [BH]

Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers, Wilson Tan, The Parsonage
Sat 13 Jun, King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow. Doors 8pm, £tbc
You only need to ponder their name for a moment to realise that Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers are more than a little indebted to one Ennio Morricone. There's a distinct Wild West feel to their trumpet-led folk-rock, so get your Winklepickers out and mosey on down to Tut's for on Saturday, where you'll hear more Americana stylings from Wilson Tan and The Parsonage. [NM]

Words: Stevie Kearney, Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell

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

Radar recommends: 24 - 30 May

[Zoey Van Goey: playing The Bowery on Monday]

As sure as a Pope defecates in the woods, the dawning of a new week brings the promise of further ministerial misdemeanours, yet more fall-out from the Pete/Jordan saga and the harrowing realisation that a trip to Stark's Park beckons next season. Oh, and there's a tonne of exquisite gigs across the country to get yer lugs around...

Zoey Van Goey
Mon 25 May, The Bowery, Edinburgh. Doors 7.30pm, £5
Zoey Van Goey create the type of delectable indie-pop ditties a Tigermilk-era Stuart Murdoch would give his corduroy cardigan for. Which is hardly surprising really, given the Belle & Sebasian frontman had a hand in producing the Glasgow-based trio's scrumptious debut single Foxtrot Vandals. Having built up a fervent reputation for their ebullient live shows, The Bowery's warren-like cove is the perfect setting for Zoey Van Goey to finally move in to the spotlight. [BH]

Nacional
Wed 27 May, Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £5
Despite not yet having an album under their belts, Glasgow-based Nacional have already played live at Glastonbury and this year's SxSW festival in Austin, Texas. Though the band's guitar-driven indie pop shows clear nods to a range of acts like Sonic Youth and The Stone Roses, their most obvious influence is The Smiths. Having already attracted the attention of trendsetters down south and with a UK tour lined up early this summer, it's only a matter of time before Nacional go stratospheric. [JM]

Silvermash
Wed 27 May, Bannerman's, Edinburgh. Doors 8pm, £tbc
Wednesday sees the return of Fife drone-pop worshippers Silvermash after a lengthy hiatus. Having toured most of the world with The Wedding Present, drummer Graeme reunites with his former cohorts for a night of both delicate musicality and bone-shuddering walls of guitar, with a doff of the cap to the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth. [NM]

United Fruit, Hey Enemy, Bronto Skylift, Hey Vampires

Thurs 28 May, Captain's Rest, Glasgow. Doors 7:30pm, £free
The cream of Glasgow's grunge and punk talent lines out on Thursday to celebrate the launch of United Fruit's latest EP, Mistress Reptile Mistress. Guests-of-Honour United Fruit have been favourably compared with Sonic Youth, among others, and the new EP looks set to herald in another gloriously noisy chapter in their increasingly illustrious career. Underground grunge rockers Hey Enemy recently returned to the live circuit after a lengthy hiatus and will be keen to dust off their chops ahead of festival appearances at goNorth and Rockness this summer. Despite being a two-man outfit, Bronto Skylift are one of the most abrasive bands on the bill, with a sound reminiscent of classic Mudhoney, though post-hardcore punks Hey Vampires will give them a run for their money every step of the way in the loudness stakes. [JM]

Live at The Mill: Cryoverbillionaires, Action Group
Thurs 28 May, The Mill @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh. Doors 7:30pm, free
Glaswegian experimental rockers Cryoverbillionaires have established themselves as one of Scotland's premier unsigned acts in recent years. The band's enormous wall of sound goes far beyond what one might reasonably expect a three-piece to produce, with swirling, psychedelic guitars, soaring vocals and superb musicianship the order of the day. Also on the bill are eclectic Edinburgh pop outfit Action Group, winners of Under The Radar's prestigious single of the month award for April. [JM]

Play: Action Group - Look At That Ass


Ablach, Step On It, Black Sister, Gusto Mastivo
Thurs 28 May, The Tunnels, Aberdeen, Doors 7:30pm, £tbc
Local grindcore upstarts Ablach join Hungarian thrashers Step On It for the Aberdeen leg of their ongoing tour of the UK and Ireland. Formed by alumni of the now defunct Filthpact and members of death metal titans Bonesaw, Albach have already established themselves as one of the most brutal acts on the Aberdonian scene. They're joined by half-Scottish, half-Hungarian thrash metal outfit Black Sister and Gusto Mastivo, obnoxiously offensive purveyors of grindcore from the depths of Morayshire. [JM]

**UtR's gig of the week**
The Skinny Dip: St Deluxe, The Gothenburg Address, Bronto Skylift
Thurs 28 May, The Bongo Club, Edinburgh. Doors 7.30pm, £5
These days, it's usually best to ignore anything coming out of Alan McGee’s cakehole, but for once the former Creation Svengali is right on the button. Nae quite the Scottish Nirvana he makes out, Glasgow's St Deluxe are still a blistering scab of slash and burn guitars built around guttural, tight rhythms and fuzz-box vocals. Backed by The Gothenburg Address's magnificent post-rock soundscapes and the aforementioned Bronto Skylift’s lug-blistering racket, this Skinny Mag-associated showing is going to be L.O.U.D. [BH]

Play: The Gothenburg Address - The Lesser Coming Home


Oscar Charlie
Thurs 28 May, Blackfriars Basement, Glasgow. Doors 8.30pm, FREE
Glasgow-based Shetlanders Oscar Charlie, who we featured on the blog back in the early days, kick off the first of three monthly summer shows at the tiny Blackfriar's Basement. The quartet make complex, accomplished math-rock that reels off into epic choruses when you least expect it. DJs will follow the band, it's free entry, and everyone gets a complimentary bottle of Krusovice on arrival. Need any more reasons? [NM]

Play: Oscar Charlie - Vandals:


Meursault, Honey Trap, X-Lion Tamer
Fri 29 May, Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh. Doors 7pm, £5
Meursault hardly need an introduction for readers of this blog. Defying the unspoken mantra that a laptop and a ukulele should never share a stage, the Camus-inspired Edinburgh outfit are arguably Auld Reekie's pre-eminent 'buzz band', their powerful folktronica and Neil Pennycook's yearning vocals singling them out from the crowd. Support comes from rowdy Londoners Honey Trap and local electro-popsters X-Lion Tamer. [NM]

Words: Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell, Jodi Mullen