Drag Your Heels

Delicious vocal comes bounding out of the speakers emblazoned in a wrap of guitar. You remember ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President with Marilyn Monroe’? Well this is where I sit, spellbound - memorized and intoxicated. Iterations of all that was good about alternative in the ’80s is leaping around the room, with a prowling cheetah to wrap up any stragglers.

Bouncing tempo that can not but fail to engage, with the smoky warm vocal that penetrates the ears are the hallmarks of Drag Your Heels. Disregarding the retrospective reminiscences, there is a sound that smears like a pillar-box red lipstick across the face, brash – confident and sultry. This is music to share with close friends.

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Thomas Truax

Thomas Truax has been not only an experimental artist, but also a creator of his own instruments to get the sound he wants for more than five minutes and I pondered whether this should be an ‘essential’ or regular entry.

Warming baritone spills out over the music which supports the lyrical story, as Thomas develops a sound structure which takes on a three dimensional image. Despite the mellowness flowing from the speakers, my head is full of popping pinks and purples as the music wanders the mysterious path that becomes ever more engaging as tracks emerge.

It isn’t necessary to loose musical construction, to experiment as Thomas Truax well evidences. He has the ability to draw the listener towards strong visualisation as the music reverberates around the room. The ears are primed with material which is crafted by a musician who has taken the time to develop sonic instruments which echo the very heart and soul of the material.

I tip my hat to Thomas Truax.

A little invention – called the Steampunk Kinetic Sculpture.

….or for something on stage:

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Toodar

I am writing this article on a late Sunday morning and the music suits perfectly. There is an unhurried measure to the music as Toodar take the time to develop the storyline behind a veil of a gentle waterfall of music. No, I can’t say this sits as natural territory to me, but that becomes irrelevant as the band’s enticing melodies are full of interest.

Even as numbers speed up to the dance floor, they maintain that relaxed style, which is their hallmark. Well rounded compositions gently weave their way in to the room encapsulating the audience in a soft grip.

While perfectly suited to a Sunday, Toodar equally, have a sound which will resonate with a late night buzzing crowd, as it contains the key ingredients of good-time music.

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Alphabet Backwards

Indie Pop has the danger of being bland, mind-numbing nothingness, but then I didn’t need to say that, Alphabet Backwards add an intriguing electro twist and hey we are on to something here.

Infectious joy bounces out of the speakers like a newly engaged couple. They do not over complicate, however add sufficient depth to keep the ears actively tuned in to the sounds. The electro breaks in like a  fix of caffeine, sweeping the band up and driving them forward again on an ever more up-beat direction.  It is difficult to not get wrapped up in the feel-good factor.

The sound has tones of euro- electronica made shiny by a poppy remix which is a clever piece of reconstruction. More recently the band have added some darker textures to the mood, which plays out superbly, as it they still sit on the sunny-side of the street.

Already making a mark in the world of music, Alphabet Backwards look set to make an even larger splash.

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I hope they don’t get ensnared in the commercial opportunities that will undoubtedly come their way and retain that naivety which makes the out-put such a pleasure.

The White Russian EP is available on *

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Illegal Notes

You know when a band starts a song with a 1 2 1234 this is down to earth and gritty and Illegal Notes don’t disappoint.

There is a punchy earthiness to the band, that I just needed to get back to this afternoon, I could have found it by digging out an old Sham 69 vinyl, but so much better that there is a current band who are trying to explore that same root of existence.

As an old punk rocker I love how songs called Little Jimmy Boy appear as a title, oh The Undertones beckon, yet, I still don’t want to head in to that pile, as Illegal Notes take the ears on a swirling ride, wow, the Kinks have appeared now.

You will have got the drift, Illegal Notes, are a mash of influences who manage to carve their own space and are already sitting on my play-list, if only there were more than six songs to take a listen… patience never was one of my very few virtues.

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Sometimes you just want to take a band by the scruff of the neck and say, ‘make more music NOW’.

Thanks Charlie, just what I needed this afternoon as I have been missing Julie so much today, music really does make the world a far better space.

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Chapter 24

Oh the irony of Chapter 24, the name of a restaurant in Farnborough (Kent) I frequented far too often, where many strings of my life exploded back in the late ’90s, but that’s another story…..

