Newsbits: Scottish Alt. Awards, Aberdeen protest album, Haiti appeal and more...
If ducking a handshake constitutes a front page splash, then god knows where that puts our weekly round-up of press releases and music related titbits. At a guess, we’d say page four. You know, just behind that elegant snap of a scantily clad female who’s putting the world to rights in the shape of two mountainous mammary glands.Anyway, as this is a website there’s no need to concern ourselves with trivial matters like page numbers or, sadly, topless models. Instead, you can rest assured that what you’re reading right now will probably stay at the top of the page for the next 24 hours without subjecting you to nudity of any form.
Trapped in Kansas scoop alternative gong
UtR favourites Trapped in Kansas scooped the ‘Best Rock/Alternative’ prize at last week’s Scottish Alternatve Music Awards (SAMA). The Glasgow based quartet fought off fierce competition from Make Sparks and This Familiar Smile to be crowned the most rocking alternative act in the land (or something). Other winners included As Darkness Falls (Best Newcomer), Promised Only Lies (Best Metal) and The LaFontaines (Best Live Act). Bronto Skylift bafflingly walked away with nada, but that’s that nature of open-vote awards for you.
SAMA organiser Richy Muirhead said: “The past seven months have been an amazing and great learning experience for myself. The music scene in Scotland is forever growing, and I hope everyone involved can now appreciate it more from this event. It's been a real blast, and I've already started brainstorming for next years festival.”
A heartfelt protest
Remember the (often abysmal) vehicle for social change that was the protest song? We don't, but that's mainly because we were born in a time when Thatcher’s Conservatives crushed the voice of opposition. But up in Aberdeen a collective of local musicians do. To voice their disdain towards the City Square Project – a planned £50m facelift of Aberdeen’s city centre which includes the uprooting of Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) – 20 Aberdeen acts have come together to produce the ‘We heart UTG’ record. Encompassing a spectrum of genres from modern bluegrass to funky house, the download-only record can be acquired on a ‘pay what you like’ basis, with all proceeds going to the UTG campaign. To get your mitts on it, click here.
Scots bands put out for Haiti
Four Scottish acts have donned their philanthropist capes and donated tracks to a Haiti benefit compilation. There Will Be Fireworks, Lions.Chase.Tigers, Farewell Singapore and Three Blind Wolves have forwarded cuts to New Jersey-based Dromedary Records for inclusion in the digitial-only release of Make The Load Lighter - Indie Rock for Haiti. All proceeds for the record will benefit the victims of the Haitian earthquake through an all-volunteer organisation called Vwa Ayiti (Voice Of Haiti). Label owner Al Crisafulli said of each band’s input: “It’s been great communicating with all four bands - this collection really has been a ton of fun, and it’s awesome to be able to do something quickly to raise money.” You can download the album here or, in a move which seems to be against the point of the record, you can listen to it here for free.
Selling out has never been so easy
Last week’s announcement of ‘the best T in the Park line up ever’ resulted in the festival selling out in less time than it takes Inverness Caley Thistle to put four goals past Raith Rovers (less of that please - ed). Unable to resist a roll call of Eminem, Muse, Jay-Z and The Black Eyed ‘why don’t they split’ Peas, Scottish punters snapped up 85,000 tickets in 90 minutes. We’d like to think this record breaking frenzy was in some way aided by the inclusion of Dirty Projectors and Broken Social Scene but, let’s face it, we’d just be deluding ourselves. For the latest line-up news all you need to do is click here.
Chewing the festival cud
In harder-than-it-looks news, chewing gum company Trident are seeking to exchange £30,000 for someone to visit 30 music festivals over 30 weeks. Taking in festivals around the globe, all you need to do is document the experience via Trident's festival website, through tweets, blogs, photos and videos, with reviews, gossip and celebrity interviews. Sounds easy, huh? Well, the challenge is actually getting the job, which will involve an online application, a face to face interview and, if you get that far, an all-day assessment in front of a panel that includes having to meet the insanely irritating George Lamb. See, told you it was tough. More info can be found here.
Twilights get a room
The Twilight Sad get back to the campaign trail for last year's still-growing-on-us album Forget the Night Ahead by releasing new single 'The Room'. Rife with the usual clash of miserabilism and voluptuous arrangement, the track offers the added bonus of My Latest Novel's Laura McFarlance guesting on violin. And for you for your aural/visual enjoyment, you can watch the fancy new video of said track below:
Got news for us? Let us know at utr.scotsman@gmail.com or tweet us @under_the_radar
Labels: lion.chase.tigers, newsflash, T in the Park, The Twilight Sad, there will be fireworks, trapped in kansas, Union Terrace Gardens
OK, let's get the niggling doubts out of the way first.
Christmas. It might be chilly outside but it's hardly the coolest time of the year is it? We over-indulge in party snacks, strange, once-yearly liqueurs (eggnog?!) and belt-busting meals, before battening down the hatches on our little cocoons of reliable family customs, TV drowse-athons and enough lighting effects to melt Greenland. In short, the carving knife is all that's cutting edge about Yule-tide.
Is the first day of December a legitimate point to start looking forward to Christmas? Not that we have much choice in the matter, thanks to the incessant carol-soundtracked adverts that elbow in between TV shows from mid-October and the twinkly displays that festoon every shop window.
Despite loving the band, I wasn't entirely convinced that What The Blood Revealed were the 'post-metal' act they labelled themselves. Post-rock with a bit of noise, maybe. Then I heard this riff-laden beast of a track.
There's something alluring about a singing voice that sounds like Jodie Foster's accent - and all week I've found myself humming and bopping along on the subway to this catchy upbeat yet chilled out tune. The innocent sound of Pearl’s voice combined with the sweet yet meaningful lyrics make this my tune of the week, and I can’t stop myself from pressing the repeat button.
With noggin pounding and fingers twitching, my over-worked aches have this week been soothed by the sound of Cancel the Astronauts’ massaging jangles. Already regulars on our blog, the Edinburgh quartet effortlessly fashion out a soar-away pop opulence reminiscent of Gold Mother-era James. My chosen track, the synth riddled ‘Love Somebody’, finds the quartet at their most dextrous; initially passing off as a hand-holding melee of strum and percussion, this ebullient sheen soon fades away for a tragic tale of heartbroken rejection. Quite simply, magnificent.
Proving that an appearance on 
Last month the famously provocative former NME writer Steven 'Swells' Wells died aged 49 after a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma disease. His passing has led many to comment on the present state of music journalism and lament its apparent lack of authority and credibility, as a legion of bloggers threaten to swipe away the mantle of influence.
