Bandcrush: Cancel the Astronauts

***STOP PRESS***
The launch gig we’ve plugged heavily below has been cancelled due to a few difficulties at Sneaky Pete’s. Follow @canceltheastros for details of the rescheduled date.

Edinburgh seems to be stuffed with really good indie/pop/rock bands at the minute. We’ve got ourselves mixed up with the likes of the Bad Books and Fuzzystar, and of course there’s the peerless Kid Canaveral who’s second album is due soon.

Cancel the Astros, or Cancel the Astronauts to give them their Sunday name, have shared a stage with all of those bands but perhaps haven’t been given the credit they deserve. Their’s is a brand of raucous power pop with an emphasis on fun times, dancing, and more fun times.

Debut album Animal Love Match is due very shortly and follows a handful of EPs and the Intervention single released earlier this year. A launch gig is also in the diary, and judging from the last time we caught them live it’ll be packed with hook-laden pop tunes, and hopefully plenty of people too.

The five piece don’t look like they should be in a band – at least not with each other, anyway – but they make a lot of noise and our fingers are crossed that Animal Love Match, insinuated procreating fauna aside, brings them to a wider audience. They deserve it.

We spoke to frontman Matthew Riley this week about the album, bestiality and why he insists on wearing tracky bottoms on stage.

So who the hell are you?

Cancel the Astronauts. We’ve all got individual names because you need to really don’t you, these days, but you’re not interested in them. Names are but noise and smoke obscuring heavenly light. If you REALLY want to know who we are you’d have to spend a few hours gazing into our eyes in a tantric stare, but you wouldn’t like what you found.

Describe your sound in ten words or less!

Creepy pop and sinister indie in ten chords or less.

How did you chaps start making music together?

Me, Kieran (McCaffrey – guitar) and Michael (Craig – keys) all knew each other from school and moved up to Edinburgh together. Me and Kieran had in fact been writing song together for years and years in various mostly imaginary bands and we have a good understanding of each other musically. Neil (Davidson – bass) and Chris (Kay – drums) joined as others left and Cancel the Astronauts were born. We’ve been together in the current line-up for about four years now, and hopefully we’ve got at least another four together.

What are your influences then, eh?

Wine and women. I’m just in this for the wine and the women I’m afraid. So far, in five years, I’ve managed half a bottle of Shiraz and I remember a girl came to one of our gigs once. Not too good eh? It’s lucky that there’s also lots of fantastic music which I like and which makes me want to make fantastic music too. I’ve mentioned most of my influences before, but right now I’m going through a major Bob Dylan phase. I’ve only recently-ish got in to him, you see and I’m slowly buying everything he’s made. I’ve been listening to a lot of Everything Everything and Eugene McGuiness too. And lyricists like Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright III are brilliant.

How does it feel to have a proper grown up album ready?

It’s a huge relief. We’ve been working on this for a hell of a long time and we’re super pleased with the result. We can only hope other people are too. It’s a good chance for us to say farewell to a lot of older songs that were on the EPs that we’ve been playing for ages. And it means we can start writing the next one, which is the best bit of it all!

What’s lined up for the launch gig?

We’ve got two great bands playing with us – Shooting Stansfield and Letters. It’s worth coming just for them to be honest. Nothing special apart from us playing songs though. We’re not very gimmicky. Although we might buy party hats and streamers.

Can we expect to see some other shows lined up?

I should think so. Check Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp and our website for that sort of thing (although we’re pretty rubbish at remembering to put them up to be honest).

Is wearing tracky bottoms on stage rock n roll??

No, but it is comfortable. Saying no to drugs kids: now that’s rock n roll.

I’m trying to think of a definition that doesn’t make ‘animal love match’ sound utterly seedy. Please elaborate.

