50 Friday, February 26, 2016 1SM MUSIC ONES TO WATCH By … · years. I still love to listen to the...
1
50 ............... Friday, February 26, 2016 1SM politics scattered in there too and that’s evi- dent in opener Water Bored. Second track, the anthemic Alive, has all the makings of a fan favourite with a superbly catchy line whilst Run Away starts to pull at the heartstrings a little. One song in particular, Hardly Go Through, demonstrates just how confident a songwriter he has become. With heartache pouring from it, Mason’s vocal turns angelic (almost Dave Gil- mour/Pink Floyd standards) with a beautiful repetitive lyric. It’s a track straight out of his Beta Band cauldron, which will never be a bad thing. Following that Through My Window starts with “Is there anybody out there?” which also has a Floyd nod . Jaunty first single Planet Sizes HERE’S a statement to start this off — we already have a serious contender for album of the year. Steve Mason is back with Meet The Humans, his third album under his own name, and it’s a wee masterpiece. With a body of work behind him (The Beta Band, King Biscuit Time, Black Affair and other solo work) that would make even the most renowned musicians jealous, the man from Fife seems to have taken a little bit of all his albums/ experiences to date and carved out a very per- sonal record, with some of the loveliest melodies you’re likely to hear in 2016. Each song seems to have its own identity musically from the others — which for most would probably be considered extremely poor form but Mason has used this to create very neat individual noise-scapes, and when put through headphones they’re staggering. It’s no secret that the architect here can have a barrel-load of melancholy in his style of song- writing but this record comes across as posi- tive, nearly uplifting to an extent, and feels like a new chapter in his story. As usual there’s the is again one from the Beta pot and already get- ting the attention it deserves on radio. The pow- erful Like Water bursts into life with strings and pianos which shows another fantastic shift in tone and starts to bring the LP to an end. Last up comes Words In My Head, probably the most experimental, venturing into ‘trip hop’ territory. But as a closer it’ll give him a chance to really get a crowd going if he chooses to play this in an encore and gives it the full bhuna. But just as you think there’s a bouncy end to it all, it cuts quite abruptly to just him, his acoustic guitar and probably a spotlight to tell himself “Please don’t ever listen to the things that I say”. It’s a real heartfelt end to an album he’ll surely be proud of. This is a phenomenal record, and I can see it having a real emotional impact on audiences when he starts touring it. Very well played, sir. A stunning piece of work. HHHHH MIKE McKENZIE l Meet The Humans is out today with a Scottish tour date at the Edinburgh Liquid Rooms on April 26. Go to stevemasontheartist.com MUSIC ONES TO WATCH sftw By CHRIS SWEENEY F LOWERS ARE IN BLOOM FLOWERS have torn up the blueprint that made them stars. The trio’s debut album set the indie pop scene alight. It turned them into one of the trendiest bands in the game. But they COULDN’T stand it. Singer Rachel Kenedy said: “It came out sounding very differ- ent to how we imag- ined. To be honest, we weren’t happy with it. “We liked the songs and we’d played them live for a long time. “But it was the wrong time to record an album. “We’d never been to a studio before. “It was an alien proc- ess to us. “We felt rushed. It came out sounding a lot cleaner than we ever had before.” It really irked the guys as they started the band with a goal in mind. Guitar player Sam Ayres adver- tised for a vocalist who sounded like Madonna through a broken tape recorder. Rachel, 26, said: “It’s what he wanted us to sound like. “I don’t think I’ve ever lived up to that description though. “I guess it was a way to describe pop music, but not polished music. “We like it to be rough around the edges.” And they’ve pulled that off this time around. Their second album Everybody’s Dying To Meet You, above, has just come out. Rachel explained: “This time we were a lot more settled. “And we felt more confident in the studio. “The producer took a long time getting to know us, coming to our practice sessions. “So he brought that out, rather than making us sound different. “It was a lot easier this time. Anyone who enjoys seeing us live, the second album isn’t far from that. “So we’re sure they’ll like it. “But for anyone who’s only heard the first album, maybe they won’t. “If you’ve seen us live, you should like it.” ‘Close-knit community’ And more punters can put that to the test as the group are