The Last Battle – Oh Best Beloved

Despite being best described as low key nu-folk loveliness, in terms of band inter-relationships The Last Battle are more akin to Swedish megastars ABBA.

The multi-instrumental Edinburgh six-piece (or septet, as they sometimes are live) only played their first gig in October, but have already earned gushing praise from several corners, including UtR regular Bart Owl.

“We started with the idea that if we could get a thumbs up from the bands we respected and admired, then we’d be doing something right,” says frontman Scott Longmuir. “So when Bart from eagleowl approached us and said he loved what we were doing that was a wee goal scored! We’ve now got him playing on one of our album tracks, which we’re pretty chuffed about.”

Longmuir, along with bassist Paul Barrett, had been part of an art-rock band which they were becoming “increasingly frustrated and bored with” until the middle of last year, and it was from the ashes of that partnership that the genesis of The Last Battle emerged.

“The songs I’d been writing of late were a bit folky and seemed to have a lot of scope for adding more instruments to them,” Longmuir explains. “So I started going round to Paul’s with the new songs and we’d demo them in his front room using an old drum machine and a 12-track, purely to see if we could enjoy making music again.”

And the ABBA connection? “We decided if we were going to do the band thing again, we’d include the people closest to us – take them along with us,” says Longmuir. The rest of the band consists of Barrett’s other half (Flora McKay) on cello, Longmuir’s (Ella Duncan) on glockenspiel and melodica, her sister Arwen on joint vocals and “an old school friend [Liam O’Hare] gently stroking a snare drum”. Live, the band are often joined by Barrett’s flatmate Stephen Kerr on electric guitar.

Despite the name’s military connotations, the band are named after one of CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. “I was getting sick of trying to come up with a band name as all mine were crap, so I left it to someone else,” says Longmuir. “One day Paul sent me a text simply saying ‘The Last Battle’ – taken from the book he was reading – so we just went with that.

“We hear a lot of amusing stories that some people expect us to be some sort of up-for-it punk band. We’re about as up for it as a packet of digestive biscuits.”

The Last Battle – Any Ocean

Musically, the band’s influences avoid up-for-it punk in favour of more melodic acts like Malcolm Middleton, Arcade Fire, Emmylou Harris, Sufjan Stevens and Bright Eyes, with a dash of traditional folk. “Non-musical influences would have to be Leith itself,” Longmuir adds. “There’s something very inspiring about the place, especially down by the shore.

“There’s a lot of very talented musicians down here too, like Hailey Beavis, some of Meursault, Kays Lavelle, eagleowl, Alan Oates and Unicorn Kid – who’s just signed to Ministry of Sound. There’s definitely something in the water… of Leith.”

But it’s not just the locals who impress Longmuir. “The Scottish scene is really strong right now – I’m really into Remember Remember and French Wives… Of the newer bands we’ve played with from Edinburgh, for me, Conquering Animal Sound, are the ones who’ve impressed me the most.

“Frustratingly, outside Scotland all of this seems to fall on deaf ears which really riles me,” he adds. “It got to the point that I actually wrote a couple of silly letters to the NME about the lack of Scottish bands they featured, and to my surprise they printed them. Now, if only they’d actually write something about the bands other than patronizingly print my futile letters…”

The Last Battle are currently putting the finishing touches to their first album, Heart of the Land, Soul of the Sea. “It’s a loosely themed concept album about two entirely different people that fall in love knowing it’s doomed from the start,” says Longmuir. “We’re chatting with a few labels just now about putting it out at some point this year too, which should be around June.

“Some of our newer songs are veering away from the more traditional songwriting style,” he adds. “We’ve been messing around with the old drum machine again that started this all off, putting it through guitar pedals and generally upsetting the girls, which is not recommended.”

Words: Lisa-Marie Ferla

Catch The Last Battle live at the following dates, and check their MySpace for more shows:

12 Mar: This is Music @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
27 Mar: Trampoline 3rd Birthday @ Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh
31 Mar: Maggie’s Chamber (top of 3 Sisters, Edinburgh)
18 Apr: Carter’s Bar, Morrison St, Edinburgh

It was looking like it might never happen, but finally we have recorded our first podcast of 2010.

