Battle Of The Bands: Round 11

With the Festive Season fast approaching, this is the final round of Battle Of The Bands of the year.  Going into Round 11, Team Kowalskiy held a one point ahead in the series, and with that pesky Neil from Scottish Fiction on home turf this time around, I'd be lying if I said a shock away win would not make for a great early Christmas present.  The full tweet-by-tweet summary can be found on twitter using the #battleofthebandsround11 hashtag, but here's the short version...

Thanks to my victory in the last round, courtesy of my seasonal choice lovely The Winter Tradition's narrow win over Shambles Miller, I opened up a one point lead meaning I couldn't be behind going into 2013.  I'm not one to rest on my laurels though, so I recruited the wonderful Glasgow duo The Mouse That Ate The Cat.   You could say I was... feline lucky going int this duel.  Unknown to me, on the other side of the virtual, musical ring,  was fellow acronym lovers Where We Lay Our Heads.
 
Before we see how they shaped up, here's the all-important rules.  You can of course read them in full over here.  This round, we were on Neil's turf, so he picked the three stats.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point.  Both get a half-point if the stats are the same, and losers get absolutely nothing!  He plumped for Band Name Scrabble Score, SoundCloud Tracks, and Number of Members.  All stats were correct at the start of battle.

Right, here's the all-important stats.  Ding, ding, Round 11...

And would you believe it, the away team jinx is over!  It's a DRAW!  It was always on the cards (pardon the pun) after Neil's first stat choice.  Both bands proved the Scrabble equals of one another with a whopping 34 points.  My TMTATC boys' superior SoundCloud Tracks threatened an unprecedented upset until Neil's WWLOH tied the contest on account of their better man, and woman, power.

A draw is fine by me though.  It keeps my one-point lead intact going into the Winter break.  Expect that to be stretched to 2 points after Round 12 on the 9^th of January.

But... you've guess it, it's not about me or Mr. Scottish Fiction... it's all about the music people!  So let's kick off the pre-Christmas plugging with my boys, The Mouse That Ate The Cat, who I've just noticed have added yet another track to their SoundCloud as part of their daily Advent giveaway.  If you've missed it so far, you can catch up here.  It's full of acoustic versions, demos, videos... you name it!  Here's the latest, an acoustic version of I Am The Hottest Fire.

If that's not enough to tide you over until Christmas, Bri and Col will be at King Tuts this Friday.  Those boys are well-and-truly showering you with goodies at the moment!

On to Where We Lay Our Heads now.  It's been a wee while since they've featured on here... too long in fact.  Last year they released two EPs, one conventional in From The Roots, We Grow Limbs, and one not-so in wwloh, a collection of acoustic demos.  You can get those both here.  If you check out their SoundCloud though, there's some teasers from their next release for you.  Here's my pick from them, the brilliantly-titled Keanu Leaves.  Enjoy!

And that's your Battle Of The Bands fill for 2012.  We'll be back on the 9^th of January.  I hope you'll join us as I ritually humiliate Neil and extent my lead to a massive two points.  See you then!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 10

Welcome to the blow-by-blow summary of last night's tenth round of Battle Of The Bands, the Scottish music contest with more staying power than Ricky Hatton.  Going into this latest duel, Neil from Scottish Fiction and I were once again neck and neck.  You can see the full, tweet-by-tweet slogging that went on using #battleofthebandsround10 on twitter.  

With Neil's victory in the last round courtesy of the lovely TeenCanteen the series was once again level at four wins apiece.  My lone wolf Arran Arctic can hold his head high though.  He fought hard... and has a superb new album called Like Lovers out now... here!    This time around, I went for strength in numbers and roped in The Winter Tradition.  I later found out that Neil had gone down the lone wolf route with his choice Shambles Miller.  Could the shambolic duo's alliance conjure up the first away win of the series? 

You'll find out soon enough, but first, here's a quick recap of the rules.  You can of course read them in full over here.  This round, I had home advantage and picked the three attributes we'd be using.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point.  Both get a half-point in the event of a draw and losers get a big, fat zero!   I chose SoundCloud Tracks, Twitter Follow Ratio and Band Name Scrabble Score.  As ever, all stats were correct at the commencement of battle.