out on a UK tour right now. They hit Broadcast in Glasgow on Sunday night. And it’s one of the venues they selected on purpose. Rachel added: “We’ve been lucky. The indie pop scene has lovely fans, it’s a nice close-knit community. “We have creative control and we’re in a good position. “We’d much rather play a smaller venue to a smaller crowd that like our kind of music, than a huge place that didn’t make any sense. “Some promoters put on bands from different scenes who won’t like each other at all. “We don’t like doing that. We want everyone to have a good time.” l To get the album and for tour info, then go to: facebook. com/ flowers domusic NEW MUSIC RYAN LAWRIE WHERE: Glasgow. FOR FANS OF: The 1975, Justin Bieber, Zayn Malik. JIM SAYS: Just a year ago I’d have loathed talking about any emerging act in the same breath as Justin Bieber. But now I can’t deny that the Canadian kid is making some of the best pop music around at the moment. It might be lazy to compare 19-year-old Scots singer Ryan Lawrie to Bieber, but his single If Only possesses a similar cool pop vibe. It’s catchy as anything, with a slick sound and a video to match. Ryan told me: “I think any young guy my age who sings pop music is going to be com- pared to Justin Bieber. He is one of the biggest names in the world right now. I don’t mind the comparisons, but I would rather people see me as my own artist, making my own music. Who knows, people might be com- pared to me one day.” Ryan’s already had a brush with the charts. His self-penned song You’re Free peaked at No39 on iTunes in 2012, raising over £1,000 for Yorkhill Child- ren’s Charity. At 17 he joined the boyband Exposure. He said: “Being in Exposure was a great experi- ence. I’ll treasure the memories that came with it. Being able to tour the UK with my three best friends was any young boy’s dream, and helped form the real me. I came to the decision to leave the band and to search for myself even more. “My music has developed drastically over the past few years. I still love to listen to the charts and what’s current but as I’ve grown older I’ve been listen- ing to a lot of different music from The Rolling Stones to David Bowie, The 1975 to Chic. Still got to love a bit of the Biebs though.” If Only is lifted from Ryan’s forthcoming debut EP, set for release in the summer. He said: “I think I’m going to release another single in the next few months and then follow that with the EP. This is the first proper record that I will be releasing and I’m so excited to see the reaction from everyone.” He’s already built up a consid- erable following on social media, but Ryan knows he still has a lot of hard work ahead. He joked: “Wembley can wait! If you work your way up it’s a good way of keeping a level head and staying grounded. “Right now, my goal is to get more music out this year, grow my fanbase even more and hopefully sell out a headline show.” If Only from Ryan Lawrie is out now. He supports November Lights at King Tut’s in Glasgow on May 8. More: facebook.com/ OfficialRyanLawrie l Jim presents a weekly show- case of New Music on Amazing Radio Sundays 2-4pm. www.amazingradio.com www.jimgellatly.com WATCH VIDEO OF RYAN AT: thescottishsun.co.uk Mason delivers a stunning masterpiece ONE 2 SEE ONE 2 HEAR ACTOR Laurence Fox isn’t mucking about with his switch to music. He’s best known for TV series Lewis but also appeared in Madonna’s movie W.E. But his new venture is off to a flier. His debut album Holding Pattern is out — and get- ting positive vibes. The cherry on the cake is his cracking live band. He’s got Jay Starkey — Ringo Starr’s son — on drums and the superb Jay Mehler, who was Kasabian’s guitarist for years. Catch them at King Tut’s in Glas- gow on May 18. Tickets at: alt-tickets.co.uk NOT many bands have got the spirit of Welsh rock ’n rollers Catfish and the Bottlemen. They’ve had a manic ride since smashing into the big time, winning a Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act on Wednesday night. But they’re not sitting back counting the cash. They’ve got fresh music ready to go, leading off with new single Soundcheck. It proves they were no debut album flash-in-the-pans. Superb tune. Listen to it now at: cat- fishandthebottle- men.com ALBUM REVIEW STEVE MASON Meet The Humans By Jim Gellatly BACK ROUGHER & TOUGHER
Transcript of 50 Friday, February 26, 2016 1SM MUSIC ONES TO WATCH By … · years. I still love to listen to the...
50 ............... Friday, February 26, 2016 1SM
politics scattered inthere too and that’s evi-dent in opener Water Bored. Second track, theanthemic Alive, has all the makings of a fanfavourite with a superbly catchy line whilst RunAway starts to pull at the heartstrings a little.