Two months away from the microphone has rendered some of our chat slightly nonsensical (what’s new?), but the standard of music on this podcast is probably the best so far…

We were fans of The Japanese War Effort from the first time we saw him play at the erstwhile Bowery venue last year, and we open on ‘Usain Bolt’, taken from his new LP, I Will Leave You Now, And Two Loudspeakers Will Take My Place. The fastest man alive should be proud.

Another act to have graced this blog are The Unwinding Hours, the new band comprising one half of Aereogramme, and from their self-titled debut album we’ve chosen the spine-tinglingly epic ‘Tightrope’.

We also turn our attention to this weekend’s main event, the Fence Collective’s annual Homegame festival in Anstruther, Fife. In anticipation of three days and nights of crammed pubs, fish suppers and maybe even the odd bit of music, we’ve got tracks from a trio of acts on this year’s bill: Django Django, Findo Gask and Silver Columns.

And that’s not all. There’s more tuneage from the sickeningly talented Miaoux Miaoux and the ethereal Call To Mind (both of whom have new EPs on the way), as well as the obligatory 6 Music post-match analysis.

Hope you enjoy, and, as ever, let us know what you think below…

Play: Podcast #7

Running order:
00:00: The Japanese War Effort – Usain Bolt
04:04: The Unwinding Hours – Tightrope
08:58: Django Django – Storm
14:59: Findo Gask – Va Va Va
18:42: Silver Columns – Brow Beaten
25:10: Miaoux Miaoux – Dream On
34:02: Call To Mind – Breathe Pt. 1

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Podcast: Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell

Previous UtR podcasts

[Mitchell Museum: set to entertain the Twitterers of Edinburgh]

Tweet music
The Edinburgh Twestival, the capital’s meet-up for those who prefer to live their life in 140 characters, has unveiled its musical line-up. Glasgow’s madcap experimentalists Mitchell Museum and new Edinburgh outfit Pose Victorious will entertain the iPhone-clutching audience, with DJ sets from George Wallace and members of Idlewild. It takes place on Thursday 25 March at the new Ghillie Dhu venue in the west end of the city. More acts are expected to be announced this week.

And in case you didn’t already know, the generous Mitchell Museum are giving away their new EP We Lost First Prize on their new website.

Frabbits burrow through blogosphere
Frightened Rabbit’s third album The Winter of Mixed Drinks was unveiled to the world last week, and we’ve been interested in the way it’s been received outside Scotland’s cosy bosom. For instance, self-styled Twitter reviewer (and respected rock critic too, it has to be said) Chris Weingarten, tweeted this on his @1000timesyes account: “Arcade Fire-ready hooks, given a lovely new life as Scottish krautrock.#7.5“

And since “Scottish krautrock” only returns 94 hits on Google, it looks as if we have a new genre on our hands.

In other FatCat news, the label’s other Scottish high-fliers The Twilight Sad have been announced as main support for Biffy Clyro’s UK tour next month, which includes a date at Perth on 29 April.

Silver Columns ‘unmasked’
Not since Burial’s shadowy presence on the London dub scene has there been so much Guess Who?-style whisperings over an anonymous musician… Silver Columns set tongues a-wagging late last year with their slinky electro beats lighting up Hype Machine’s blog barometer. But in case you didn’t hear via Twitter, the protagonists behind the project are none other than Fence Collective co-founder Johnny “The Pictish Trail” Lynch and Adem, the man behind the Takes covers album.

The duo have an upcoming 12″ single called ‘Cavalier’ that’s due out on 19 April via Moshi Moshi, and with both halves playing Fence Homegame this weekend, we’re hoping for an impromptu show in Anstruther.

Peter Bjorn & John – It Don’t Move Me (Silver Columns remix)
Belle & Sebastian set for return
Scots twee-pop legends Belle & Sebastian are set to return from their very long hiatus. In a message sent out to their mailing list, the band said that they have been writing new songs in Glasgow recently and are about to head to Los Angeles to record a new album. But if you want to see them live this summer, you’ll have to travel, as the only festival dates announced so far are in Scandinavia and Japan – although more could well be added.

