Scottish Song of the Day (82) – We Are The Physics

I can only apologise to my reader, for the lack of SotDs of late. It’s been a whirl of social activity… ok, it’s not, more that work has taken over (day job eating into the time to run Jockrock + isthismusic = roughly 0 left for this wee blog).
Anyway, I’ve been off on holiday for two weeks, including a whistle-stop visit to Prague (see photoset, if you like looking at other oeople’s holiday snaps).
And today, we’re off to Edinburgh. Not very exotic, but the fellow below will be there. No, not one of We Are The Physics – though I suppose they may well be at the tennis tournament in Scotland’s capital which will see John McEnroe play a few sets for the first time in 24 or so years.
But no, this lot – We Are The Physics, one of Scotland’s finest post-electro dance acts. They were of my nominations for the Scottish Album of the Year Award I think – they failed to make the shortlist (just like every one of my choices!). RM Hubbert won the award, richly deserved it must be said, at the dashing social event of the year, the ceremony at the Barras… anyway, WatP’s 2012 album Your Friend, The Atom contained this, a tribute (I assume) to a certain Croatian tennis star.
(It was either this or this)

Scottish Song of the Day (79) – Curators

I am of course aware that these once-daily (for around 2 days) posts have rather dried up. There’s no shortage of good music of course, more a shortage of stuff that has some sort f video with it. And I have set a precedent by looking for videos as it is the “song” of the day, supposedly at least. (In fact, this one has been on Jockrock at some point in the past, and I suspect that I might end up trawling that section again!)

Anyway, this lot are one of my favourite Scottish bands at the moment, making bnoisy, hook-laden pop. This is actually from their first album from a couple of years ago, but they have a new 6-track album coming real soon.

Like this post, it is very well worth waiting for.

Scottish Song of the Day (78): Popup

Just received a mail about a new ‘collaboration’ between Dougie Maclean and a Dundonian ‘supergroup’ (the one who sound like a law firm – well, their name does). It’s not even a single, it’s a beer advert, though admittedly this pint is more palatable than the brand that Frankie Miller’s cover of the song advertised.
Anyway… working on the principle that a cover should offer something new – this rough-as-feck take on ‘Caledonia’ might well be the definitive version…

Scottish Song of the Day (75) – Behold, the Old Bear

Back to the current millennium, in fact something that hasn’t been released yet (wooh).
The strangely-named Behold, the Old Bear is actually an offshoot from Glasgow-based indie oddballs Mitchell Museum – in fact, the brainchild of the equally-strangely-named Raindeer from that band.
Mitchell Museum are one of my personal favourites, and it is probably this kiss of death that’s prompted him to try a fresh assault on the pop charts under a different name.
The single is out on Feb 4th on Gargleblast Records (themselves a fine institution, having ‘discovered’ another great, and therefore doomed act, De Rosa)

Scottish Song of the Day (75): Super National

Vested interest alert: two thirds of this trio are from a band I used to manage – well, half-manage. Kev Lynch and Jamie Wishart were in Cruiser, an ever-changing Fife combo who were signed to Some Bizarre (Soft Cell’s label) and I became embroiled in a Faustian pact with showbiz legend Stevo Pearce as the band’s co-manager. The rest is, as they say, history, as are the tunes recorded for the label which never appeared on the legendary imprint.

Anyway, Kevin and Jamie – one half of Cruiser, which is ‘resting’ at present – teamed up with Mark Lange (Tiger, Tiger) for the band’s single from a couple of years ago, ‘A Gentle Press’, which was a Radio One Record of the Week, among other things. The collaboration has kind of grown new legs and got a fresh moniker for this, taken from a forthcoming album on Edinburgh’s KFM label.