Right, here's the all-important stats.  Seconds out, Round 10...

Home turf proves crucial again!  Despite the early slip-up with the SoundCloud Tracks, Team Kowalskiy ran out 2-1 victors thanks to The Winter Tradition's impressive Twitter Follow Ratio, and the fact that, much to Neil's disgust, an 'L' is only worth 1 point in Scrabble.  With that, the series I've opened up a one-point lead in the series once again.  And that was without me using the contentious fact that my guys have technically been together for 10 years albeit in their previous incarnation The Void. 

But, by now you know it's not about who wins... it's all about the two artists taking part and the lovely music that they make!  So let's kick off the gratuitous plugging with my boys, The Winter Tradition. Earlier this year they released their debut album Gradients (which you can buy here!), and they've just released the video for one of the album standouts Tides and Telegrams.

There's two more chances to catch them live this year.  On the 29^th and 30^th of December they'll be playing with Flood of Red at The Third Door, Edinburgh and Broadcast, Glasgow respectively.  Tickets for both can be bought here.

Shambles Miller-time now!  He's long been a friend of the blog, and will continue to do so (even though he's in league with the enemy) if he keeps producing songs like his new topical gem, entitled Chris Brown is a **** (and Mike has some issues).  Which you can of course download for free.  As well as that, you should all go and buy his most recent single Confessions.  It's well good!

In two weeks time, prepare yourselves to witness the first away win. That includes you Neil!!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 9

Yesterday, on our new fortnightly Wednesday slot, my blogging, musical Moriarty (a.k.a. Neil from Scottish Fiction) and I slogged it out in the ninth round of Battle Of The Bands.  You can read the entire blow-by-blow if you look at #battleofthebandsround9 on twitter.   Or just read this summary... you're here now.

Having won the last round, rather convincingly, with the help of the mighty IndianRedLopez, I knew Neil would be out to avenge his artist's (Lovers Turn To Monsters) defeat.  This time, he'd have the pick of the three attributes, which has proved successful in 7 out of the opening 8 bouts.  So he went into Round 9 as the favourite... but that's why I rolled out my secret weapon... Arran Arctic.  Sure, he may be one man, but he's been around for the best part of a decade, has an impressive SoundCloud presence, and those two Cs make for a very decent Scrabble score.  I went into this round confident of an upset.

Unbeknownst to me, Neil had plumped for a quartet of lovely ladies to fight his battle for him.  Hear that people... he let four girls do his dirty work for him.   Shame on you!  I must say though, it was four very talented girls... TeenCanteen.

Here's a quick recap of the rules for those who, after 8 rounds, still don't have a clue what's going on.  You can read them in full over here.  This round, Neil picked the three attributes.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point... apart from the TOTAL attribute where the lowest score wins... just to mix things up.  Both get a half-point in the event of a draw and losers... get sod all!   Neil went for Average Age, Twitter Follow Ratio and there was a welcome return for this rule-bending TOTAL attribute not seen since the first round.  Disclaimer time... all stats were correct at the time of battle.

Right, here's the all-important stats.  Ding ding, Round 9...

Things were looking promising when Arran pipped the girls' in the Average Age department by a slim, one year margin.  First blood to Team Kowalskiy... but then it all went downhill from there.  After scores were levelled thanks to the Twitter Follow Ratios, Neil's TOTAL masterstroke paid off in style and he won the round by 2 points to 1.  In the end it was my high-scoring secret weapons, Arran's SoundCloud presence, 8 years of Arcticness and his two Cs, that proved to be my downfall.  Crafty Neil!

And with that, the series is once again tied. 

I say this every time, but it's not about who wins... it's all about the music!  Unless I win of course, then it's a wee bit about who wins.  Anyhoo, I'll start off the latest bout of plugging with one of my favourite artists I've had the privilege of covering on Kowalskiy... the wonderful Arran Arctic.  His brand new album Like Lovers is out on the 18^th November.  It's by far his best release to date, with Covers, Armies, and some of the gorgeous instrumentals up there as his finest moments.  Now, let me qualify that by saying I'm a huge fan of his previous five albums (all repackaged and for sale over here).  They're all good, but this one is just brilliant.  Throughout, he's made a lot of use out of his clarsach (a small harp apparently) and that sound is as refreshing as the ice-cold Arctic itself.  The biggest compliment I can pay the album though, and Arran himself, is that at times I could swear I was listening to the musical maestro Get Well Soon.  On the 18^th, you'd best look yonder!



