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. 

Coastal Skid Spy Wok v14.0

And I'm back! First of all, thanks to Boab from Campfires In Winter for taking over notcast duties last weekend. I hope you've all downloaded their new album demos over here. Geez they're a beardy bunch aren't they?!   Just four ill-fitting suits and broad-brimmed felt hats away from being sued by the Amish Andy Warhol Society for copyright infringement.  There goes my Ohio readers... oh wait... no computers.  Anyway, when it comes, the Campfires In Winter album is gonna be amazing.

Right, on to this weekend's tracks.  First up, a blatant plug for the latest free Kowalskiy EP which came out last Saturday.  Six great tracks from six brilliant bands, including the übertalented M A D I S O N who even went to the trouble of recording an alternative version of their single Armbands especially for it.  You can get said EP#24 here for FREE.  And here's the original version of Armbands to kick us off.

   Armbands by M A D I S O N

That is fairly amazing!  As is this.  It only dawned on me on Friday that I hadn't listened to, let alone bought, the French Wives album yet.  Suppose it has only been 2 months since it came out...

   Younger by French Wives

I've since at least had a listen and it's even better than I thought it would be.  And I did think it would be one of the best of the year.  So I guess, logically, that must mean that it is.  If you liked the sound of Younger, then you can hear the rest over here where you can also buy the album Dream Of The Inbetween.  Less of this inane babble now.  Let's move onto one of the best song names on SoundCloud courtesy of Edinburgh's DanDanDan, great song too.

   The Sexual Freedom of Cats by DanDanDan

Kowalskiy Fact #65:  The third most read interview on Kowalskiy is the one what I done with Futuristic Retro Champions.  Well, they're no more.  Carla and Sita though have swapped roles and formed Teen Canteen.  'Tis early days, but they're sounding every bit as good as FRC! You can read all about them over here on Everything Flows.

   How We Met (Cherry Pie) by Teen Canteen

It's about now that I receive an email from Stars with their latest single.  I love Stars.  I'm hoping this new single is a grower.  It's no Take Me To The Riot is all I'll say.  This is though, on account of it actually being Take Me To The Riot.

   Take Me To The Riot (Bedroom Demo) by Stars

Last up, time to "get in the Buff"... The Pictish Trail's words, not mine.  Read all about the upcoming trio of Fence Records 7" EPs over here, first of which is by Mr. Trail himself.  Given that Fence don't seem to release anything short of brilliant, you'll be in for a treat.  Besides, if you subscribe, you get to pocket this great Meursault remix.  That's all for this week.

   Of Course You Exist (Meursault remix) by The Pictish Trail

Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP #19

The eagle-eyed among you will no doubt have noticed I've not posted my tips for 2012 yet.  Well, I'm gonna level with you.  More and more lately, I'm finding less and less time to blog.  So this year, I figured I may as well kill two birds with the one stone and combine those tips with this years first EP. I thought long and hard about which five bands to pester for a track, and ended up going for the five bands responsible for my favourite singles of 2011.   Thankfully they all said yes!  One of them even allowed me to give away said favourite single for gratis in this month's EP!

So here they are, my five tips for all-round-musical greatness (in the order they appear on the EP)...

1.  My Tiny Robots - Other People Matter (Anyone who has heard last years' epic single Rock Bossa Nova Fourbeat Black will understand why these guys have been tipped.)

"This track is taken from the 'Rock Bossa Nova' EP that we released last year and recorded with the good people of Tape studios Edinburgh. The session's for the EP took place in a little cottage near Aviemore and some how ended up with six grown squeezed into a four man Hot Tub, I'll leave the rest to your imagination!!! Once enough time had past after this incident we went back up north and recorded the three tracks we are currently releasing as a series of singles, which can be purchased through our band camp or on iTunes, Spotify etc." - Gareth Anderson (My Tiny Robots)

2.  The Machine Room - Broken Love Game (demo) (First caught my attention with their single Girly and I'll happily go on record as saying these are one of the most exciting bands in the country at the moment!)

