The Horrors & Telegram, 02 ABC Glasgow, Friday 26th September

Appearing at their first Glasgow date in two years tonight are The Horrors. Performing at the same venue they did in May 2012, they only have a different support band, a new album, and a slightly older crowd to distinguish between tonight and their previous gig here. Despite this apparent lack of development in the band's popularity over what is a long period of time in the music industry, I am excited nonetheless.

Firstly, I'm looking forward to seeing Telegram, the opening band for the entirety of the UK tour. I've only heard the songs they have online (which is actually at this point only a single, "Follow") and I've overheard a few comments from some younger members of the crowd. "He wears eyeliner!" says one girl, "AND he looks like Morrissey!". I'm also quite excited for The Horrors too. Their new album Luminous, was one of the best of the year, and I can't wait to hear how it translates live.

Of course, as all support band crowds are, the crowd for Telegram is, well, dull, and that sort of amplifies how underwhelming the band themselves are. I understand the attraction. It's undeniable that The Horrors attract a very specific type of NME reading teenage girl, and clearly they share a fan base with Telegram. I get it, I do. When I myself was 14 I would quite honestly listen to anyone who had a long haired guitarist with a fringe, and a skinny leg band policy. Although these bands would almost definitely disagree, this part of alternative music does place a lot of emphasis on aesthetic, and Telegram fit that aesthetic perfectly. Their music is ok. I listen to it and I nod my head. If it was on the radio, I wouldn't turn it off. But there's no getting away from the fact that this is just a lot of electric guitar strumming, pedals, and a constantly unchanging drum beat. I practically develop repetitive strain injury from tapping my foot as they offer absolutely no rhythmic change. Perhaps this is too harsh. The sound really wasn't excellent, in fact, I'm not sure the 02 ABC is the best for sound, the room is curved and often distinctive guitar riffs and bass lines because distorted or just lost altogether, but that isn't their fault. I have to try hard to pick out the song I already know, "Follow". I don't dislike their set, but I can take it or leave it, and I know this because when I get home I have no motivation to like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, or listen to them again.

The Horrors are (unsurprisingly) the stars of the show. Coming on stage after the sound system has played Atomic by Blondie proves a good choice. The crowd cheer loudly, but their feet stay planted firmly on the floor as they get into "Chasing Shadows", the first track on most recent album Luminous. I can't really understand why nobody is dancing or even moving because everybody is singing, everybody is smiling. I come to the conclusion that the kind of person who attends a gig like this maybe thinks they're a bit too cool to dance.

Despite the totally mind-numbingly frozen crowd, The Horrors are excellent. They are the kind of band that really, really care about music, they aren't there to put on a show, they aren't performers, they're the kind of focused, clever musicians that only want to create the most gorgeous soundscape they can. A rare trait for artists very much set into that category of what the NME thinks is worth listening to.

They are accompanied by the most stunning light show, not a stage gimmick to distract you from the music, but quite the opposite. The lights are so intense they actually plunge the band into darkness and they merely become silhouettes for the entirety of their set, hiding behind colours, smoke and lasers, perhaps trying to rid themselves of the labels placed upon them, as both their fans and the media have at times focused more on their look than the music they're producing. That music, by the way, is crisp clear. They play the majority Luminous and the odd track off Skying and Primary Colours. I forgive them for not playing my personal favourite, "Dive In", because everything they do play is perfect.

The synth. Oh god, the synth. Their infamous triangular synth gets put into use a few times during their set, and every time my heart skips a few beats because it's absolutely genius. How many modern bands have the sheer skill to design and then create their own innovative instruments? What they're doing is modern but it's reminiscent of 60s psychedelia and girl groups and 70s prog rock and 90s shoegaze and it's all these genres lumped together and it becomes this dream like sonic attack on your senses and it's incredible. And I even cry a little during "Change Your Mind". Yeah.

The crowd finally livens up during the final songs, and "I See You" is the highlight of their performance by far. With synth harkening back to 70s disco (I Feel Love by Donna Summer springs to mind) and 80s electronica (Cars by Gary Numan), the song is a pure pleasure. It's almost like waves of sound swirling around you. It's fantastic.