And now, onto this round's winners.  If you cast your minds back to the early days of Kowalskiy, you might recall I featured a band called Futuristic Retro Champions a fair number of times.  Well, out of their ashes, TeenCanteen sprung earlier this year.  And from what I've heard so far, which is pretty much just How We Met (Cherry Pie), they sound like they'll be every bit as good as those retro champs.   

If my snooping serves me right, they'll be at The Glad Cafe in Shawlands ('tis a lovely wee venue) this Friday (i.e. TOMORROW) supporting Duglas T. Stewart of BMX Bandits fame.  And that's about it until Round 10 in a fortnight's time!  I'm off to sign up my next member of Team Kowalskiy before Neil gets his grubby hands on him/her/them. 

Battle Of The Bands: Round 8

It's a week and a day later than first billed, but here's the round-up of Round 8.  Going into this latest musical melee, it's been level pegging with 3 wins apiece ever since that opening round draw.  Last time out, Neil (the nemesis) from Scottish Fiction drew the series level with some help from the crème de la Croy... Campfires In Winter, who toyed with my Edinburgh trio Toy Machene.  The ball's back in my court this time, and I've got an Aberdonian ace up my sleeve...

...for joining Team Kowalskiy this round is the mighty IndianRedLopez.   Another favourite around these parts, and some impressive stats to boot!  I went into our latest bout confident I'd regain the lead once again.  Unbeknownst to me, I was doing battle with another favourite of mine... the prolific Lovers Turn To Monsters a.k.a. Kyle Wood. 

Before I give a blow-by-blow account of what happened, here's a quick recap of the rules for those who, after 8 rounds, still don't have a clue what's going on.  You can read them in full over here.  This round, it's my turn to pick the three attributes we're playing with.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point, with both getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers... don't get a thing!   I banked on my guys' Band Name Scrabble Score (they have a Z!),  their Twitter Follow Ratio (anything bigger than 1 is impressive in my book), and I also played the age card and went for Average Age.  Disclaimer time... all stats were correct at the time of battle.

Right, here's the all-important stats.  Ding ding, Round 8...

Oh yasss!  That 'Z' came in very, very handy as I took a 1-0 lead after the first attribute.  Next up, was the Twitter factor, and my boys narrowly pipped it... and I mean narrowly!  A 5-second purge of who he follows and Kyle would have levelled the round.  But, as it stood, Team Kowalskiy took an insurmountable 2-0 lead.  I didn't even have to play the age card, but I thought it best to give you plenty of time to look for five 30th birthday presents for my boys.  That completed a Round 8 whitewash, and edged me out in front AGAIN in the series. 

Once again, he who is in charge of the attributes, wins!  I've got 2 weeks to find a band to help me buck that trend in Round 9. 

As much as I enjoy these little triumphs in this yo-yoing duel, it's all about the music!  So I'll start off the plugging with the victors IndianRedLopez.   Their debut album Empty Your Lungs And Breathe was undoubtedly one of last year's highlights, and if their new track Break Us Both is anything to go by, the follow-up may just be better still! You can watch the video for it here, or listen to it below... and no doubt they'll be playing it at The Arches in Glasgow on the 16^th November (get tickets here). They then head down to London for two nights at Surya (21^st) and Proud Camden (22^nd).



And now, onto the man who's very much more of a lover than a fighter, it's Lovers Turn To Monsters.  It's difficult to know what to plug since Kyle always seems to have something new out!  In August he released his own take on Withered Hand's entire Good News album, and good it is too.  You can get that here.  But as it's his latest offering, and 'cos it's Halloween, I'll pop up a track from This Horror Movie is a Metaphor for Puberty... which you can pay-what-you-want for here.

So that's it for another fortnight! Until then, I'll quietly bask in my one point lead in the series...