There isn’t one I’m afraid. It’s an entirely seedy title and an entirely seedy album. It’s really about lust, passion, instinct and desire, and what these impulses can drive us to (and whether those things we do are actually bad or should be indulged and celebrated). Animals are a useful metaphor for that sort of thing of course because they don’t have the moral or intellectual dilemmas that come with it all, and we often forget I think that we’re just animals too, albeit exceptionally clever and special ones. Quite a few of the songs mentioned animals and then I came up with the line Animal Love Match which has a nice bit of poetry to it I think and it seemed like the perfect title. It also gave us a theme for the artwork. But yes, it’s seedy, and it should make you feel a bit dirty and a bit rude (feelings which you might like to enjoy).

Doesn’t ‘cancel the astronauts’ sound in particularly poor taste following the death of Neil Armstrong?

It does a bit doesn’t it. I’d like to apologise to the family of Neil Armstrong for our name. It was insensitive and hurtful. I hope they can forgive us. Space though eh? Walking on the moon and that? Earthrise; the pale blue dot. Pretty impressive stuff altogether. I didn’t even know he was ill. If I ever make a million pounds I’m going to buy a ticket to space on one of these space tourist flights everyone is selling. I don’t think there can be any more humbling or moving experience than going to space. I once met Alexey Leonov, who was the first person to do an extra-vehicular space walk. He was a very nice man, and told a lovely story about stepping out of his spaceship and the entire ‘sky’ was taking up by earth (he was very close to it you see) and he could see the continents and storm formations and the oceans and everything. Wonderful. You can do what you like after that can’t you.

Animal Love Match is out on September 15, available from Bandcamp and you can stream the entire ruddy thing below! The band play Sneaky Pete’s that very night with Letters and Shooting Stansfield. We recommend you get down!

Bandcrush: The Bad Books

Well, this one’s been a while coming. Chatter around the Bad Books kicked off shortly after Michael Morrison (guitar; ex-Come on Gang!) and Graeme Anderson (vocals, synths, guitar; ex-Kays Lavelle) signed up for a pub gig in Leith months ago, but have remained defiantly under the radar, even refusing to pop any music up online. Well, until now, but don’t worry we’ll get to that.

So we were delighted to see an advertised gig earlier this year surface through the usual channels with Cancel the Astronauts and Fuzzystar also on the bill. It was an absolutely blinding night, with the Bad Books the pick of the bunch. So much so that they were pretty much signed up to play Tidal Wave 3 on the spot.

Their punchy brand of melodic indie rock sounded much more polished than a band with only a handful of gigs under their belt had any right to. Time has clearly been spent on the songs, Anderson is a charismatic and charming frontman and despite their claims of consistently avoiding  practice, they’re tight as the proverbial insect’s sphincter muscle.

So then, to Tidal Wave 3, taking place at Edinburgh’s Wee Red Bar on the 23rd of this month (but you knew that because you’re already coming aren’t you?). The Bad Books play their first headline set with Loch Awe, The Spook School and The New Fabian Society completing an absolute beezer of a line-up.

Did we speak to them? Yes we did!

So who the hell are you?

Michael Morrison: We are Michael, Graeme, Andrew (Brodie – drums) and Scott (Finnigan – bass/vocals) – four music loving boys.

Describe your sound in ten words or less?

Graeme Anderson: Space Pop with a twist of anger!

MM: That’s a pretty good definition actually! Or ‘Anger Pop with a bit of space…’

How did you guys begin making music together?

GA: I had an offer from our pal Andy Tucker of performing a wee solo slot at Nobles and when writing some tunes for the evening, thought they would sound better with a full band. I managed to rope in Michael and Scott to play too, then Michael roped in Andrew and The Bad Books were born. We gelled surprisingly fast and had an absolute hoot at nobles that evening. We pushed on and have been writing, playing gigs and avoiding practises since.

MM: Graeme plied me with drink until it seemed like a good idea. He was right though, it was a good idea.

Are these fresh tunes or was anything brewing before Come on Gang! or the Kays Lavelle folded?