Back to the Futureheads
The Futureheads, the forgotten-but-not-gone Sunderland outfit that once broached the Top 40’s upper echelons with a Kate Bush cover will headline The Mills’ (sort of) two-year birthday bash in Glasgow. The shindig takes place in Oran Mor on Thursday, 29 April, with local tune-churners Lions.Chase.Tigers and Admiral Fallow propping up the bill. In just a couple of years The Mill has seen over 200 acts playing stages in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Given how little most of us achieve in our early years – being unable able to go to the bathroom independent of Pampers Ultra and having no vocabulary beyond ‘waaah’ –it’s an impressive feat. Tickets for the night are £5 and can be found here.

Making Tracks
The good people at TenTracks have launched yet more luscious bundles of music for your listening pleasure. For just a pound you can hear ten specially selected tracks (there’s no subtlety in the name, is there?) from Leith Records that includes such esteemed acts as Over the Wall, the 10:04’s and Come On Gang. For another 100 pence you can own a tasty selection of cuts from last month’s wonderful Hidden Door festival, that includes a ‘hidden mic’ piece composed of conversational clips taken throughout the day.

Meursault? More so
Can’t wait until 24 May to get your paws on Meursault’s new longplayer All Creatures Will Make Merry? Well, if you’re attending the launch nights in Glasgow (Captain’s Rest, 7 Apr) or Edinburgh (Cabaret Voltaire, 10 Apr) you’ll be able pick up a sneaky limited edition pre-launch copy if you pre-order at Song By Toad records here. Based on the band’s recent live excursions with Xiu Xiu, ACWMM (how’s that for an acronym…) looks set to be more volumised than Pissing on Bonfires…, with frontman Neil Pennycook describing the sound as ‘epic lo-fi’, which strikes us a bit of an oxymoron. Anyway, on the back of the new album the Auld Reekie quintet will be jetsetting around Europe in the hope of finally getting the acclaim the deserve.

Mark Linkous RIP
In much, much more sombre news, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Mark Linkous committed suicide on Saturday. As the man behind the wonderful Sparklehorse, Linkous released four albums of extraordinary psych-folk. He also produced Daniel Johnston’s 2003 album Fear Yourself and collaborated with Danger Mouse on Dark Night of the Soul. A statement from Linkous’ family said: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.” A tragically depressing day for music.

Got news for us? Let us know at utr.scotsman@gmail.com or tweet us @under_the_radar

[Django Django: a slew of Scottish dates]

Plan your gig-going with our pick of the week’s finest live music nights…

The best…

Lions.Chase.Tigers, Penguins Kill Polar Bears
Saturday @ Nice’n'Sleazy, Glasgow / 7.30pm / £4
Animal-themed names abound as UtR-featured L.C.T. continue a Scotland-wide tour to promote their new ‘To Their Blood’ EP.

Richmond Fontaine, Amanda Levandovski
Saturday @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh / 7pm / £TBC
For those unfamiliar with RF frontman Willy Vlautin’s indulgent Americana storyscapes, get along to Cabaret Voltaire on Saturday for a real display of Oregonian songmanship.

Burnt Island, Aidan Moffat, Benni Hemm Hemm, The Second Hand Marching Band
Sunday @ Mono, Glasgow / 7.30pm / £7
Rodge Glass & co launch new mini-album Music and Maths, along with the former Arab Strap man Moffat. If that wasn’t enough, the Secondhand Marching Band unveil their new collaboration with Benni Hemm Hemm.

Blood Red Shoes, Underground Railroad
Monday @ Electric Circus, Edinburgh / 8pm / £8
BRS’ second album Fire Like This has been the recent subject of gushing praise on good radio stations (cue topical 6 Music rant). They make a huge racket for a duet, and will be ably assisted by London’s aptly named noise-merchants, Underground Railroad.

These Monsters, Bronto Skylift, Jackie Treehorn
Thursday @ Bloc, Glasgow / 9pm / Free
Leeds lads These Monsters boast tiptop Scottish support as they drop in on Glasgow as part of a UK tour. And you can’t argue with the price.

Django Django
Thursday @ Captain’s Rest, Glasgow / 8pm / £tbc
The eccentric East London-based quartet we featured last month return to Scotland to showcase their much-admired, off-kilter sounds.

The School, Django Django, Allo Darlin’
Friday @ Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh / 7pm / £4
Cardiff sixties revivalists The School are swiftly making a name for themselves with girl-group harmonies and beach-guitar melodies their arfau o ddewis (“weapons of choice”). Alongside the aforementioned Django Django, this Fresh Air-hosted gig is a snip at £4 entry.