Battle Of The Bands: Round 7

So we have arrived, at last, at the great battle of our time... well Round 7 of it anyway!  A fortnight ago, this musical battle between myself and Neil from Scottish Fiction tipped back into Team Kowalskiy's favour with my narrow victory over Stanley Odd courtesy of Skye's finest The Dead Man's Waltz.  You can read the blow-by-blow account of that duel over here.  For this round though, it's the Fiction camp's turn to choose which of the vital stats we'll be slugging it out over.  But I've got an ace up my sleeve...

Joining Team Kowalskiy this time 'round is Edinburgh trio Toy Machene.  They're no strangers to the blog, and with their strong SoundCloud presence (including their entire debut album) and dare-I-say advancing years (as someone who's only 2 years off it, 30 is the new 20 though!), I was confident we'd have a fighting chance against whoever Neil had picked.  Little did I know he'd picked the crème de la Croy, Campfires In Winter. 

Here's a quick recap of the rules for those who don't have a clue what's going on.  You can read them in full over here.  This round, it was Neil's turn to choose which of the three attributes we'd be dueling with.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point, with both getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers... get a big, fat ZERO!   In the end, Neil went for Years Since Formation, Twitter Follow Ratio and Band Name Scrabble Score.  As ever, all stats were correct at the time of battle, and were totted up before a last minute Twitter clean-up from those dedicated Toy Machene chaps.

Here's how they shaped up.  Ding ding, Round 7...

And the winner of Round 7, and fair play to them, is... Team Scottish Fiction.  It got off to a honking start for me given Toy Machene's new-kids-on-the-block status compared with Campfires In Winter's impressive 8 active years.  And to be honest, it just got worse from then on.  We were pipped on the Twitter Follow Ratio and Band Name Scrabble Score by pretty slim, but decisive all-the-same, margins.

So, by 3 points to 0, Team Kowalskiy go home with their tails between their legs, and Scottish Fiction have drawn the series yet again at 3 wins apiece... and one draw.

As is always the case, even more-so when I get beat, this isn't about me or Neil... it's all about the bands!  So I'll start off with my boys.   Like I said above, their debut album Welcome To Toyland is up on SoundCloud for your listening pleasure... and it is an absolute pleasure.  In fact, I challenge you to name a funner, or more fun, album released this year.  Their ode to Mr. Cruise in particular is top-notch!

And now, onto the victors.  To think Campfires In Winter were firm favourites of mine... well, they still are actually. Earlier this year they let slip a trio of demos from their long-awaited debut album. It's only been 8 years in the making!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 6

A fortnight ago, this epic battle between myself and Neil from Scottish Fiction yo-yoed back into my blogging nemesis' favour. With a little help from The State Broadcasters, he levelled the score at two wins apiece. My lads Cancel The Astronauts ran them close though. You can read the full account of that round over here.  The ball is back in my court this week, so Neil better be ready for the backlash...

To help return Team Kowalskiy to winning ways, I've traveled all the way to the Outer Hebrides to recruit Skye's finest... The Dead Man's Waltz, who as luck may have it, are actually older than I though.  Result!  That 'Z' is a Godsend too.   Doing battle with my folk-noir foursome, turned out to be hip-hoppers Stanley Odd. 

Before we do battle, as always, let's have a quick recap of the rules.  You can read them in full over here.  This round, it's me to choose which three attributes we'll be dueling with.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point, with both of us getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers... get hee-haw!  Rather predictably, I went for Band Name Scrabble Score hoping my chaps' impressive array of letters would out-do whoever Neil had chosen.  To complete the set, I plumped for the social media ones - SoundCloud Tracks and Twitter Follow Ratio.  We'll find out in a mo if those were wise choices or not, but first, here's the bandcards.  As ever, all stats were correct at the time of battle, except from Stanley Odd's average age... that was a complete guess, but in the end, it wasn't needed.

Ding ding, Round 6...

The winner of Round 6 is... Team Kowalskiy!  It got off to a great start with my choice of Band Name Scrabble Score.  Turned out I never needed that Z after all... or the W.  I suppose The Dead Man's Alt doesn't have the same ring to it.  So that was an early 1-0 lead to me.  A short-lived lead though when SoundCloud Tracks were compared.  With exactly twice the number of tracks, Stanley Odd drew the score back level, and with only the Twitter Follow Ratio to go, I was feeling a wee bit nervous.  It could've went either way.  I had no idea who Neil had up his sleeve, but in the end, by the slimmest of margins (a mere 0.18 for those without a calculator to hand), the boys did me proud and 2-1 it finished.