The general consensus is "wow". There are people leaving the venue who are quite honestly lost for words, unaware they could be this affected by music. I, for one, just keep repeating "amazing", as I feel like I've been on some strange 1960s acid trip for the last hour and a half. The Horrors may not have grown in size, but they have grown up, and that has proved to do them more good than any amount of fans ever could.

9/10

University information day held at Fife College

Fifeife College’s St Brycedale campus had its university information event today.

The event, which was organised by the college guidance team, featured a multitude of stalls from Scottish universities and student organisations. Held annually, the guidance team said the event “ensures students know as much as possible about where they can go when they leave us.”

Universities from across Scotland were on hand to offer students information on their futures. Stall holders gave out prospectuses and literature on their universities and explained to students the benefits their courses would give them. The widening participation officer for Stirling University said “It’s essential that students pick a university that suits them and their needs. I don’t try to convince anyone that Stirling is the best and only option. It has to be the student’s choice at the end of the day.”

There were many students at the event, but some seemed reluctant to leave the college at the end of the academic year. 60% of students asked said they were going to continue into the second year of their HND at Fife College, despite the other options available to them. “Although there’s obviously other places I could go next year, bigger cities with better student life, I’m set on staying here to get my HND,” said Kyle Johnson, a fitness student, “I love my class and the lecturers and equipment are top notch really. I’ve only been here two months and I really love it.”

Skills Development Scotland were also at the event, helping students already in the process of applying to university, as well as talking about careers and apprenticeships. The Open University had a stall too, providing help to those interested in further education but without the time or money to attend a physical university.

Overall, the event seemed successful, as students armed with brochures and free tote bags headed back to their lectures. “Events like these are really good because they help me know more about my future options,” said hair and beauty student Ashley George, “and I get loads of freebies”.

Tomorrow's Modern Boxes/Thom Yorke review

Forget The King of Limbs, ignore Atoms For Peace, and put aside critics comments calling Yorke’s choice to release Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes for free via a file sharing website a “gimmick”. Go into this album without your pre-conceptions and scepticism. This album is indicative of Thom’s transition into smarter, more mature electronic music.

Thom Yorke’s undeniable distinctive sound is still here and there are obvious similarities between this and his most recent work, but there is an air of something fresh and new between the bars. I won’t pretend this album is going to change the way the electronic genre is heard or claim this kind of music has never been made before. This is not the Kid A of the 2010s. It is however, important to recognise that Thom’s sound IS undoubtedly developing into something more beautiful than he has ever been able to achieve before.

Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes takes the things you like the most about Amok and The King of Limbs and Kid A, and puts them together into this gorgeous, distorted yet smooth little ball of computerised emotion. First track “Brain In A Bottle” provides an Actress-esque, synth led introduction to the record, complete with chillingly classic Yorke vocals, repeated layered airy “aah”s providing those hair standing up on the back of your neck moments. Within the first minute of the album I found myself smiling, captivated, and absolutely desperate for more of this.
The following track “Guess Again!” is equally stunning, featuring a lower than usual vocal from Yorke. The track is piano led and uses repetitive claps throughout, allowing the main focus to be on the powerful lyrics. Thom creates a disturbing, dream like image, crooning effortlessly over the melody. “While dogs are howling / Behind the curtains / I hold onto my children / The creatures staring in”.

The best track of the album for me, is “Truth Ray”. Slow, prolonged synth is accompanied by a slow electronic drum beat, reminiscent of Codex, though far more interesting, and a lot more heart breaking. It’s the kind of music that almost feels like it’s encouraging you to lie down in a dark room and stare at the ceiling, it wants you to focus on it and it alone. Towards the end Thom uses a typically Thom Yorke vocal effect and repeats short samples of nonsensical half words, engineering them to sound different each time. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes wouldn’t be complete without this kind of disjointed, uncomforting yet oddly lovely little Yorke-ism.

“Pink Section” is the track that proves Thom Yorke is capable of more than what people expect. Sounding as if it belongs in the Cristobal Tapia de Veer soundtrack to Channel 4 drama Utopia, this short piece is absolute ambient art. Every instrument and every vocal sample on this song has been altered in some way, creating this distorted, dystopian, moany sound. It’s almost like a cracked vinyl playing on a dysfunctional record player. It’s completely fascinating.
Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes is without a doubt the most impressive and most complex piece of music Yorke has put out in years. I have every bit of faith that whatever he and his various band mates release in the future will be as totally, genuinely lovely, as this album is.