One song in particular, Hardly Go Through,demonstrates just how confident a songwriterhe has become. With heartache pouring from it,Mason’s vocal turns angelic (almost Dave Gil-mour/Pink Floyd standards) with a beautifulrepetitive lyric. It’s a track straight out of his BetaBand cauldron, which will never be a bad thing.
Following that Through My Window startswith “Is there anybody out there?” which alsohas a Floyd nod . Jaunty first single Planet Sizes
HERE’S a statement to start this off — wealready have a serious contender for album ofthe year. Steve Mason is back with Meet TheHumans, his third album under his own name,and it’s a wee masterpiece.
With a body of work behind him (The BetaBand, King Biscuit Time, Black Affair and othersolo work) that would make even the mostrenowned musicians jealous, the man from Fifeseems to have taken a little bit of all his albums/experiences to date and carved out a very per-sonal record, with some of the loveliestmelodies you’re likely to hear in 2016.
Each song seems to have its own identitymusically from the others — which for mostwould probably be considered extremely poorform but Mason has used this to create veryneat individual noise-scapes, and when putthrough headphones they’re staggering.
It’s no secret that the architect here can havea barrel-load of melancholy in his style of song-writing but this record comes across as posi-tive, nearly uplifting to an extent, and feels like anew chapter in his story. As usual there’s the
is again one from the Beta pot and already get-ting the attention it deserves on radio. The pow-erful Like Water bursts into life with strings andpianos which shows another fantastic shift intone and starts to bring the LP to an end.
Last up comes Words In My Head, probablythe most experimental, venturing into ‘trip hop’territory. But as a closer it’ll give him a chance toreally get a crowd going if he chooses to playthis in an encore and gives it the full bhuna.
But just as you think there’s a bouncy end to itall, it cuts quite abruptly to just him, his acousticguitar and probably a spotlight to tell himself“Please don’t ever listen to the things that I say”.
It’s a real heartfelt end to an album he’ll surelybe proud of. This is a phenomenal record, and Ican see it having a real emotional impact onaudiences when he starts touring it. Very wellplayed, sir. A stunning piece of work.
HHHHHMIKEMcKENZIE
lMeet The Humans is out today with a Scottishtour date at the Edinburgh Liquid Rooms onApril 26. Go to stevemasontheartist.com
MUSIC ONESTOWATCHss f t w ByCHRIS SWEENEY
FLOWERSAREINBLOOM
FLOWERS have tornup the blueprint thatmade them stars.
The trio’s debut album set theindie pop scene alight.
It turned them into one of thetrendiest bands in the game. Butthey COULDN’T stand it.
Singer Rachel Kenedysaid: “It came outsounding very differ-ent to how we imag-ined. To be honest,we weren’t happywith it.
“We liked the songsand we’d played themlive for a long time.
“But it was thewrong time to recordan album.
“We’d never been toa studio before.
“It was an alien proc-ess to us.
“We felt rushed. It came outsounding a lot cleaner than we everhad before.”
It really irked the guys as theystarted the band with a goal inmind.
Guitar player Sam Ayres adver-tised for a vocalist who soundedlike Madonna through a brokentape recorder.
Rachel, 26, said: “It’s what hewanted us to sound like.
“I don’t think I’ve ever lived up tothat description though.
“I guess it was a way to describe
pop music, but notpolished music.
“We like it to be rough aroundthe edges.”
And they’ve pulled that off thistime around. Their second albumEverybody’s Dying To Meet You,above, has just come out.
Rachel explained: “This time wewere a lot more settled.
“And we felt more confident inthe studio.
“The producer took a long timegetting to know us, coming to ourpractice sessions.
“So he brought that out, ratherthan making us sound different.
“It was a lot easier this time.
Anyone who enjoys seeing us live,the second album isn’t far fromthat.
“So we’re sure they’ll like it.“But for anyone who’s only heard
the first album, maybe they won’t.“If you’ve seen us live, you should
like it.”
‘Close-knit community’And more punters can put that to
the test as the group are out on aUK tour right now.
They hit Broadcast in Glasgow onSunday night.
And it’s one of the venues theyselected on purpose.