GA: A couple of tunes are ones that I have had tucked away for a bit but they needed a fresh input and a bit of inspiration, which the rest of the band have in bucketloads. Recently we have managed to get a few tunes written during practise. Michael and Scott are really creative and Andrew seems to add that bit of oomph with the drums that brings it all together.

MM: All fresh stuff. Graeme’s a really good songwriter and I’m more than happy to add to and help shape his ideas. Plus if I came into practise with an old cast-off Andrew ‘Show Me The Rock’ Brodie would probably batter me.

How do you think the Bad Books differ from acts you’ve played in before?

GA: My previous bands have always had a bit more of a serious feel to them. The Bad Books are more fun! I also think that the songs that we have just now are much better than anything I’ve worked with before plus all my previous bands didn’t sound anything like this.

MM: Yeah there’s a healthy sense if fun to this. Though the music’s a bit darker, I think it comes across live that we’re just having fun doing our own thing. The Bad Books are louder than my old band, and this is the first time I’ve played music with men with beards. Plus I think both Graeme and I were keen to play very different stuff from our old bands, so the middle-ground seemed to be loud. I just want to be in a rock band…

What are the key influences that have been brought to the table?

GA: It’s strange because the bands that I love and that have made me want to get into music are ones that I don’t think we sound like – stuff like The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals and Grant Lee Buffalo. Each member of the band has different taste in music and think we each put that into our song pot.

MM: I agree. I always think it’s more fun to play off the influences that aren’t your favourite, as anyone can rip off a style they’re really into. So the stuff I bring to the band isn’t really my default, just what fits the tunes, the same as with Come on Gang! I’m aiming for messy, busy guitars – Dinosaur Jr, Television, Pavement, a bit 80s, mainly American indie I guess.

Bloggers turned promoters…… discuss!!!

GA: Ha ha! I can answer that properly after the 23rd. Edinburgh is in serious need of some good promoters though.

MM: Yeah let’s see how sweaty the 23^rdgets! Yeah Edinburgh gets a bad rep for not having enough venues but really the problem is a lack of promoters –after yourself, Nick at Sneaky’s and the Limbo guys (there are others of course – Ed), it’s pretty slim pickings.

Can we expect an official release anytime soon?

GA: Yeah! We’d love to have something out by the end of the year so we’re planning to record after the summer and release it in November or December time. A stocking filler for Crimbo.

MM: It’ll be dead festive.

Where do you think the Bad Books will ultimately take you?

GA: Not sure about this one. I’d love to get the chance to play some decent gigs and festivals with the band. I think playing live is what we’re all about. Would also love to get an album together.

MM: An album would be good once we fine tune a few more songs. It’s a nice feeling not being rushed to release anything we’re not happy with. Got a lot of time for bands like eagleowl who would rather do things well than rush them, so we’ll most likely be busy behind the scenes squirreling away.

And so to the music. With thanks to Mike from Manic Pop Thrills who did the original recording, the Tidal Wave of Indifference proudly presents Year of the Cat by the Bad Books, yours to download for free below. It’s from the Sneaky Pete’s gig mentioned above and is a bit rough and ready, but this is the only place you’re going to get to hear the Bad Books before June 23 and potentially some time after.

Enjoy! And do come along to Tidal Wave 3, it would be bloody lovely if you did. You can get tickets HERE.

The Year of The Cat (Live) [m4a]

Download problems? Email thetidalwaveofindifference@gmail.com if this isn’t working. I’ve probably bawsed it up.

Bandcrush: Fuzzystar

The phrase ‘fellow traveller’ is one I’m hearing an increasing amount these days.

I probably first heard it from the mouth of Sean Michaels, author of Canada’s Said the Gramophone when talking about how I knew Milo McLaughlin aka the Clear Minded Creative.

It’s also an apt way of describing Fuzzystar frontman (and sometimes ‘only’ man) Andy Thomson.