Punch and The Apostles, Wounded Knee, Pineapple Chunks
Friday @ Roxy Art House, Edinburgh / 8pm / £5
Waltz anyone? Glasgow’s seven-piece P&TA throw “uncool” traditional genres together and somehow succeed in making them very listenable. Chaotic and totally compelling, they’ll be showcasing material from their new eponymous album. Read UtR’ s interview with supporting Pineapple Chunks here.

The rest…

Words: Elaine Liddle, Dan Moss

What have we missed? Tell us below, or add it to the calendar by emailing utr.scotsman@gmail.com

Burnt Island – A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again

Burnt Island – Music and Maths

Burnt Island are a Glasgow indie darling’s dream band. From working with the Chemikal Underground label to forthcoming support from Aidan Moffat, they’ve checked enough cool points to chill every rum and coke poured in Sleazy’s on a Friday night.

Luckily for them, and us, there’s substance and musical merit there too.

While their sound has shades of The Delgados or even wistful Americans Midlake, it’s the songwriting that sets them apart, no doubt aided by the fact that they’re fronted by novelist-cum- guitarist Rodge Glass.

“The band started out from when I did a song with Vashti Bunyan called ‘The Fire’ on Ballads of the Book, an album put out by Chemikal Underground a couple of years ago”, he explains. “I am mostly known as a writer and Vashti used one of my poems as the lyrics for the song, but when she invited me to play guitar and do some harmonies on the song I really enjoyed the experience and wanted to put a quiet band together.”

The music is as understated as their sleepy seaside namesake (think soft plucky guitars, delicate flute licks and demure viola), creating a perfect backdrop for Glass’s engaging lyrics and warm vocal tone.

Unsurprisingly, Glass’s literary background is key to the way the songs take shape and helps explain why Burnt Island make the ideal accompaniment to a Sunday afternoon curled up with a good book. He cites poetic predecessors Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen and Bill Callahan as influences, as well as brooding indie-rock outfit The National.

“The core of our songs are the lyrics, and we build everything outwards from there. So that affects the arrangement, the harmonies, the instruments chosen for each song – everything,” Glass says. “I like the songs to be ambiguous enough for listeners to have some gaps to fill in for themselves, but rich enough in imagery to have something worth listening carefully to.”

To mark the release of their mini-album Music and Maths on the 15th of March, the band are set to take off on a mini-tour beginning on the 7th at Mono.

“After the launch we’re doing an acoustic set at Glasgow’s Book Festival the night before and playing with Emma Pollock and Josh Pyke at Tut’s on March 19th. Then there’s a couple of dates in Edinburgh shortly after, one at the Roxy Art House with Kays Lavelle, Alan Bissett and Adam Stafford.

“Does that count as a world tour?” Glass asks.

“Not quite,” we reply. But here’s hoping the Burnt Islanders catch fire outside Scotland soon.

Words: Aimi Gold

Watch Burnt Island live at the following dates:

6 March: Aye Write Festival (Gutter Showcase) @ Mitchell Library, Glasgow (Rodge solo)
7 March: Album launch at Mono, Glasgow (with Aidan Moffat, the Second Hand Marching Band and Benni Hemm Hemm)
19 March: King Tut’s, Glasgow (supporting Emma Pollock)
24 March: The Forest Café, Edinburgh
26 March: Roxy Art House, Edinburgh (with Alan Bissett, Adam Stafford and The Kays Lavelle)

[Mark Thompson: in pop music he trusts]

The outcry over the BBC’s proposed axing of 6 Music has been futile. Despite DJs like Phill Jupitus quickly branding the plan “a slap in the face to licence-payers” and thousands of music fans adding their tweets to the #saveBBC6Music trend and joining Facebook protest groups, the inevitable was confirmed today.

Mark Thompson, director general of the Beeb, announced the decision as part of his “strategy review” – put simply, an attempt to shake off the persistent allegations from politicians that the corporation is ‘bloated’ and not delivering value to the licence-payer.