And with that, Team Kowalskiy takes a one point lead... again. 

My glorious victory aside, this is all about the bands, and first up are tonight's victors.  Aside from releasing one of my favourite singles of the year in Emmeline with a video which is a work of bloody art, The Dead Man's Waltz have released an album that oozes music of dark, Beirutty quality... which you can of course buy here.

As for Stanley Odd, well they're pretty great too.  As I mentioned at the weekend on my latest notcast, their new album Reject completely took this hiphopaphobe by surprise.  You can buy it over here on CD from the band or download it from Amazon MP3.  Careful now... it's "explicit".

With a fortnight to go until Neil tries to draw himself level in the series, I'm off to bask in my victory before sorting out my next band for Round 7.  Do your worst Neil!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 5

And I'm back!  Batteries fully recharged and ready to extend my slender lead over Scottish Fiction in Battle Of The Bands.  If you cast your mind back a month, you'll remember I crept into the lead in the series with a whitewash victory thanks in no small part to fellow Glaswegians, and fellow physicists (maybe... who knows!?) We Are The Physics.  Paisley singer-songwriter Michael Cassidy was the unfortunate man on the end of that trouncing!

Thanks to holiday season, Neil from Scottish Fiction has had twice as long as usual to compose himself and plot his revenge.  He's gonna have to dig deep into his Scottish music reserves though to beat the latest recruits of Team Kowalskiy... Cancel The Astronauts.  With pretty much everything they've ever released, including their brilliant debut album Animal Love Match, on SoundCloud, it's no surprise I'm secretly hoping Neil plumps for SoundCloud Tracks as one of his chosen attributes.  Standing in Team Kowalskiy's way are Neil's choice, The State Broadcasters.  Quick, mental calculations... this could be close!

Before we do battle, as always, let's have a quick recap of the rules.  You can read them in full over here.  This round, it's Neil to choose which three attributes we'll be slugging it out with.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point, with both of us getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers... well they don't deserve a single thing!  Neil's went for SoundCloud Tracks (yassssss!), Years Since Formation and Band Name Scrabble Score. 

Ding ding, Round 5...

...baws!  At least it wasn't a whitewash this time.  The result of Round 5, by the narrowest of margins, is a victory for... Team Scottish Fiction.   Having taken an early lead thanks to their superior SoundCloud Tracks, my Edinburgh chaps were pipped at the line by The State Broadcasters.  In the end it came down to TWO measly Scrabble Score points... though if you ask me, if they decide to omit the "The" from their official logo, then they have a bare-faced cheek to claim those 6 points...

...yeah, I'm a sore loser!

So once again, it's all square in the series.  Need to get my thinking cap on for who to rope in for Round 6!

I'll quickly gloss over my defeat and get on to plugging the two bands who ran each other close this round.  First up are my Edinburgh boys, Cancel The Astronauts. What with my prolonged holiday and a hectic return to work (excuses, excuses) I've not gotten around to saying how worth the wait their debut album is.  Not yet anyway!  It's out on Monday but you can pre-order Animal Love Match over here where you can also get your free download of Making Dynamite.  Here's my pick of the lovely bunch... Shapes.

Now on to tonight's victors.  The State Broadcasters also have a pretty impressive album, Ghosts We Must Carry, set for release on Monday.  Ahead of it's release via Olive Grove Records, you can also pre-order it here, and get your hands on their single Kittiwake from here... and below for that matter. 

So, it's neck-and-neck again in the series.  Neil's ass is mine in Round 6 though!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 4

So my one point lead in the greatest Scottish music battle of all time... Battle Of The Bands, was short lived.  A fortnight ago, Neil from Scottish Fiction, with a little help from Randolph's Leap, trounced Team Kowalskiy.  Credit to Stonehaven's Dolfinz though, they fought my corner well.  In case you missed it, here's a recap of that fateful bout!  So, going into Round 4, the scores are level once again.  Prepare for some swift vengeance Mr. Fiction...