Without goinging into the details of what we work or what either of us do, when I saw a chap with long, greying curly hair and a not unsubstantial beard rock up and get introduced as a new colleague I instantly thought ‘ah, fellow traveller’ and was right.

And not only does Andy Thomson like excellent music, he also plays it. Recently returned from a stint in London, Fuzzystar remains a going concern despite Andy’s key bandmates living hundreds of miles away.

Their first – and so far, only – release is Late Night Radio, a brisk slice of pretty, laid back folk pop with Americana influences. It’s available as a digital download, but seek out the physical version if you can. It’s a thing of beauty, a CD dressed up a piece of vinyl, and something to truly savour.

When we weren’t talking websites (work talk, sorry folks!) or shared musical loves, I spoke to him about Fuzzystar.

So who the hell are you?

Well, Fuzzy Star or Fuzzystar or pretty much any combination of that. Initially just me, Andy, but now anything upto six folk… usually hovering around the four mark for the past, slightly noisier, 18 months.

Describe your sound in ten words or less!

Melodic. Variable between one and nine pints.

Andy Thomson (Fuzzystar) by Dylan Matthews 2011 - bluebackhotrod.com

What inspired the Late Night Radio recordings?

The songs are a snapshot of my life back then I guess – a relationship or two that didn’t work out, and then a small obsession with radio. The kind where the dj plays you the songs they love but doesn’t come between you and the music. I’ve always enjoyed that.

You put a huge amount of effort into the CD version of the EP – a wise move given the ongoing emphasis on downloads?

He, he, probably not if you look at it financially… thankfully I’ve forgotten the costs now! I wasn’t sure at the time if/when there would be anything else to release so it seemed like a bit of a shame to just put it in a plain sleeve and I’d had thoughts of vinyl since the first songs were written, but the real thing was too pricey. It’s always nicer leaving a gig with something too, though downloads can be pretty handy… there is a Bandcamp version as well but I have a habit of losing things in computer crashes.

The EP was released a while ago. Have things changed for the band since?

Yeah, it has a fair bit. The EP launch helped get together a more consistent line-up. Having a good drummer and three other folk to turn up amps with is fun! The overall sound is a fair bit louder and more distorted than the EP as a result.

Are you planning to release any more material soon?

Yeah, definitely, not wishing to curse anything given how long these things take, but there’s an album in the works… we’re recording another four songs for it in a couple of weeks in London, so fingers crossed we’ll have something for the end of Spring or early Summer.

And can we expect any more live shows?

We’ve got Manchester this weekend, an Edinburgh one in March and then another London one getting scheduled for after that. Maybe back off to Paris as the band if we can get everything to line-up and a few more festivals again this year, who knows what next… Recording is definitely a priority though.

What’s with the name – is it a comment on your personal appearance???

The name’s a bit of a long story… or several short ones… insomniacs might find it a useful read… It involves liking the bands Big Star and Mazzy Star, having a changing line-up/appearance depending on who was free to play, which fitted with the definition of a fuzzy star and it also helped me not get mistaken at gigs in Edinburgh for my friend – also called Andy Thompson – who was in other bands and later became part of Fuzzy Star (and still is!).

Fuzzystar play Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s on March 24 with the Bad Books and Cancel the Astronauts. More details here and you can sample Late Night Radio below.

Strike a Match

Album of the Week: Come on Gang! – Strike a Match

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mark the passing of one of Edinburgh’s finest beat combos of recent years, Come on Gang!

Yes, the indie-pop trio have decided to split on the same day they release their debut (and now only) album Strike a Match.

I think I speak for everyone who knows their music whenever I say: “BUGGER!”

Thankfully they’ve decided to burn out, not fade away. Not only is Strike a Match now out, but they’ve also just played a triumphant final show in the hushed and wholly inappropriate surroundings of Pilrig Church in Leith.