Rachel added: “We’ve been lucky.
The indie pop scene has lovely fans,it’s a nice close-knit community.
“We have creative control andwe’re in a good position.
“We’d much rather play a smallervenue to a smaller crowd that likeour kind of music, than a hugeplace that didn’t make any sense.
“Some promoters put on bandsfrom different scenes who won’t likeeach other at all.
“We don’t like doing that. Wewant everyone to have a good time.”l To get the album and fortour info, then go to:facebook. com/flowersdomusic
NEWMUSIC
RYAN LAWRIEWHERE:Glasgow.FOR FANS OF: The 1975, JustinBieber, Zayn Malik.JIM SAYS: Just a year ago I’dhave loathed talking about anyemerging act in the same breathas Justin Bieber.
But now I can’t deny that theCanadian kid is making some ofthe best pop music around atthe moment.
It might be lazy to compare19-year-old Scots singer RyanLawrie to Bieber, but his single IfOnly possesses a similar coolpop vibe. It’s catchy as anything,with a slick sound and a video tomatch.
Ryan told me: “I think anyyoung guy my age who singspop music is going to be com-pared to Justin Bieber. He is oneof the biggest names in theworld right now. I don’t mind thecomparisons, but I would ratherpeople see me as my own artist,making my own music. Whoknows, people might be com-pared to me one day.”
Ryan’s already had a brushwith the charts. His self-pennedsong You’re Free peaked atNo39 on iTunes in 2012, raisingover £1,000 for Yorkhill Child-ren’s Charity.
At 17 he joined the boybandExposure. He said: “Being inExposure was a great experi-ence. I’ll treasure the memoriesthat came with it. Being able totour the UK with my three bestfriends was any young boy’s
dream, and helped form the realme. I came to the decision toleave the band and to search formyself even more.
“My music has developeddrastically over the past fewyears. I still love to listen to thecharts and what’s current but asI’ve grown older I’ve been listen-ing to a lot of different musicfrom The Rolling Stones toDavid Bowie, The 1975 to Chic.Still got to love a bit of the Biebsthough.”
If Only is lifted from Ryan’sforthcoming debut EP, set forrelease in the summer.
He said: “I think I’m going torelease another single in thenext few months and then followthat with the EP. This is the firstproper record that I will bereleasing and I’m so excited tosee the reaction from everyone.”
He’s already built up a consid-erable following on socialmedia, but Ryan knows he stillhas a lot of hard work ahead.
He joked: “Wembley can wait!If you work your way up it’s agood way of keeping a levelhead and staying grounded.
“Right now, my goal is to getmore music out this year, growmy fanbase even more andhopefully sell out a headlineshow.”
If Only from Ryan Lawrie is outnow. He supports NovemberLights at King Tut’s in Glasgowon May 8.More: facebook.com/OfficialRyanLawriel Jim presents a weekly show-case of New Music on AmazingRadio Sundays 2-4pm.www.amazingradio.comwww.jimgellatly.com
WATCH VIDEOOF RYAN AT:
thescottishsun.co.uk
Masondeliversa stunningmasterpiece
ONE2SEE
ONE2HEAR
ACTOR Laurence Fox isn’tmucking about with hisswitch to music. He’s bestknown for TV series Lewis butalso appeared in Madonna’smovie W.E. But his new ventureis off to a flier. His debut albumHolding Pattern is out — and get-ting positive vibes.The cherry on the cake is hiscracking live band. He’s got JayStarkey — Ringo Starr’s son —on drums and the superb JayMehler, who was Kasabian’sguitarist for years. Catchthem at King Tut’s in Glas-gow on May 18. Tickets at:alt-tickets.co.uk
NOT many bands have gotthe spirit of Welsh rock ’nrollers Catfish and theBottlemen.They’ve had a manic ride
since smashing into the big time,winning a Brit Award for BritishBreakthrough Act on Wednesdaynight. But they’re not sitting backcounting the cash.They’ve got fresh music readyto go, leading off with new singleSoundcheck.It proves they were no debutalbum flash-in-the-pans.Superb tune.Listen to it now at: cat-fishandthebottle-men.com
ALBUMREVIEWSTEVE MASONMeet The Humans
By Jim Gellatly
BACKROUGHER&TOUGHER
