Radar recommends: 13 - 19 Feb

[Unicorn Kid: giddy techno at Tut's on Tuesday. Photo: Jane Barlow]

Plan your gig-going with our pick of the week's finest live music nights...

The best...

Trampoline: Kid Canaveral, Babygod, Cancel the Astronauts
Saturday @ Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh / 7pm / £5 (£3)
Trampoline is fast becoming one of the capital's most reliable live music nights. See this month's delectable indie-pop menu, for example, featuring local favourites Kid Canaveral and one of our favourite bands around, Cancel the Astronauts.

Divorce, Bitches
Sunday @ Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh / £tbc / 7pm
Possibly not the wisest destination for a romantic date on the 14th, but anyone who wants to celebrate their singledom in truly anarchic fashion should check out Glasgow nae-wavers Divorce, here with London duo Bitches. Bitchin.
Also playing The 13th Note, Glasgow on Saturday.

Unicorn Kid
Tuesday @ King Tuts, Glasgow / 8.30pm / £7
Signed just this week to Ministry of Sound, it’s unlikely this Edinburgh wunderkind will be playing venues of this size much longer.

Bronto Skylift, Ex Wives, Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers
Wednesday @ Nice’n’Sleazys, Glasgow /10pm / £4
Two-piece noise act Bronto Skylift headline this fundraiser for Glasgow art school students that includes DJ sets from Optimo’s Twitch and Men and Machines. Call in sick to work/uni/life now.

Yeasayer
Wednesday @ Oran Mor, Glasgow / 7pm / £10
Touring their new, poppier album Odd Blood, these Baltimore-via-Brooklyn boys hit Glasgow mid-week.

Panda Su, Julia and the Doogans, Sophie's Pigeons
Wednesday @ Brel, Glasgow / 7pm / £4
A night of female-fronted talent in the form of UtR-touted Panda and Julia, plus the intriguingly titled Sophie's Pigeons.
Panda Su and Sophie's Pigeons also play Duke's Corner, Dundee on Tuesday.


The rest...



Words: Aimi Gold, Nick Mitchell

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

On the radar: Divorce

For the last half-century the numbers of married couples in Scotland separating has been on the increase. While the end of a marriage is not normally a cause for celebration, it can allow the partners a release to move on.

Similarly in the ascendant, but providing a release of a different kind (how's that for a link?), are Glaswegian five-piece Divorce.

With dates all over the UK under their belts since late 2008, they have earned a serious reputation for their blistering, cathartic live sets. In that time they have also released their debut EP to a warm reception from critics and fans alike, their ‘pop songs for burn victims’ finding many an appreciative ear.

Consisting of Hillary Van Scoy and Vickie McDonald on guitars, VSO on bass, Andy Browntown on drums and Sinead Youth on vocals, the band are currently putting the finishing touches to a couple of new releases for this year.

Although formed out of a frustration that there were precious few bands in Glasgow making a really filthy noise, nominated band spokesman Andy tells UtR there was no clear agenda in mind: “All we wanted to do was 'make a noise', not 'do a punk band' or 'do a metal band', if we had tried to make it that specific we probably would've sounded rubbish!”

Divorce - Early Christianity


Occupying territory between noise rock and no-wave (or 'nae wave', as they call it) with a nod to 80s punk, this is not music for the faint of heart. The tight rhythm section holds everything together while the guitars are manhandled into emitting all manner of pained shrieks. Over all this Sinead’s vocals are strident and angry with an underlying tunefulness.

Their debut self-titled 10” is out on Optimo Music in 2009, they have a split 7” with London art-noiseniks Comanechi coming out early this year on Merok Records, and they even have plans to go retro and release a split cassette with fellow Glaswegians and previous tourmates Ultimate Thrush later on. Why the antique format? “Cassettes are great, and it's gonna be fantastic to share one with probably our favourite band in Glasgow right now!”.

With a penchant for chaos and a love of inciting circle pits and human pyramids, Divorce must be witnessed in the flesh. Having notched up gigs with bands like Part Chimp, Deerhoof, HEALTH and Lovvers, they're keen to keep preaching their twisted gospel to everyone who’ll listen and will be taking their violent noise to as many new locales as possible. Having spent 2009 making friends and blowing minds, they plan to keep on doing just that in 2010.

Words: Craig Dickson

Divorce - Juice Of Youth


Divorce play The 13th Note, Glasgow on 13 Feb, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh on 14 Feb and Glasgow School of Art at midnight on the same date.