4/5

Twin Peaks, Sega Megadrives, and 1950s Erotic Novels: An Interview With Passion Pusher

If you like alternative, mumbly noise pop, you need to listen to Passion Pusher, the lo-fi solo project from Edinburgh based James Gage. With a prolific bandcamp full of his bedroom recorded, drunken fuzzy melodies, and live sets featuring a changing set of talented Scottish musicians, Passion Pusher is captivating. Likening to early Wavves demos, U.S surf rock and Mac Demarco, he is a ray of sunshine on a relatively gloom filled Scottish scene - despite all the lyrics about being rejected by girls. I sat down with James to find out more about the past, present, and future, of Passion Pusher.

Luna: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me! First, let's talk about the origins of Passion Pusher. Where did the name come from?

James: It’s an erotic novel from the 50s about lesbians who steal high school students and fill them with heroin and cocaine and then fuck them repeatedly. I read that at about 11 years old and wanted that to be me. Making music was just to get girls, basically. Ugh, I’m such a lame-o.

Luna: Sounds like a book I need to read. Moving on from vintage drug smuggling lesbians, what, or who influences you when you're writing and making music?

James: Pavement mostly, I think every song’s a rip off of a Pavement song, or, I like to do the sneaky thing and go back to like Los Zafiros or The Flamingos and then steal lines from them, because nobody really listens to them anymore. Mostly Pavement to be honest, and Daniel Johnston’s a big thing. A lot of the stuff I’ve been writing lately has been about Nintendo 64s, and Sega Megadrives. I was listening to Alex G and that reminded me I’ve got all this old gaming shit, so I started digging through it, and basically writing about my friend’s accident last year, and then my ex girlfriend...uh, there’s a lot of bad blood there. Or maybe it’s just me, you know. I’m a terrible guy.

Luna: You're not! I noticed online that you're really into Twin Peaks, like, the header on your Bandcamp profile is the Twin Peaks logo, and your music is influenced by it too. What do you think is it that fascinates you enough to keep it as a running theme in your songs?

James:  It’s like the middle classes of it all, like there’s a really good quote from David Lynch where it’s like, when he was a kid he lived in this really nice suburban area, and then he remembers going out and digging out into the grass on his front lawn, and he found a whole ant hill and they were all feeding off each other, and that just kind of, really fits along with how I view the world, maybe.

Luna: I'm a fan of David Lynch too. So, tell us about your upcoming releases, Couch King and Gawd Bless America. 

James: Couch King was recorded with Billy, Kay [both from Herbert Powell] and Derek from Antique Pony. [Derek] plays saxophone on one song. It’s just like two notes he plays in it. Like, we went out for a fag and came back in and he was like “I managed to record some sweet sax for you”. I was like “Thanks man!” The Gawd Bless America tape came about through Kieran [of Herbert Powell] being like, you should definitely come to my house, and I was like yeah man, that sounds cool. Then suddenly all of Herbert Powell arrived. They just appeared. It was like me, Kieran, and Billy, then suddenly Kay arrived, and I was like, hey, we may as well just finish this entire thing off. We recorded like 3 songs and I ended up getting them to scrap them because I wrote better ones. I’m basically planning for the release show to be “Jim Passion and the Passionate Band”. And I’m gonna buy some American flag track pants to wear.

Luna: That definitely sounds like a good look. Speaking of shows, as a solo artist, what's your live set up like?

James:  I steal most of the band from alansmithie, like Andrew and Ru, and I steal Herbert Powell as well for other shows. They’re great for it. I’m like, hey man, you wanna play against some music for me? They’re just like, yeah, sure man! I got Kieran’s brother Gregor in to play bass for me at the Flat 0/1 show, that was something else. We tried to hand the bass off to someone at a recent Edinburgh gig, but nobody was having it. Not one fucking bit. We got a really terrible review of that show too. It was so terrible, we were so drunk. We were smashing up bottles and saying terrible things about other Edinburgh bands.

Luna: That doesn't sound like your best gig to date. Do you think you have had a "best gig"? Or maybe just one that sticks in your memory?

