---

Album opener Lea Room has been playing for about thirty seconds and has already drawn me right in. It’s a nice little fuzzy indie guitar romp which probably manages to fit in nearly every indie rock convention going and still sound reasonably fresh. Some of the new tracks do make me wonder if they could be handed the label British Tokyo Police Club (if Tokyo Police Club ever become big enough to have regional variants that is) and others leave me fondly reminiscent of Urusei Yatsura. Cranes and Cranes and Cranes and Cranes is pure Yatsura-inspired brilliance catchy and anarchic and probably the highlight of the album. From here the album really takes off with manic The End and Everything After where the dual vocals fight for supremacy to delightfully schizophrenic effect before morphing into some kind of indie-pop monster intent on subjugating your ears. The only real criticism I have, if you can call it that, is that the album puts previous releases to shame. Which is no...

---

First there was Vegas, then Miami, then New York… now Ambleside… Well not quite, a sleepy little town at the head of Windermere is unlikely to be featuring in a GTA franchise near you anytime soon… CSI: Ambleside however is the title of an album that heralds the return, like cherubim and seraphim, of indie legends Half man half biscuit. Anyone who responded to the joyous news that Half Man Half Biscuits eleventh album is finally with us with apathy, or worse an ignorant “who?, please feel free to follow the example of bad losers on yahoo chess and sign yourselves off from the human race. Actually apathy might be a fair reaction given the albums been out since the end of April but I just got mine today ok? Christ, if I’d have known you were reading I’d have slit my wrists…

Bristol trio return with a slightly new sound.

---

Portishead release third album, Third. How does it stand up to their earlier releases?

---

I'm not certain what I witnessed tonight, unparalleled pretentious bullshit is probably the most succinct description. But let's put that to one side for a minute and aim for a less emotive recap of the gig if we can. The Displacements are four rather smartly dressed young boys from Leicester and totally inoffensive & forgettable tonight. The empty room and Glasgow's often surprising apathy for bands touted as "Ones To Watch" leave them fighting a losing battle during much of their stage time. It ends up as a fine, by-the-numbers jaunt through 2008 indie trends but the scene kids just aren't there to listen so it all feels like wasted effort from the band. And talking of wasted time, we come to Late Of The Pier's set. Now don't get me wrong, I was unbiased when I turned up, I liked & grew to enjoy their single The Bears Are Coming, the follow up & most recent release Bathroom Gurgle I'd tentatively filed under "nae to bad". I ignored the reports of...

---

There's not many bands that I'd unabashedly yell YEE-HAW at during a gig and The Bosshoss had me doing so several times over the space of their incredible hour and a half show. I'm not alone, the crowd here tonight love it and the Barfly has more enthusiasm & fun in the air than from a month's worth of better known or more indie-cool scene bands. All seven members of the band are obviously loving it as well, having a high old time of it as they play the part of good ole boy Country & Western stars performing rocking cover versions of everything from Britney, Outkast, Dionne Warwick and Gun. As the night rolls on the band each get their own solo jams on everything from electric guitar, double bass, banjo, shakers, bar stool drumming and spoon & washboard. Each one of them is clearly enjoying their set and the atmosphere this manages to create ensures there's a near constant stream of drinks proffered by the grateful & adoring crowd. Don't worry though, they pass round...

---

Zombina And The Skeletones is just the sort of band name to conjure up a cheesy faux-fifties horror movie psychobilly gig and the last time I saw them play at the Glasgow Barfly they shared the stage with the fake blood & gut's of Karloff and the aptly named Groovie Ghoulies. Could Zombina hold their own as headliners on a non-themed bill? Openers for the night, Crossfire sounded good right up until they started shouting. Punk vocals have never had a reputation for subtle beauty but some semblance of singing is still required rather than getting the words out as loud as you can. It's a pretty tight performance though but I'm left a little disappointed, it's what I would hope from my punk bands when they're in the studio, on stage I want more attitude, more fuck you, more drunken inability to play instruments and to feel that the bassist is gonna kick my head in if I write a bad review or at least spit on me if I look at him funny. It's punk, in fact it's good punk - with a...

---

The Liquid Ship is possibly the tiniest venue I've ever encountered in my life. It's lovely, however; there's something almost homey about it, and due to its size the gig was pretty intimate. The Living Room Sessions is the recording made of the artists who played. Sadly I missed the last act, Brian Cunningham, because I had to get my last train, but a listen to the CD I received on my way in suggests that I should look out for him. I arrived in time to catch the end of Stewart Ross (Holy Folks). The three songs I caught were charming enough, but his very strong accent put me off a bit. His lyrics were generally really good, but "you're a bad, bad lassie" made me cringe a little. He won through with other lines such as "everyone loves tuna but no one wants to see a dolphin die". Up next was Rachel McLennan, who has a beautiful voice, and the lyrics of her songs were fantastic. I'm going to seek out some more of her stuff—she sang a couple of songs about a...

Debut album from the Ayr-born indie band.

---

It appears to be law that every review or discussion of Drive-By Argument (yes, the name is a ‘Family Guy’ reference) must centre around their formation as part of an assignment at university, as if having five members chosen at random somehow invalidates anything they produce. ‘They can’t be 4 real!!!’ Internet warriors cry from their keyboards, possibly as they drool over the new album from boys-only public school-acquainted Radiohead. The Beatles met in a garden centre. Black Sabbath met through an ad in the local corner shop. It doesn’t matter. No one should care. If anything, being thrown together randomly has gifted this band with a palette slightly wider than your average indie band. I suspect that frontman Stoke would like the band to sound like The Postal Service and is constantly being sabotaged by their guitarists more mainstream indie leanings and the keyboardists failed attempts to turn most of the songs on this eponymous debut album into full-on techno rampages....

---

First things first, I'd never been to the Trans European Cafe in my life. What a nice surprise I got when we wandered in. It bright and airy, with old maps on the walls and old train seats at the tables. Ive traveled a fair bit of Europe, and they've definitely got the look they're going for. There's a decent selection of good beers at not too steep prices, and the staff are lovely. I've been in a couple of times since, I was that impressed. My first visit was to see this gig, one of a very few folk nights that I have been to. Anyway, first up was Roscoe Vacant. After the first song, I was fairly sure I was going to hate his set. He stood with his keyboard, pounding out a song, half singing, half shouting. But then, I started to really watch him. I'll admit, I'm still not mad keen on his voice, but, gee, the guy can perform. He throws himself about as much as it appears to be humanly possible whilst playing the guitar or the keyboard. His music is loud and, for lack of a...

Linn B

---

A night of hope for Rock Against Racism