"I tired to meld some sugary shoegazy guitar sounds with a more disco rhythm, telling a tale of a broken love game." - John Bryden (The Machine Room)

3.  PET - Anchor (Now a three-piece, Singles Club favourites PET blew me away with their single Middle Child Syndrome.  There's just nothing else quite like it around these parts!  Here's a great demo Björk cover.)

"Bjork is quite a woman. This PET cover of 'The Anchor Song' from her debut 'Debut', came out of a love of her playful, simple repeating melody. Stripped of all of the free time joining horns bits it seems to leave more of a Song - duly we called our demo Anchor." - PET

4.  Wolves Of Winter - The Art Of Temptation (My favourite single of 2011 was in fact, this very song.  New single The Thaw is out soon.   If it's even half as good as this, then I can't wait!)

I'm sure we'll hear from Wolves Of Winter in due time.  Until then though, let's just let their music do the talking for them...

5.  French Wives - Blue Boy (Orange Juice cover) (Last but by no means least, are this fantastic Glasgow bunch.  Numbers burnt itself firmly into my brain last year, as did this.  With any luck, 2012 will be their year.)

"Blue Boy is one of only 3 covers we've ever done as a band, the other 2 being Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses and You Give A Little Love from Bugsy Malone, so it's easily the most credible! We first worked on it to play live for "one night only" as part of a single launch at the Glasgow School of Art in order to pay homage somewhat to the musical legacy of its alumni. However, we quite liked the version in the end, and when asked to do a cover version for Vic Galloway's BBC Scotland show it was an easy choice." - Scott Macpherson (French Wives)

Here's hoping we hear a lot more from these five bands in 2012.  Each have singles, EPs and/or albums already in the pipeline, so there's plenty to look forward to!   Anyway, I hope you enjoy this months EP... and the 18 others over on my bandcamp page.  That's your lot 'til February 16^th.  If you fancy appearing on a future EP, fire me over a wee email (kowalskiy2@gmail.com) and we'll go from there.

The Blog Sound of 2012

By now, you may have seen the BBC Sound of 2012 longlist which is described by the head of BBC Music as "a project now established as the definitive annual list of exciting new artists to watch out for".  What a load of complete and utter pish!  For the most part, it's represents a victory for the PR machine over actual, unsigned talent, which the country has in abundance, and serves only to further hype bands and musical genres tailor-made for, what I'd like to call, the 'Tulisa Generation' (I dislike her!).  Now, as a Scottish music blogger who tries to do his bit for unsigned bands up and down the country, I'm obviously a wee bit peeved at the lack of bands which fit that bill.  But am I surprised?

Am I buggery!  Let's look at their past form.  The Bravery triumphing over The Dears (did they listen to the rest of their debut album or base their decision purely on the one song that was around at the time??), Mika pipping the likes of Cold War Kids (seriously now...), and Ellie Goulding and Jessie J beating, well... anyone really!  And I've not even gotten to the shortlisting of Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong yet!  Is it anything other than latching on to the most (over)hyped and in most cases, trendy, artists and putting them on the fast-track to success (not so much with The Bravery, but then again, it would've taken a damn site more than that to make them household names)?  So the latest list comes as no surprise at all.

So with this in mind, a while back, some of the crème de la crème of UK bloggers got together to nominate some of our own picks for musical stardom in 2012.  The idea (devised by Andy from The VPME and a few others) behind The Blog Sound of 2012 is in part, an experiment to see how a list from music bloggers all over the UK would compare to that devised by the BBC's own team.  And I'm sure, in part, dismay at some of their previous choices.

It's maybe best to mention here that these expressed views are mine alone and not necessarily those of the other participants or The Blog Sound of 2012 as a whole... please invite me back next year!  

Anyway, here's our longlist, which I'm glad to say contains a few of my five nominations.  Can you tell which ones!?

Houdini Dax

Lianne Le Havas

Theme Park

French Wives

The Good Natured

Alt-J

The Jezabels

Lucy Rose

Bastille
Washington

Friends
(excuse the fact there's no link for that one, but come off it!  You'd be as well calling the band 'Pamela Anderson Sex Tape' given the chances of finding it on a Google search!)