James: Favourite gig I’ve played, fuck. It depends if I’ve enjoyed it or the audience enjoyed it. There’s ones that I’ve really enjoyed but the audience has like, booed me and shit. I think for me, the Flat 0/1 show in July was amazing, that was such a good vibe, it’s a cool venue and great bands played and it was just a really great night.

Luna: Flat 0/1 is a really cool venue. Are there any other venues you particularly enjoy playing?

James: None in Edinburgh, they’re all terrible. Probably The 13^th Note? Or Flat 0/1. Just because they’re, like the closest thing you can get to a DIY venue here, where it’s kind of like, I just like playing in shit cheap basements really. It fits my music and I love it.

Luna: You've played shows with an array of Scottish artists, could you reccommend a few of your favourites? And not Herbert Powell. We've given them too much free press already.

James: But The Herbies are my guys! Sean Armstrong, The Yawns, Andrew R Burns, alansmithee, Pinact, as well, they’re absolutely amazing, they’re going to like, New York. They’re playing the CMJ festival, I was like, I want to be Pinact.

Luna: So aside from wishing you were Pinact, what are your plans for the rest of 2014?

James:  The vinyl, that’s going out at the end of the year, and I’m trying to book shows in Poland as well. The vinyl is being put out by Song By Toad, and it’s gonna be me, Sean Armstrong, Alan, Andrew R Burns and Now Wakes The Sea, with twenty minutes each. And we’re all shitting ourselves about it because we’re all fucking terrible. Song By Toad have picked the worst people to put on a record together. We’re all talented in our own right of like song writing and stuff, but when it comes to like, “sit down and record this song”, for us, we all freak out and drink too much, or like, it’s the same with me and Sean where with me and him it’s a really spontaneous thing, we record the bass line of a song and that’s it done, but Andrew’s kinda like obsessed with getting it perfect, he spent like 3 days recording a guitar bit for one of his songs, recording it over and over and over again.

Luna: Thanks so much James! I'm looking forwards to hearing the upcoming releases.

James: No problem! It's been great.

Keep up to date with Passion Pusher on twitter: @PassionPusher1

Find out more on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PassionPusher/timeline

Listen and buy on bandcamp: passionpusher.bandcamp.com

Kirkcaldy gets Greener

Greener Kirkcaldy, a community lead organisation specialising in lowering the town’s carbon footprint, has rebranded and is re-launching later this month.

The Greener Kirkcaldy initiative started in 2008, set up by members of Friends of the Earth Fife who wanted to do more practical work with the people of the region. A drop in centre was then opened in Kirkcaldy in 2011, but moved to the current smaller premises in 2012 due to cuts to funding. This year however, the organisation opened their own Fair Trade shop to raise profits and allow them to rebrand Greener Kirkcaldy, and make it more accessible to the public.

 

Although specialising in giving energy advice to those on a low income looking to lower their bills, Greener Kirkcaldy are about more than saving money. “We are just trying to give out clear and simple messages about energy, food, and transport,” said Russell, senior development worker for the organisation, “this is an opportunity to teach businesses and people about renewable energy.”

Alongside their drop in centre and volunteers available for home visits, the organisation has two ongoing gardening projects in the town. Located in Ravenscraig Walled Gardens in Dysart, and Dunniker Park, these are intended to teach the local people about the benefits of growing your own produce. “We have over 30 volunteers split between our projects. We even have our own team of bloggers.” Greener Kirkcaldy have also promoted renewable energy sources to homes across the town. Across their ongoing projects, they claim they have “definitely helped more than 1000 homes”.

As part of their new rebranding, the organisation is hoping to encourage even more green thinking in Kirkcaldy and Fife. Starting in 2015, they intend to promote the benefits of fuel efficient driving and electric vehicles. They have signed a two year lease for an electric vehicle and hope that this will inspire more affluent members and visitors to consider a greener car themselves.  They also have plans coming together to start a community food hub in the town. This would teach local people about food and growing, give cooking workshops in a training kitchen, provide a meeting space for the community and perhaps even feature a shop selling greener produce.

On Saturday  11^th October, the high street hub is officially re-launching, and members of the public are welcome to attend from 10am.

Learn more about Greener Kirkcaldy and get involved here:
http://www.greenerkirkcaldy.org.uk/