Now we could join the chorus of outrage over the absurd logic whereby Chris Moyles takes home £630k a year to jabber self-importantly over bad music but some of the corporation’s most innovative and intelligent digital offerings are deemed surplus to requirments. But we’ll leave that to other commentators – and there will be plenty of them. What’s more, many of 6 Music’s best offerings – such as Gideon Coe’s intrepid archive trawling, Adam & Joe’s infectious banter or Bob Dylan’s themed raspings – have nothing to do with our ‘new music’ concerns anyway.

No, rather than fan the flames of ire (and despite the fact that it has a mere 700,000 listeners, 6 Music’s fans are a vocal, media-savvy bunch), we thought it would be more pertinent to look at a few inconsistencies and imbalances this whole sorry affair spotlights:

• This is a triumph of mainstream majority over alternative minority, but since when does the BBC have to operate by such commercial imperatives anyway? No matter what the MPs say, it’s the BBC’s unique, non-commercial status that is its most vital quality. Its independence from advertisers breeds diversity, affording air time to unsigned bands or obscure classics on the margins of its scope, instead of wholesale playlisting across the board.

Here on UtR, on the Scotsman website, we are technically one of its online competitors, but while it would be easy to harbour jealousies for the huge resources at their disposal, the last thing we want is to see their commitment to emergent music diminish to nothing.

• As the BBC’s coverage of new music shrinks (and at this rate Vic Galloway’s show could soon be the only source of underground sounds us Scots get on the BBC), it makes us wonder: why is it that more traditional forms of music get such a good billing, especially in Scotland? Granted, it’s native and it’s inoffensive and many people love it, but you can hardly turn on BBC2 or Radio Scotland without being regaled by some implausibly cheerful fiddler. While that’s perfectly fine in itself, it does seem to us that there’s an imbalance here, especially given the vitality of new music in this country right now.

• It has been predicted that if the BBC does retreat from the cutting edge there would at least be a vacuum which could be filled by independent bloggers and podcasters. Again, if this theory proves correct then UtR, a kind of ‘mainstream blog’, stands to benefit. But we’re not convinced by this argument, and as a new band starting out, would you rather tell your mum to turn on the radio or TV to hear your song or download a podcast? There’s still a frisson of excitement around being featured on the traditional media that new media has yet to match.

The first draft of this editorial, written before today’s announcement, ended on some suggestions for the BBC. Now that they have settled on a provisional course of action, we can only leave you with a (tongue-in-cheek) glimpse of the future for us all.

Have an opinion on this? Let us know below…

Thursday 25 February
Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow

There’s something very refreshing about being in a Glasgow venue where you still get more than six quid change from a tenner for two drinks.

The Grand Ole Opry might be a bit of a weird setting – neon-ringed cowboys gaze down at the crowd and the walls are painted with the wide blue skies of the plains, cactii and cowboy boots – but you can’t argue it’s not value for money. Plus it has a very decent sound system and a big wide stage perfect for loading up as many gadgets as Errors can manage between them.

First up are the mindbending Moon Unit (kind of the band live version of Nackt Insecten) and the poptastic Copy Haho – a strange contrast to each other and both offering a side to what Errors are about; some parts expansive exploration and other parts tightly-reined pop.

Tonight is all about new album Come Down With Me, and dropping things like ‘Toes’ and ‘Salut France’ early in the set keeps the audience happy and dancing but frees the band up to showcase more of album number two as they go along.

It’s all welcomed warmly, to the apparent surprise of the band’s Stephen Livingstone, who still has a good line in endearingly awkward banter. He spouts his thanks to the crowd for coming out on “such a bogging night” and promises to warm us up. Easy now.

The band are more comfortable when they’re just getting down to it and their new material gives them plenty to play with. Trademark glasses and Davy Crockett hats are lost in the fray as they absorb themselves in the tunes.

Fingers fly over keyboards, laptops and fretboards, and at one point Livingstone, hands otherwise occupied, even uses his teeth on some pedal or other. (How that affects the sound isn’t abundantly clear but let’s be honest, it looks cool.) They even throw in some extreme cowbelling (on top of an amp with a guitar jack) for good measure.

Under the warm glow of the neon cowboys, Errors shine. They’ve delivered the perfect shot of anticipation to the album’s release – not to mention good value for money.

Words: Elaine Liddle
Photos: Tomas Hermoso

Come Down With Me is out now on Rock Action records.