Meursault

Daughter

Beth Jeans Houghton

Outfit

So that's that then.  Great to see French Wives and Meursault in there.  Only two bands have made both longlists.  I know which list I'm more likely to throw my weight behind.  Saying that though, I know which one I'd put my house on too... and they're not necessarily the same ones!  I'll let you draw your own conclusions...

K&A with French Wives

Glasgow's French Wives are a band who have been featured on here a few, fleeting times.  Finally though, as they've been busy recording their debut album, I got the chance to ask them a few questions.  Here you go!

Kowalskiy:  Who are French Wives and how'd you all get together?

French Wives:  We're a 5 piece indie pop band from Glasgow who got together in the most boring of ways, i.e. responding to adverts and friends of friends. I wish that story could be more interesting, but unfortunately it can't.

Kowalskiy:  How would you describe 'your sound'?

FW:  Definitely not folk music. Aside from that we tend to aim to write intelligent pop music. Whether we do or not is up to the listeners, if there are any!

Kowalskiy:  I'm sure there are many!  Especially now that new single 'Numbers' has just been released.  How does it compare to your previous singles?

FW:  I think it's a big improvement both in terms of songwriting and arrangement and production. We've been lucky enough to work with the producer Tony Doogan and he's really brought us along. He's like our Mary Poppins, although if he knew I said that he wouldn't be happy!

Kowalskiy:  I'll keep that between us then...  Anyway, if the track is anything to go by, your debut album should be great.  Fancy whetting our appetites further and tell us what else can we expect it?

FW:  Lots of new songs basically! We really wanted to write an album where the songs would connect thematically and in terms of sound, so we pretty much spent the whole of this year writing new songs to go on the record. After our last release I think we basically thought that we could do a lot better than the stuff we were playing at that point, so we hired a studio in the south side and basically knuckled down writing and demoing for months. Hopefully it will pay off! We've only retained two songs that were our singles but Mary Poppins, eh I mean Tony, has helped us shape them in a new direction, and I think they'll be a lot more hard hitting and direct.

Kowalskiy:  Apologies this interview will come after the single release night! How'd it go, and are there any other gigs lined up?

FW:  Apologies for filling out this interview long after the tour, haha! The single launch was good, and then we did a few gigs after that in various places around Britain. We had a fun time and all the gigs went pretty well, so no complaints. We're mainly finishing work on the album this month, however we're playing three gigs this month, all of which should be good fun. This Saturday (12th) we're at the Greenside Hotel in Leslie, the following Sunday (20th) we're playing at the Kinross-shire Music Festival, and then we're taking part in the final night of the Sleazy's 20th birthday celebrations with FOUND and Over the Wall, so it should be a belter.

Kowalskiy:  What would be your ideal gig?

FW:  Can't think of a venue at the moment, but Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac in a small venue (let's say the Captain's) would have been amazing. Wouldn't really care about anything else if I got to see them then.

Kowalskiy:  Oh yeah, what's with the band name??

FW:  Again, it's a boring story. We got our name, like so many others do from someone suggesting it out of a conversation and us not thinking of anything better before our first gig, where it just stuck. However, there is a porn film from the 70s called French Wives which none of us have seen, but not through lack of trying.

Kowalskiy:  I was a big fan of your Home Fires series of releases and videos. Any plans to re-record/revamp any of these tracks for the album or are those resigned to the musical history bin (if such a thing existed)?

FW:  The reason we gave most of those tracks away was because they kind of were already resigned to the musical history bin. We'd been going as a band for quite a wee while and realised that most of the people who were our out and out "fans" rather than just our pals probably wouldn't have heard most of the songs as we'd stopped playing them live/never released them long before they even knew who we were. So instead of them just sitting on a hard drive we thought that whilst we don't really consider them to be our finest works or have any long term ambitions for them, some people might still be interested in hearing them, so we stuck them up online and people could download them at their leisure. I think it worked out quite well in the end. The videos were definitely fun, apart from the Housemartins cover, which took 23 takes and until 3 in the morning and still wasn't right. We'll be doing something similar in the lead up to the release of the album, I think.

