Ex-Darkness boys bring ye olde rock and roll to Glasgow.

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Not an easy band to sell to prospective new listeners, are Stone Gods. Such are the fickle vagaries of fashion and taste that the phrase 'featuring ex-members of The Darkness' is probably far more likely to elicit laughter than excite interest these days. The band themselves seem to be aware of this, and have continually stressed the fundamental differences between their old outfit and this one. For one, no Justin Hawkins, and with him goes the inimitable screech and camp sensibilities that first gained that band attention yet probably most doomed them to novelty status. In his place is a much-heavier musical direction captained by Richie Edwards (not that one, obviously), the bassist who replaced Frankie Poullain (he of the infamous handlebar and pirate gear look) for the latter half of the band's career, now firmly embedded in the guitar-slingin' frontman role and taking to it with a quite remarkable level of enthusiasm and ability, exhorting the crowd to go mental and...

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Queensryche, internationally renowned prog metal band from Seattle perform concept albums Operation: Mindcrime I and II at the Carling Academy Glasgow on Friday 13th June 2008.

Rock, Dublin, SiAn Records, Jaded Sun. Gypsy Trip

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This is an amazing album. From the first note to the last chord I loved the whole thing (with minor lulls around Crazyman and Higher—so minor they're hardly worth mentioning). The dirty rock sound, the not-entirely-unreminiscent-of-Rod-Stewart vocals, the crashing loudness, the lyrical stretch from sweet to silly to downright dirty, have all added up to make Gypsy Trip a staple on my mp3 player since it dropped through my letterbox. Jaded Sun are a Dublin based five-piece formed in 2003. They released an EP Raw in 2004, the title track of which broke all download records in Ireland. In 2005 they were asked to pen the theme to the remake of 80’s cult snowboarding film Apocalypse Snow (I’m not gonna pretend I’ve ever heard of this film before much less seen it). In 2007 they went into the studio with a view to making a rock album that felt “fresh and exciting”. I’ll nod my head to that; they did a bloody good job. Bits of it reminded me of AC/DC, bits of it reminded me of...

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For anyone not familiar with her work, Stockholm-born Lykke Li is probably best classified as a pop singer, although only in the same way that Kate Bush or Prince are best classified as pop singers. Her debut album, 'Youth Novels', produced mainly by Bjorn from Peter, Bjorn and John, is a damn fine listen, somehow positively rammed with catchy hooks while still sounding strange and mysterious. Live, she's a little less ethereal and more just straight-up funky, with a percussion-heavy, brutally minimal sound that often forgoes bass altogether a la prime period Prince. It would be ridiculously sexy even if she wasn't a 22 year old Swedish lass. Interestingly, she's a much braver and ballsier singer live than on record, equally at home with dark folk-tinged epics and quirky dance-pop numbers. In particular, first single 'Little Bit', already a favourite of mine on record, proves emotionally devastating in the live arena. Great moves too, made even more adorable by her...

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Isobel Campbell used to play in Belle and Sebastian, but don’t hold that against her. Despite having released a few acclaimed EPs under the Gentle Waves banner and signed a five-album deal with V2 records, her initial solo recordings failed to make much of an impression on the public at large. This changed when she hooked up with Mark Lanegan, grunge survivor, ex-Screaming Tree, on again off again heroin addict and latterly rock journeyman, for the wonderful ‘Ballad of the Broken Seas’, which turned her and her career from ‘nearly forgotten’ to ‘Mercury Music Prize nominated’. Lanegan, now deep into his hired gun phase after collaborations with Queens of the Stone Age, Soulsavers and Twilight Singers/Gutter Twins (it can only be matter of time before he ends up in Primal Scream, like everyone else), takes the lion’s share of the vocals, the Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra vibe of their first record largely abandoned in favour of an ‘I’ll write them, you scowl mournfully and croon...

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No Remote - never heard of them? There's a reason for that. What a waste of time. Musically bland with a singer who can't decide between hero worshipping the Muse vocalist or the shortarse from Placebo. Honestly, sometimes I genuinely can't imagine what record companies are thinking. These guys must have got a fair amount of cash to write and record an album and have managed to produce something less pleasurable than listening to kittens being tortured. I know I'm in trouble for taking ages to review this album (sorry Woolies!) but after listening to it the first time it was an absolute chore to put it on again. I genuinely can't think of a good thing to say about Shadow Boxing other than the CD will double as a nice coaster next time I have a cup of tea. Or a frisbee if I happen to be feeling slightly more energetic. The problem is I can't even work up some decent vitriol towards the album or the band. It doesn't even stand out as an example of such atrocious quality...

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Ministry are archetypal legends of industrial rock, Al Jougensen, responsible for not only Ministry but other genre defining moments of genius such as Revolting Cocks and 1000 Homo DJs, fronts the band in black frock coat, top hat & shades while swinging back and forth on his goat's skull crucifix mic stand - occasionally leaning over the chain link fence that separates the band from the crowd on this tour. Joining him front of stage are moody guitar god cliche Sin Quirin (who also played in RevCo) and Prong's very own Tommy Victor - strutting and running about in a kilt for the night - and "new boy" Tony Campos from Static X taking over bass duties after Paul Raven's untimely death last year. This is Ministry's final tour and the set features songs from each of Ministry's albums rather than concentrating on the hits, the second encore features cover versions ending the night rather disappointingly on Wonderful World. The general feeling being that a "Greatest...

That tricky beast - British Americana.

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I had a feeling I would dig this two-track single from London's Hey Negrita, based upon nothing more than them being named after a Rolling Stones song. Marvelously, this childish assumption proved to be spot on. To be honest, I'm surprised this is the first we've crossed paths, as based on this single they're so up my alley they're practically giving me an enema. 'Rope' is a familiar-sounding slice of country-fried rock and roll. The superbly named Felix Bechtolsheimer, an Englishman who transplanted himself to the Deep South in search of a better way and songwriting inspiration, has a vocal style resembling late-period Joe Strummer (a true compliment) while the band conjure up a spirited gallop that reminds one of Wilco and proves a perfect compliment to the dark and detailed lyrics. The b-side, a remix of 'Rope' by the mighty Alabama 3, is perhaps even better. Outfitting the lonesome harmonica riff with oh-so-90's beats and a deep and dirty dub bassline, it's a fantastic...

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The first track starts promisingly enough…then almost instantly takes a detour into pub rock territory. The singers voice is…well, lets just say, to call him a singer is a charitable act. I’m not entirely sure if he means it or if its all some kind of obscure parody. Second tracks almost exactly the same – as I write this I’m not sure if I’ll be able to listen to the whole album. Really this album sounds like its been produced by a band that wants to be anarchic and dangerous but at the same time doesn’t want to offend their mums. There are hints throughout that there’s something manic, untamed and perhaps (dare I say it) interesting behind them but it’s chained to bland convention. As Mr Miyagi once said “Walk on road, hm? Walk left side, safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later” William need to decide which side of the road they’re walking on Its not bad, apart from the vocals, it’s by no means unrelentingly terrible but there’s not really much...

Interview with Heitham Al-Sayed about music, record labels and Victorian hip hop.

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Interview with Heitham Al-Sayed about music, record labels and Victorian hip hop.