For said vengeance, I sent out a call to arms to my physicist brethren and it was answered by fellow Glaswegians We Are The Physics.  They bring with them a wealth of experience which belies their age, and a cult following off the back of their 2008 debut ...Are OK At Music.  I'm quietly confident that these will see Team Kowalskiy regain the lead in the series.  On the opposing corner, Neil has recruited Paisley singer-songwriter Michael Cassidy.

Before we do battle, let's have a quick recap of the rules but you can read them in full over here.  This round, it's me to choose the three attributes we'll be musically jousting with.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point, with both of us getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers get what losers deserve... f**k all!  As I said before, I'll be relying on my foursome's experience and following, so I've chosen Years Since Formation and Twitter Follow Ratio.  The last attribute will be a first outing in the series for Band Name Scrabble Score.   Unless they're up against Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, it's in the bag!  As always, all stats below were correct at the time of battle.  So, without much further ado, ding ding, Round 4...

And the result of Round 4...  is an emphatic victory for... Team Kowalskiy!.  My fellow physicists (this may not be factually accurate) haven't let me down.  Their cult following and many years in the music-making business, along with that extra 'H' made all the difference.  Sterling effort from Neil and Mr. Cassidy, but they couldn't stop me taking a one point lead in the series.  With the next round four weeks ago (I'm taking a well earned holiday!), Scottish Fiction have got plenty of time to plan their revenge.  I've got an ace up my sleeve though...

But as always, it's not about me, and it's not about Neil.  It's about our two musical pugilists.  We'll start off with today's victors, We Are The Physics.  They've already released one of the best songs this year (back during Wimbledon now I come to think about it) in Goran Ivanisevic.  One of the best videos too!  You can buy that over here.  But that track's in danger of being topped by their latest offering, Applied Robotics which hit the shelves yesterday.  Their new album is shaping up to be something special.  All this, and they're pretty nifty at Scottish music Top Trumps too...

As for Michael Cassidy, well, the eagle-eyed amongst us will have noticed that this is the first time he's graced these pages.  It won't be the last either.  His eponymous EP, released last year is great!  You can stream is below and buy it over here.  It's 14 minutes which goes to prove I should pay closer attention to fellow bloggers more often...

So that's that. Round 5 will be on the 11^th of September. I'm off to bask in my one point lead in the series for a bit, then get back to preparing for next month's bout. Neil's sure to bring his A-game!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 3

In case you missed last week's bout, here's a quick, unbiased recap... Team Kowalskiy, helped out by The Pictish Trail absolutely trounced the boys from Brazil Exists in the Scottish Fiction corner!  And in doing so, took a one point lead going into this, the third round of Battle Of The Bands.  I'm well prepared though for the inevitable backlash...

I was quietly confident that Dolfinz (or DðlfinZ... or maybe even DOLFiNZ), my Stonehaven duo could hold their own against whoever Neil from Scottish Fiction had to offer.   Their 11 songs on SoundCloud and very impressive Twitter Follow Ratio gave me more than a fighting chance.  But, as it was his turn to choose the three attributes we'd be playing with, Neil would start as favourite.  It was by no means a foregone conclusion though.  Neil's hopes of a first victory rest with Glasgow sextet Randolph's Leap.  Here's hoping Neil doesn't pick Number of Members!

Before we do battle, let's have a quick recap of the rules.  You can read them in full over here though!  This round, Neil will choose three attributes.  For each of the three, the person with the highest value gets one point, with both of us getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers get hee-haw!  In the end, Scottish Fiction chose Number of Members (BASTARD!!!), SoundCloud Tracks, and Twitter Follow Ratio... in other words, there's an outside chance for ol' Team Kowalskiy.  As before, all stats below were correct at the time of battle.  All that's left for me to say is ding ding, Round 3...

And the result of Round 3... is a drubbing!  Scottish Fiction wins 3-0 on account of Randolph's Leap and their freakishly high stats.  I did consider a quick email to the Dolfinz lads to get them to start unfollowing folk and uploading new tracks, but figured that may not be in keeping with the Top Trumps spirit.  Besides, on any other day, their stats would have been more than enough to win the day.  So alas, Neil has leveled the battle at one win apiece having drawn Round 1.