Kowalskiy:  I look forward to it!  Aside from the album, is there anything exciting gonna be happening with French Wives in the future?

FW:  It's all album related really. We've worked really hard getting the songs ready, and there were loads of administrative problems, so we want to really focus on getting all the plans for the release right, just to kind of make sure that people can hear it!

Kowalskiy:  Lastly, with the time fast approaching, it seems fitting to end the interview by asking what you'll be dressing up as for Halloween??

FW:  I've done this interview so late, I'm so sorry! However, I didn't think I was going out for Halloween until the last minute. Thankfully, I'm very well prepared and turned to the spot under my bed reserved for my emergency back-up costume, which has never let me down. It's an "Army Officer's" uniform my gran made and it's crackin'. I saluted everything in sight that evening!

New single Numbers is out now, over here, for you to download.  Hopefully it won't be too long until we can get our hands on the album!  Until then, remember you can get your hands on the Home Fires series for nowt and you can still catch French Wives live a few times before the end of the year:

Upcoming Gigs

12^th Nov - The Greenside Hotel, Leslie

20^th Nov - Kinross-Shire Music Festival

30^th Nov - Nice'N'Sleazy, Glasgow

Kowalskiy Singles Club #9

Hey folks, I've got a brand new bevvy of beauties for you.  All ready to whisper sweet nothings into your ears!  If any of them sound like they're up your street, then click on the artwork, have a wee listen and get downloading.  Who knows, one of them might strike a chord with you...

Middle Child Syndrome by PET

"Middle child Hilton heiress seeks last born ‘Golf Sale’ sign holder to spawn progeny and re-adjust the imbalances of world" - Matthew (PET)

Sounds like a very worthy cause!  And a brilliant song to boot!  Middle Child Syndrome is the second release from one of Edinburgh's brightest new bands, PET.  All three tracks are very good indeed!  Oh, and it's out today!

Change by Mummy Short Arms

"Lonely Mum with arm disability seeks a nice man or woman to listen to her stories. Must like shaving Mummy’s legs." - Stuart Brown (Mummy Short Arms)

How tragic does that sound?!?  The song though, is anything but.  It's a great song, and one of a surge of beauties from newbie Glasgow label Flowers In The Dustbin... whose name sounds ever-so-slightly romantically-tragic too.  

The Art of Temptation by Wolves Of Winter

"Devilishly handsome, charming, gentlemanly types seek patient listeners with an interest in melancholy, movies, pianos and reverbs. Must also have a keen interest in sitting, xbox, sleeping, football, more sitting, eating, wine, sleeping." - Scotty (Wolves Of Winter)

This one's a revelation!  They've just popped up out of the blue with a track that is fast-becoming one of my favourite tracks of the year.   Keep an eye on this mob!  The track was recorded at Elba Studios and it's out NOW!

(I Am So Bored Of) Acoustic Guitars by Otherpeople

"Video Director seeks emotionless band, willing to sit and stare at a square of black sticky tape on the wall opposite for 4 minutes straight while being doused in various substances.  Reverse thinking a bonus, catchy indie music preferable, hatred of acoustic guitars vital." - Ben Cowie

You may know Ben from the brilliant video-blog Detour. So you know he's a dab hand at making videos... just like the one he done below for this track from Otherpeople's EP!  Feast your eyes below...

Numbers by French Wives

"Lonely 1 seeks another 1 to make 2 for general enjoyment and constant reassurance. 3 favourite things are arithmetic, thermometers and The Count from Sesame St.  You will be required to count to me like him late at night. It helps me sleep." - Scott Macpherson (French Wives)

A nice wee number this one is too!  It's the first track from their upcoming, and much, much, MUCH anticipated, debut album.  Stay tuned later this week for a wee interview with the band.   

