Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP #2

It's the 16th (at least that's what this post will forever say) of the month, so it's time for another Kowalskiy's Free 5-track Scottish EP. Once again I've batted my eyelids at some of my favourite Scottish bands around to bring you 5 more rare and/or exclusive tracks. This month, on EP #2, we have these super-talented souls:

1. Beerjacket - "VCR" (a cover of The Xx's debut album track)

"The Xx album is darkly romantic and epic in its intimacy. VCR is a pretty succinct portrayal of this. I hope your readers enjoy the countrified Beerjacket version, recorded one night on 4-track" - Peter Kelly (Beerjacket)

2. The Fusiliers - "Out Here In The Rain (live)" (recorded live, on minidisc, at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh in February 2009)

"Out Here In The Rain is what happens when you ask a heavy metal drummer to put a disco beat to a heartfelt acoustic break up ballad" - Jonny Wilson (The Fusiliers)

3. Evil Hand - "Returned In Time" (exclusive demo from his upcoming EP)

"It's pretty heavily effects laden, once again, but I do enjoy the walls of fx surrounding the acoustic & vocals, which were the original parts of the song. It's the first track I've written for an EP I plan to release in a couple of months, and I'm spending more time perfecting this Evil Hand release than I have done in the past. There's 3 tracks finished now and a couple more in the works so hopefully it'll all work well together." - Derek Bates (Evil Hand)

4. The Little Kicks - "I Know It's Over (live)" (recorded live at The Mill before its revamp)

"It's the second track off of the Little Kicks album Boxing Clever and is basically a punchy upbeat melodic guitar led pop song which is usually a live favorite. It was originally a slower subdued song but then I re-wrote it with influences in mind like Jetpacks, Mystery Jets and early Strokes. It's about a guy I know who has things much better than he realizes but still complains all the time - I guess everyone knows someone like that - the message in the chorus is if things are bad they can only get better If you just keep on trying. It's a good example of the band making a song better as when I took it to the band it changed shape massively. I initially wanted to ditch the chorus completely thinking it was weak but they said it was good and between us we made it work. It's really fun to sing live and I like the album version a lot because it has double tracked tambourines and synths on it which were fun to record." - Steven Milne (The Little Kicks)

5. Washington Irving - "Parts (demo)" (demo recorded live on a pier! )

"I am afraid I'm at a bit of a loss about how to describe the track. It's a song Joe has written that we've been trying to make into a full band effort but keep ballsing it up so we just ended up doing a wee acoustic recording anyway. Joe plays it on a pier!" - Chris McGarry (Washington Irving)

Thanks to each and every one of them for giving up their time, and of course, their song. I can't thank you enough!

Anyway, for those who like the sound of it, the EP is now up for free download on my shiny bandcamp page along with last month's EP #1. Hope you enjoy it!

Time now to get cracking on EP #3. So far, it's looking pretty good and might just be the first one where I'm not rushing about last minute! Once again though, if you have a mouthwatering exclusive or rare track and fancy appearing on a future EP, then send me a wee email.