Like many interesting bands, there are bits you love and sometimes you wonder why did they do that. It comes down to the tipping balance and Chapter 24 firmly sit on the side of, ignore the odd miss and you will find the vast majority of the material is first class. There is a name for this genre, but not one to which I subscribe, because I don’t think it does justice to what is highly emotionally charged music, rather than Society confrontational. So let’s try this – indie-angst.

The construct of rock music is pushed to the edge and reigned back before stepping off to the experimental sphere, as there is a recognizable structure and format, this is more akin to the home territory of The Fall. 

So what can you expect? Apart from the unexpected – a vocal that one moment drives the music forward, the next reminiscent of a sulky teenager. Guitar swings in to action before disappearing to a sphere of its own upon which the stroppy drum comes crashing in to demonstrate a point, then the bass pipes up and we are back on track. The whole effect reminds me of a major family argument, before all quietly sitting down to a cream tea.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoy the music, I am not so sure of the integrity, but I say that as a complete cynic. For now Chapter 24 are filling a wonderful space and serving up lashings of indie-angst in which the ears can revel and deserve credit for stepping up to the forefront.

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The Future Shape of Sound

Somedays the ears just want to hear a good time and the feet want to tap along to a decent tune and that is precisely what The Future Shape of Sound deliver in spades.

With the helping of talent in the collective, it would be easy for egos to bruise and bump, instead of which the whole delivery is at the ideal pitch, nothing too stretching for the listener to grab hold of, but sufficient oomph to get them involved.

Vocals as delicious as the froth on a latte macchiato, are integral to raising the band to the forefront, as not only does the wash of music keep the audience engaged, but the scintillating vocal creates a velvety layer to the whole output.

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I’m looking forward to their next release, due later this year.

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Fair Ohs

Sounds of parties come splashing out of the speakers as Fair Ohs add a pinch of Urban lyric to some bright and airy music. The sound resonates with a sense of a good time as the band stylistically add some decent twists to the tracks. Their edgier roots are given room to appear over the parapet as the trio paint images of sunshine – the darkening clouds of the first part of this decade threaten to ruin the parade, yet throughout it, the listener can not help but see a good-time at the end of it all.

Superb drumming drives its way through the out-put accompanied by a versatility of vocal as the two voices are given room to switch and inter-twine. The heavy bass lines hit a chord, where I can immediately feel at home and the guitar is given prominence with sufficient dexterity enable the whole ensemble to keep a sense of the whole piece.

I am not sure how they hit upon this direction, but the world of music benefits by the switch.

FAIR OHS // EVERYTHING IS DANCING from dave ma on Vimeo.

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Evol

There is something about Glasgow as you head in from the East and South that just tells you that this is a City full of genuine soulful (as in exposing their soul) musicians, but they tend to be hidden away in the cityscape. Occasionally they escape to the hinterlands and it is always a pleasure. Evol fulfill every expectation and more.

They take the listener on a switch back-ride between melodic angst through to full throttle speaker breaking anger handling the moods with sympathy and generating the need to hear more, like the red eye’d demon in Possilpark.

Latest tracks by Evol Glasgow

Vocally, I am reminded of Siouxsie’s primal voice piercing out over a consternation of instrumental power. The strength of Evol lies in their ability to inject their energy intravenously in to the ears of the audience. This is a band I must see live.

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Their second EP Close, available on * is a great introduction to Evol.

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Avatars

Electronica + Guitar + thumping beats = happy listener. The Avatars have the uncanny ability opf creating sounds which are playable in clubs, festivals, at home and through earphones, not bad going for a duo.

The creamy layers of electronics are subtly fused with reverbed guitar and whisked together with solid bass tonality all topped off with a floating mist of vocal. If Heston Blumenthal were a musician, I could imagine him turning his hand to this type of intricate creativity. An absolute pleasure to the ears with layers of sensation, creating an ever more complex and effective sound to the ears. Incredibly sophisticated in creation, yet absolutely relevant in delivery.

I type this review in a dark room, only lit by the computer screen with a wash of pleasure ringing through my ears. The music has those hallmarks of something special, hitting resonances with moments in time, yet unpretentious and delivered with sheer professionalism.Far more importantly  Avatars have carefully picked the way through overt construction, to musical creations which are  almost living and breathing entities in their own right.

This has the spark of something of real value to the world of contemporary music and it will be interesting to watch Avatars develop.

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