More about the gig in a bit. Let’s tackle the album first. It’s a beezer. I’ve seen them play live a few times now and was confident that the record wouldn’t disappoint, but it’s always a pleasure when a band you love manages not to fuck it up.

Live favourites Coffee Shop, Fortune Favours the Brave, Wheels and Spinning Room are all present and correct. Paul Savage’s production does the songs justice, ensuring the guitars pack a punch and the drums pound like they should.

Sarah Tanat-Jones’ vocals are where they should be – right at the top of the mix – and while the whole “wow, a GIRL singing and PLAYING DRUMS” schtick must be tiring, it’s again worth noting that she does both really rather well. 

The songs noted above are probably the highlights on a very, very good album and it makes me a little sad that this is the last we’ll be hearing from them. They’ve added charm, grace and humour to confident songwriting and musicianship to ensure that any suggestion of generic indie – let’s face it, how many modern guitar/bass/drum acts you’ve heard have been truly inventive? – is gleefully sidestepped.

Live, to get straight to the point, they kick ass. Again.

 

The support bill – songstress Hailey Beavis, power pop from Cancel the Astronauts, wildly inventive chamber-poppy two piece Over the Wall and the night’s very special guests Kid Canaveral – is dazzling and I dare say you’ll be reading more about one or two of these acts on the Tidal Wave of Indifference very soon.

The BYO booze nature of the event gave it a friendly feel and we even got some quality tunes spun by Jim Connick and Lloyd Meredith but tonight was all about Come On Gang!

They took the stage with a slight difference – Kid Canaveral’s David MacGregor stepping in for the departed Rob Howell on bass, but thankfully they lose none of their live power.

As you’d expect, they charge through their album with gusto and express huge gratitude to everyone for being there. It’s all a bit emotional, but the band takes their last breath on a high note – the closing double whammy of Spinning Room and a second airing of Fortune Favours the Brave provokes euphoric dancing from men old enough to know better and one of Kid Canaveral even indulges in a bit of crowd-surfing.

If this really is the last we hear from Come on Gang! they truly did themselves justice tonight.

I spoke to guitarist Mikey Morrison before the gig.

Why, why, WHY are you splitting up???

When we started the band a few years ago in our dusty boiler room-cum-practise studio, we knew all the stuff we wanted to do and, in short, we’ve pretty much done it all. The album’s a really good summary of what we’re all about and, with that on it’s way, it’s time to try our hands at other things. It’s like we’ve cut our teeth with Come on Gang! and now it’s time to venture out into the world all by ourselves!

Booooo. So no truth in the rumours that Sarah’s knife throwing act or your escort agency have interfered with the dynamic of the band?

Well ‘rumours’ is a strong word isn’t it? Those things may have contributed, but I ain’t giving up no money for sex gig in a hurry!

A proud moment to get the album out?

Yeah! We’re very proud of it and can’t wait for it to be out in the big bad world.

You came very close to winning Hog the Stage last year. Would playing Edinburgh’s street party have changed anything?

No, winning the Hogmanay thing wouldn’t have changed it one bit. We had decided before we even played that, but an ‘insider’ suggested we enter and, lo and behold, we got through to the final. A bit of fun, but we didn’t expect to win anyway. We got all sorts of news after we announced our decision, some of it from ‘industry’ folk and, thankfully, we didn’t hesitate in agreeing that it was 100% the right decision. Tough but the important decisions always are.

So what’s next then?

Well I can’t speak for Sarah too much, but I have already subtly started my next move. Nothing huge, just writing, recording and releasing more music, playing with mates and generally just enjoying music again without any burden of outsiders being involved. I know Sarah is hard at work on her next step too, which I am very excited to hear at some point.

Well that’s that I suppose! I’m excited to hear what they do next, but for now you can listen to album opener Coffee Shop below. Physical copies of the album will be available in Edinburgh’s Avalanche for a limited time and it’ll be on your better download services.