Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP #21

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Guess who found a free comic-making app on his laptop?!  So this month, as well as giving us all a beezer of a free track, five of the country's most talented bands have contributed to what may well be the last ever Kowalskiy comic strip.  I think it's rather dandy!  OK, so who do we have on this month's EP?  Well...

1.  Behold, the Old Bear - Solsbury Hill (Remember a while back, pre-demise of mitchell museum, Raindeer started releasing covers?  Well, here he is, post-rebirth, releasing another.)

"Solsbury Hill is probably one of my favorite songs. I remember loving it even before knowing who was responsible for it. From the back of my dads car in them good old days when I was still small enough to be carried to bed after falling asleep on a long car journey. I recorded this cover of it a while ago intending to be part of a thing we were doing on the Mitchell Museum website called " Raindeer's Covers Corner" . It was supposed to have a video to accompany it. We went as far as the filming process, which had me running up Garnet Hill just off Sauchiehall Street for roughly an hour and a half. It was very tiring work. In the end Kris, my then flatmate and MM band buddy wasn't able to get the edit to work, so it was scrapped. So in retaliation I broke his acoustic guitar. True story. At least now it will be heard." - Raindeer (Behold, the Old Bear)

2.  Blue Sky Archives - Cosplay The Hard Way (Been itching to get this lot involved for a while.  Here's a track from their current, and brilliant, EP.)

"The first release from Blue Sky Archives third (and latest) EP, 'Triple A-Side'; Cosplay The Hard Way explores the sexual politics of a failing relationship, within a lush tapestry of interweaving melodies. Soft guitars, rich piano and sinister strings subtly punctuate a gradual rhythmic build toward a powerful emotive crescendo. Cosplay The Hard Way, and the band's Triple A-Side EP is available for download from The Blue Sky Archives Band Camp page... http://blueskyarchives.bandcamp.com/" - Paul Mark McGrath (Blue Sky Archives)

3.  This Silent Forest - Lovers Come Home (Here's one of their upcoming EP tracks which came out of their A Song A Day (for 30 Days) challenge last year.  Can't wait for the EP to hear what else made the cut!)

"Enjoy our track "Lovers Come Home" which was part of our Song A Day Challenge last year and is meant to be about World War 1. We liked it so much we put that and three others on a EP, which is due to be released soon along with our new single Milk and another EP called "The Lighter Side". We will also be releasing videos soon for all tracks, eight in total. To coincide with these tracks we are on Tour (used very lightly) around Scotland with our headline show in The Captains Rest on the 24th March." - Graeme "Squirrel" Macdonald (This Silent Forest)

4.  The Sea Kings - The Nitrate In My Blood (acoustic) (Can't stop listening to their Some Dark Matters EP!  Here's an acoustic, folky take on one of the tracks.)

"I think each of us at one time or another were in some kind of alt-country band so it was always in our nature to revert back to something a bit more folky. The songs are all written on acoustic guitar and so tend to hark from that world to begin with anyway. We're always keen to figure out as many versions of the songs as possible and love playing acoustic gigs. For some reason they're less pressure. So here's an alternate version of The Nitrate In My Blood from our debut EP Some Dark Matters." - Brian Canning (The Sea Kings)

5.  The Spook School - That's When I Ran Away (demo) (Their two double A-sides so far have been fairly outstanding, so I'm chuffed to bits to have a brand-spanking new demo for your listening pleasure!)

"Here's another song we've recorded in Adam's bedroom. We'll get back into a studio at some point. Until then you've got this. It's about FEAR - hope it doesn't scare you!" - Naomi Todd (The Spook School)

A huge thank you to all five bands and one band manager (you know who you are big guy!) for contributing this month.  You can, as ever, get the EP over on my Bandcamp page where you'll also find the previous twenty if you're fancying a new music splurge this weekend.   Hope you enjoy it!

I'm looking to build up a wee stockpile of tracks for future EPs.  So if you've got something hidden away on an old hard drive which needs a good home, or an upcoming release you're wanting to plug, maybe you want to go and record a wee acoustic version especially for me (don't say "no" now, mull it over!), then send me an email (kowalskiy2@gmail.com) and we'll go from there.

...The Sea Kings!

Photo by Dylan Nardini

Names can often be misleading.  This is one of those times.  For Glasgow's The Sea Kings, are not in fact kings of the sea.  They're more fond of graveyards if truth be told.  We won't hold any of this against them though, especially given the fact they've just released Some Dark Matters, one of my favourite EPs to come out in yonks.  Now... with a name like theirs, you'd be forgiven for expecting to hear some kind of forlorn folk or at the very least, some accordion-led sea shanties.

But not this!  This came as quite a refreshing surprise.  What we have here, at times, reminds me a lot of Canadians (funnily enough!) Of Montreal, with their penchant for unusual stimuli, tongue-in-cheek delivery and squeeling guitar solos which tow the fine line between musical brilliance and the absurb!  It shouldn't work with their folky roots, let alone be pulled off with such aplomb as it is throughout this impressive debut.  Case in point is the fantastic EP opener Orphan, Martyr, Saint.

If you ask me for my highlight though, it'd have to be at the opposite end of the EP, final track Tooth And Nail.  Any song with the lyrics "your mother and I, we had another child.  He's buried in the yard... we held your brother down, until the cement filled his lungs" is bound to raise a few eyebrows.  Throw in a pounding drumbeat, those siren-like guitars shimmering away in the background, some raw, powerful harmonies and what you get is something quite special indeed... albeit slightly worrying!

Worry not though.  It turns out The Sea Kings play psychobilly - the portrayal of violence and other such taboo topics through comedic interpretation.  Who knew eh??  I guess the EP title is meant to be taken literally!  Anyway, here's what the guys had to say for themselves when I caught up with them...

Kowalskiy:  Who are The Sea Kings?

The Sea Kings:  Four fully grown male adults interested in bondage, discipline and other non-specific religious hobbies.

Kowalskiy:  So eh, what are you guys up to later on??  I mean... how would you describe 'your sound'?

The Sea Kings:  Like a fire in a monastery in Seville, southern Spain, circa 1506.

Kowalskiy:  PLUG AWAY!!

The Sea Kings:  Our EP "Some Dark Matters" will be revered by musicologists and historians in 100 years as being a pivotal and inspirational game changer. Don't miss out on an opportunity to gloat, grandstand and crow about your early adoption to the cause.  Some Dark Matters on sale now.  Download via iTunes or for a physical copy, go here.

Kowalskiy:  What can we expect from you in the future?

The Sea Kings:  An as yet untitled album that covers things like the rise and fall of the Nazi's, alfresco infanticide, your Uncle's penchant for dirty knickers and medieval torture facilities to name but a few.

As I said... psychobilly!  The Sea Kings' debut EP Some Dark Matters is out now via Iffy Folk Records and can be bought from them here, or you can download it from iTunes.