Well played Sir... you're mine in a fortnight's time though!

But, as always, it's not about me or Neil (not much anyway!).  It's about these two fine bands.  So here's why I roped in the wonderful Dolfinz.  If you head over here, you can get your hands on their split 12" album from Song, by Toad Records.  Alongside four of their brilliant lo-fi, scuzzy tracks, including Kitsch Craft below, there's four tracks from PAWS, Sex Hands and Waiters.  It's a fantastic record.

Now onto those pesky, glory-stealing folksters from Randolph's Leap.  How can you be mad at them though!?  For starters, you can't not instantly love frontman Adam Ross.  Especially when he pens lyrics like this! 

They recently put out Introducing... Randolph's Leap which you can get from Fence Records with a special bonus EP.  Be quick though... the ones on their Bandcamp have already sold out.  You can also still grab a download of their The Curse Of The Haunted Headphones album from here.

I think that's all the plugs over.  So, the series is tied once again.  Just you wait 'til Round 4 though Mr. Fiction... just you wait!

Battle Of The Bands: Round 2

Time for Round 2 of Battle Of The Bands, the Scottish music duel to end them all!  A fortnight ago, myself and Neil from Scottish Fiction pitted our wits against each other in the opening bout.  Hair was pulled, tears were shed... by both parties, as it ended up a draw with Neil's Seams proving the Top Trumps equals of my very own French Wives.  That was then though...

Since that stalemate, Team Kowalskiy have been holed up on a deserted isle in training and on a healthy diet of raw Eiggs.  That's actually half true as I've roped in The Pictish Trail to fight my corner with me.   Neil's getting his 'hawners' from Stirling's Brazil Exists.  To think, they were once firm favourites around these parts.  Do you know what else exists?!  Your beds!  And now they've been made, you're gonna have to lie in them... now it's personal boys!

Before we do battle, here's a quick recap of the all-important rules.  You can read them in full over here though!  As Neil had first dibs on choosing the three attributes we'd be playing with last time, this round it's my turn.  I'm banking on Johnny's 'longevity' and gone for Years Since Formation, Twitter Follow Ratio and Average Age.  For each of the three, the person with the highest gets one point, with both getting a half-point in the event of a draw.  Losers... well they get zilch!  Here's how these two great Scottish musical pugilists shape up.  As before, all stats were correct at the time of battle.  All that's left is for me to say ding ding, Round 2...

And the result of Round 2... by a 3 points to zero whitewash is... Team Kowalskiy!  My one-man Lynch-mob had those Stirlingshire lads pinned up against a Fence all through the contest and gave each of those five a bunch of Fifes!  And more importantly, as a result, Scottish Fiction is now Trail-ing in the series by one!  Seems I Pict well this time 'round.  Johnny Lynch certainly brought his A(way) Game tonight... I'll stop now.

Has to be said though that this was my turn to pick, so the ball is back in Neil's court in a fortnight's time and I'll need to prepare for what is sure to be a big backlash.  Again though, it's not really about me or Neil... it's all about the music!  So, here's the real reason why we both chose the folk we chose.  First up, it's The Pictish Trail.  Now, it goes without saying, as he's one of the main men over at Fence Records, he can't do wrong in my eyes, or ears.  He'll be releasing The Summer Is Empty Of Idiots on the 6^th of August as part of Fence's new Buff Tracks 7" EP series.  My appetite's already been whetted by the single Michael Rocket and the brilliant video which goes along with it.

If you're lucky enough to be going to Away Game (jammy buggers!) up in Eigg this weekend, then Johnny will be one of the headliners.  Remember to pack your wellies!

On to Brazil Exists now.  I love these boys.  I think I've mentioned that a few times already this year.  So much so I'll forgive them for siding with the opposition!  Their Hermit EP was released a while back and is available from all good online downloadists... like iTunes and Amazon MP3.  Here's the pick of the bunch.

So that's it for this round.  Team Kowalskiy will take a narrow one point lead into Round 3 next fortnight.  Can Scottish Fiction level the scores, or will my next band further compound his misery?!  Find out on the 31^st of July.