If ducking a handshake constitutes a front page splash, then god knows where that puts our weekly round-up of press releases and music related titbits. At a guess, we’d say page four. You know, just behind that elegant snap of a scantily clad female who’s putting the world to rights in the shape of two mountainous mammary glands.

Anyway, as this is a website there’s no need to concern ourselves with trivial matters like page numbers or, sadly, topless models. Instead, you can rest assured that what you’re reading right now will probably stay at the top of the page for the next 24 hours without subjecting you to nudity of any form.

Trapped in Kansas scoop alternative gong
UtR favourites Trapped in Kansas scooped the ‘Best Rock/Alternative’ prize at last week’s Scottish Alternatve Music Awards (SAMA). The Glasgow based quartet fought off fierce competition from Make Sparks and This Familiar Smile to be crowned the most rocking alternative act in the land (or something). Other winners included As Darkness Falls (Best Newcomer), Promised Only Lies (Best Metal) and The LaFontaines (Best Live Act). Bronto Skylift bafflingly walked away with nada, but that’s that nature of open-vote awards for you.

SAMA organiser Richy Muirhead said: “The past seven months have been an amazing and great learning experience for myself. The music scene in Scotland is forever growing, and I hope everyone involved can now appreciate it more from this event. It’s been a real blast, and I’ve already started brainstorming for next years festival.”

A heartfelt protest
Remember the (often abysmal) vehicle for social change that was the protest song? We don’t, but that’s mainly because we were born in a time when Thatcher’s Conservatives crushed the voice of opposition. But up in Aberdeen a collective of local musicians do. To voice their disdain towards the City Square Project – a planned £50m facelift of Aberdeen’s city centre which includes the uprooting of Union Terrace Gardens (UTG) – 20 Aberdeen acts have come together to produce the ‘We heart UTG’ record. Encompassing a spectrum of genres from modern bluegrass to funky house, the download-only record can be acquired on a ‘pay what you like’ basis, with all proceeds going to the UTG campaign. To get your mitts on it, click here.

Scots bands put out for Haiti
Four Scottish acts have donned their philanthropist capes and donated tracks to a Haiti benefit compilation. There Will Be Fireworks, Lions.Chase.Tigers, Farewell Singapore and Three Blind Wolves have forwarded cuts to New Jersey-based Dromedary Records for inclusion in the digitial-only release of Make The Load Lighter – Indie Rock for Haiti. All proceeds for the record will benefit the victims of the Haitian earthquake through an all-volunteer organisation called Vwa Ayiti (Voice Of Haiti). Label owner Al Crisafulli said of each band’s input: “It’s been great communicating with all four bands – this collection really has been a ton of fun, and it’s awesome to be able to do something quickly to raise money.” You can download the album here or, in a move which seems to be against the point of the record, you can listen to it here for free.

Selling out has never been so easy
Last week’s announcement of ‘the best T in the Park line up ever’ resulted in the festival selling out in less time than it takes Inverness Caley Thistle to put four goals past Raith Rovers (less of that please – ed). Unable to resist a roll call of Eminem, Muse, Jay-Z and The Black Eyed ‘why don’t they split’ Peas, Scottish punters snapped up 85,000 tickets in 90 minutes. We’d like to think this record breaking frenzy was in some way aided by the inclusion of Dirty Projectors and Broken Social Scene but, let’s face it, we’d just be deluding ourselves. For the latest line-up news all you need to do is click here.

Chewing the festival cud
In harder-than-it-looks news, chewing gum company Trident are seeking to exchange £30,000 for someone to visit 30 music festivals over 30 weeks. Taking in festivals around the globe, all you need to do is document the experience via Trident’s festival website, through tweets, blogs, photos and videos, with reviews, gossip and celebrity interviews. Sounds easy, huh? Well, the challenge is actually getting the job, which will involve an online application, a face to face interview and, if you get that far, an all-day assessment in front of a panel that includes having to meet the insanely irritating George Lamb. See, told you it was tough. More info can be found here.

