Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP #9

It's the 16^th of the month, so it's time for another five great tracks from five of Scotland's best up-and-coming bands.  Once again I'm pretty chuffed with the outcome.  So, I hope you enjoy Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP #9 too.  A huge thanks to the five acts that have each contributed a song.  Here's what they had to say...

1. Night Noise Team - Broken Kingdom (an exclusive track from their upcoming, debut album)

"'Broken Kingdom' is the final track on NNT's forthcoming 'Slow Release' album, out on 9th May. Cinematic and reflective, an ambiguous ending to a diverse collection of songs. Probably not a single!.." - Sean Ormsby (Night Noise Team)

2. Rose Parade - Grace (live track taken from their Kitchen Session)

"Grace was recorded and filmed in our Kitchen as part of a new side project we started called "The Kitchen Sessions".  It's a laid back acoustic version of the track featuring guest vocals by Jamie Mcgeechan aka Little Fire and the lead singer of Ayr based folk band Trusty and the Foe. After the success of the Rose Parade Kitchen Sessions we decided to invite more bands to play in our kicthen and film them. You can view the sessions here: thekitchensessions.tumblr.com" - Ari Pournaras (Rose Parade)

3. Chasing Owls - Lady Of The Whiteness (cracking song from their EP sessions)

"Lady of Whiteness came out of the sessions that Chasing Owls recorded with Dave Lynch at Bat Box Studios in the beautiful Sussex town of Lewes over the New Year of 2011. The track does well to capture the fresh and original space their music creates whilst at the same time keeping the pace high and frequently nodding its head in heavy acknowledgement of an older time and way of musical life. All of which is representative of Chasing Owls' first record, the EP 'We Began' which is out now and available from the band's website at http://www.chasingowls.com." - Chasing Owls

4. Two Zebras - Almost Crimes (a cracking, lo-fi cover of Broken Social Scene.  He even made some cover art!)

"This song is called ‘Almost Crimes’ and it was originally done by Broken Social Scene – one of my favourite bands. I spent a year in Toronto through 2010 – it was so fresh and I partied really hard and saw some great shows. I recorded this cover track in my studio space over two days in the middle of a really hot summer. It was done with the cheapest mics and some cool vintage gear. It’s probably the most lo-fi thing I’ve done and I really hope you like it" - Daniel McGuire (Two Zebras)

5. The Mouse That Ate The Cat - Wet Rope (a demo from the Oliver-Dykeenies-Stays hybrid)

"They're poorly mixed and not exactly mastered up to a world class rate. In fact, if listened to side by side, the volume and EQ undoubtedly fluctuate to a degree than none of us wish to think about, such is my lack of mixing ability and poor concentration span" - TMTATC (about their 4 demos.  I happen to think that's a nice, if unintentional, touch.)

The EP is now up for free download over on my bandcamp page, along with those that have gone before it.  Enjoy!

We're into double figure next month with EP #10 which, as usual, comes out on the 16^th.   If there's any bands out there who fancy making my life that wee bit easier and want to volunteer a track for one of these EPs, then send me a wee email.

Kowalskiy Belated Review #4

Amy Duncan - Potential-Space
As the cover art of her third album Potential-Space suggests, there are two sides to Edinburgh multi-instrumentalist Amy Duncan.  There's the beautiful, delicate, electonica side and then there's the slightly-more-traditional Celtic folky (but no less beautiful) side, both of which take turns forming the backdrop for her absolutely gorgeous voice.  The whole thing kicks off with Rare And Free, one of the gentle, enchanting folk songs.  Next up is Natural, a stunning track with only a simple piano melody and the faintest of guitars to accompany Amy's angelic vocals.  There's plenty of other tracks on this album that highlight her musical and vocal talent, helped in no small part by some great lyrics from songwriting partner David Paton.  Picks of the bunch for me though are the dreamy, electronica Always A Way and Untitled, another piano-led track, reminiscent of Patrick Wolf at his most achingly-beautiful.  Now to go listen to the first two albums...  

Night Noise Team - Menolick/You Won/Burning
The next band I've been neglecting is Edinburgh's multinational outfit Night Noise Team.  On the 8^th November, they followed up their two previous singles Menolick and You Won (both were also criminally overlooked by me, but are now available as free downloads) with the release of their third offering.  Burning grabs your attention from the off with its brooding riffed intro and ominous Middle Eastern melodica before its hooky chorus and fast-paced drumming take over, providing a great contrast to singer Sean Ormsby's slower, Byrnesque vocals.  Debut single, Menolick is a dark, dancey, post-rock affair, like something from Antics-era Interpol.  Then there's second single You Won.  This one's definitely more Jamiroquai than Joy Division, with its funky and soulful bassline and perfectly-placed disco handclaps.  I guess the mirrorball on the cover should've given the game away.  Still, its another great single.  This team are certainly making all the right noises!  With these three cracking tracks under their belts, only time will tell whether they're just another great singles band.  I for one can't wait for the album to find out! 

The Cinnamons - 5 Songs EP
I've been meaning to say a few words about Castlemilk's D.I.Y. indie synthsters The Cinnamons for a while now, ever since I heard their brilliant track Welcome To The Business on the Define Pop radio show.  It was released for free over the course of the summer with four other tracks which are now being re-released as the 5 Songs EP on the 29^th.  So, regardless of whether this is belated or not, it's about time it got a wee mention.  If you've missed the boat already with the free downloads, then you'd best be prepared to get your wallet out, because this is a wee belter!  Sometimes has a great Pulp-y disco-pop feel with fast, fluid vocals.  You'll be hard pushed to top Soul For Sale and Where We're Going as the EP highlights though.  Both of the rousing, singalong choruses are firmly lodged in my head.  5 Songs is exceptionally good.  So good in fact that we can forgive the slight 'Courteenersiness' of the vocals...