Battle Of The Bands: Round 1

And so begins, not only the Battle Of The Bands, but quite possibly, the Battle Of The Century.  In years to come, people may even refer to it as 'The Square-Go in Glasgow'.  As we revealed a few weeks ago, Neil, from the fantastic Scottish Fiction blog, and I will be going head-to-head every fortnight... Top Trump stylee!  With a Scottish music twist of course.  The all-important rules of play are over here.  So without much further ado... ding ding, Round 1!

To kick off my ultimately-successful campaign, French Wives have joined Team Kowalskiy.  Over in the Scottish Fiction's corner, Neil roped in Dundee's Seams.  Neil also had first dibs on choosing the three attributes we'd be playing with this round.  He went for Number of Members, Twitter Follow Ratio and TOTAL.  To recap, it's highest wins, except for the TOTAL one, where the lowest triumphs.   The winner gets one point per winning attribute, with a half point each for a draw.  Here's how these two great bands shape up (Disclaimer: all stats correct at time of battle).

And the result of Round 1, on a points decision...  is a draw.  That's right, after all the trash talk and mental sparring, we both ended up with 1.5 points each.  French Wives done me proud with their superior Twitter Follow Ratio, but their point-heavy Scrabble score and age did nothing for my TOTAL.  And both bands couldn't be separated on Number of Members.  It would appear The Fiction's challenge hasn't come apart at the Seams just yet.

So, it's honours even between me and Neil after Round 1, but it's not really about me or Neil.  No, it's about the bands.  So, here's a plug or two from our two pop pugilists, starting with Team Kowalskiy's French Wives who recently released their long-awaited, much-anticipated, subsequently-amazing, debut album Dream Of The Inbetween.  Here's my favourite track from it. 

It is indeed, "a numbers thing".  Well, a number thing.   That number being one-and-a-half it would appear.  You can get your hands on the album over here.  Before you do that though, here's another belter from Seams.  It's my first time featuring these Dundonian young 'uns.  Definitely won't be the last!  Their debut Colours & Maps EP is out and can be bought from iTunes, Amazon MP3, or you can stream it here for the Spotifiers out there.  A few gigs coming up too, so check those out over here.

All that's left now is to thank Neil for a hard-fought first round.  I'm having you in Round 2 though mate.  Let battle continue on July 17^th. 

Battle Of The Bands

In the red corner, weighing in at 140lbs, the man, the mystery, the Nuclear Knockout... Kowalskiiiiiyyyy!  And in the blue corner, tipping the scales at... it was too rude to ask... his finger's always on the Pulse, the Barrhead Bruiser... Scottisshhh Fiiiiictonnn!

Hey folks!  Let this serve as your advance warning.  On Tuesday, the 3^rd of July, two of Scottish music's super-blogging-bantamweights, namely myself and Neil from Scottish Fiction, will be going head-to-head in the first heat of our new fortnightly feature Battle Of The Bands.  Exciting eh?

In a Scottish music twist to the cherished, childhood card game (one which was not only 'top' of the card game charts but well and truly 'trumped' all its competitors), Neil and I will each select a band or artist every two weeks and do battle using only their vital stats as cannon fodder.  Here's the all important rules of play:

• Each bandcard contains 6 attributes as shown opposite.  As an example, I've chosen myself.  As you can see, I'd make a shit band!
• Each fortnight, both Neil and I will pick a band or an artist who have been floating our respective boats recently and we'll fill out our bandcards.
• Each round, one of us then picks 3 attributes (dibs alternates each month).  Whoever has the highest attribute wins that mini-duel.
• For the TOTAL attribute, the winning condition is always the lowest.  See, there will have to be some sort of strategy and a lot more gambling involved in this than you thought!
• One point is awarded for each attribute won, and a half-point is awarded to both players in the result of a draw.
• The winner is the person who has the most points after each attribute has been compared and points have been toted up.
• The winner has irrevocable bragging rights until the next heat.
• No kicking, scratching and/or pulling of hair.
• And lastly, no crying when you get absolutely spanked Neil!

Battle commences the 3^rd of July. Bring it on Neil!