Guild Of Defiants by My Tiny Robots

"Lonely and looking for love, four tired-looking males of differing size and shape seek friendship or more with anyone willing to listen to their inane ramblings and temper tantrums. Must love Chris Rea, own at least three fifths of the Kajagooggoo back catalogue, have an interest in amateur robotics and enjoy casual wood thievery of a weekend. An enjoyment of a certain brand of arty odd-pop would be good, but is in no way necessary." - Gareth Anderson (My Tiny Robots)

Kajagoogoo??  Get off my blog!!  This is the new single from odd-poppers My Tiny Robots.  It's out a week today from their Bandcamp site and follows hot on the heels from their free giveaway of the OUTSTANDING Rock Bossa Nova Fourbeat Black.   Until next week, you can hear the new single streaming on Soundcloud by clicking the artwork.

Crater (Mogwai remix) by Laki Mera

"Variable sound waves would love to meet primed ear canal for ritual union. Must be willing to vibrate violently to the sound of one hand clapping." - Laki Mera

Last but by no means least, here's a track from Glasgows Laki Mera's album The Proximity Effect, remixed by the mighty Mogwai.

Foxgang Presents: Festival Special

The wonderful Foxgang would like to invite you to their fantastic Festival Special this Tuesday at Bristo Hall (above The Forest Cafe) in Edinburgh for a great night of music, dancing and shenanigans! They've assembled a cracking line-up, with five of their favourite Scottish bands joining them on stage. The stellar cast for what is shaping up to be a pretty special night, is White Heath, French Wives, Sebastian Dangerfield, Fiction Faction (formerly Casino Brag), Washington Irving and, of course, your hosts, Foxgang.

It takes place on Tuesday 24th August from 9pm until 3am. "It's a festival-sized Rock N' Roll Dance Party and it's all FREE!". Facebook users can read more about it here.

Speaking of free things, to mark the occasion, Foxgang, Kowalskiy (but mainly Foxgang) and the other bands on the bill, have teamed up to bring you Kowalskiy's Foxgang Presents: Festival Special EP. Six cracking tracks, one from each of the bands, and like I said, it's 100% free! You can download it from here. Hope you enjoy!

Tracklisting

1. White Heath - Election Day
2. French Wives - Deaf
3. Sebastian Dangerfield - Morris
4. Fiction Faction - Stop/Go
5. Washington Irving - Parts (demo)

6. Foxgang - We Can Be Twins (live)

French Wives - Me vs. Me

On Monday, Glasgow's French Wives bring out their second single "Me vs. Me" following on from their acclaimed debut "Halloween". The band have already won the hearts of some other bloggers out there with Jim Aye Tunes even confessing to singing their stuff aloud on the train! I've yet to feature the band on this blog... so what's my verdict?

Well, straight from the start "Me vs. Me" sucks you in with its rousing 'Frightened Rabbit meets The Xcerts' intro before settling down into some delightfully catchy, jangly and twee (such a good word) pop with a chorus to sing-a-long to your hearts content. B-side "Hyndland Weather Bear" pays tribute to the wee teddy in the window above Peckhams on Hyndland Road which dresses each day according to the weather outside. It's a much more mellow, lilting little number and is quite simply gorgeous! You're not too late to hop on their bandwagon. I just did!

The single can be ordered here!

For anyone looking for some entertainment tonight, French Wives will be be launching the single with a gig at The Glasgow School of Art with support from Endor (my Scottish A-Z's "E") and Blue Sky. The band reflect on tonight's gig, 50 years on, in this promo video below!

Upcoming Gigs
14th May - The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow (funnily enough)
17th May - In-store acoustic at LOVEmusic (formerly Avalanche Records), Glasgow (5pm)
23rd May - The Lock Tavern, London
12th June - Rockness, Inverness
19th June - Insider Festival, Aviemore
22nd June - West End Festival @ Brel, Glasgow
16th July - The Tunnels, Aberdeen

And if you fancy hearing more from French Wives, Peenko has yesterdays Vic Galloway session up for download over here.