Twilights get a room
The Twilight Sad get back to the campaign trail for last year’s still-growing-on-us album Forget the Night Ahead by releasing new single ‘The Room’. Rife with the usual clash of miserabilism and voluptuous arrangement, the track offers the added bonus of My Latest Novel’s Laura McFarlance guesting on violin. And for you for your aural/visual enjoyment, you can watch the fancy new video of said track below:

Got news for us? Let us know at utr.scotsman@gmail.com or tweet us @under_the_radar

[Copy Haho: gigging across Scotland this week]

Plan your gig-going with our pick of the week’s finest live music nights…

The best…

James Yorkston & the Athletes, The Phantom Band, Alasdair Roberts Trio, Remember Remember
Saturday @ Platform, Glasgow / 7.30pm / £5 (£3)
Forget those woolly jumper clad men with acoustic guitars. No, folk music’s cool these days. Just look at this line-up, where Fence troubadour Yorkston shares a billing with Rock Action upstart Remember Remember.

Futuristic Retro Champions, Skitten, Ace City Racers
Saturday @ The 13th Note, Glasgow / 9pm / £tbc
The ‘Champs, who also play Edinburgh this week (see below) launch their new EP at this gig. The CDs are apparently designed to look like coloured vinyl, so it’s like retro does retro really. Curious? Read an interview with the band here.

White Noise: Dead Boy Robotics, Futuristic Retro Champions
Wednesday @ Electric Circus, Edinburgh / 8pm / £tbc
Chalk and cheese this one, but none the worse for it. Pulsating shards of electronics and drums from duo DBR, while FRC use synths for more poppy pursuits.

The Mill: Stanley Odd, S.Kay
Thursday @ Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh / 7pm / Free but ticketed
Just this week we lauded Stanley Odd’s “thrilling blend of hip hop, indie and funk”, and, as if on cue, they appear for a show at The Mill. Are we arbiters of taste or what? (Don’t answer that.)

Copy Haho, eagleowl, Debutant
Friday @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh / 7pm / £5
Copy Haho also play The Tunnels, Aberdeen on Thursday
Surely the Holy Grail of gig quests this. Why? Not one, not two, but three UtR-featured bands on one bill. So if you don’t enjoy at least one then you’d be well within your rights to advise the PCC to shut us down.

John Knox Sex Club
Thursday @ Nice’n'Sleazy, Glasgow / 9pm / £tbc
Thursday’s a sexy day, get your best undies on and head to this party. Have a wee read about your saucy hosts here.

Tango in the Attic
Friday @ Harley’s Bar, Bathgate / 8pm / £tbc
Tango and Cash + Cash in the Attic = Tango in the Attic. In reality, this Glenrothes band make fun, upbeat indie-pop.

Local Natives, Peggy Sue
Friday @ King Tut’s, Glasgow / 8.30pm / £9
Folking rock again (yes, that is a sweary pun – the best sort). Think Fleet Foxes with ADHD, bright and poppy. With Peggy Sue minus the Pirates it seems.

The Unwinding Hours + Holy Mountain, Olympic Swimmers
Friday @ Stereo, Glasgow / 7pm / £7
Amazing Aereogramme offshoot who recently signed to the much admired Chemikal Underground label and featured here a few months ago. A couple of stellar supports including the brilliant Olympic Swimmers, also featured on UtR last year.

The rest…

Words: Aimi Gold, Nick Mitchell

What have we missed? Tell us below, or add it to the calendar by emailing utr.scotsman@gmail.com

[Slam dunk: Stuart MacMillan and Orde Meikle will reveal their secrets]

It’s fair to say that dance music doesn’t figure too heavily here on UtR. Although we’ve covered various electro-leaning acts like Tokyo Knife Attack, Unicorn Kid and Findo Gask, we tend to leave the proper techno to those who know their Tiefschwarzs from their Tigas.

But, with our ‘champions of new music in Scotland’ cap on, it would be remiss of us not to notify our readers of an event taking place in Glasgow this weekend.

The Red Bull Music Academy, a project which offers free workshops and lectures to aspiring DJs and music bods (while simultaneously advertising a certain energy drink, it has to be said), rolls up in Scotland’s biggest city after stints in places like New York, Sao Paolo and current host city London.

SWG3 will host free lectures from 5pm to 9pm today, where dance pioneers including Soma Records and Slam promise to reveal some “secrets of the mixing desk”. A special aftershow party runs from 9pm ’til 1am with a DJ set from Slam and DJ Buckley and a live set from Marco Bernardi.

On Saturday the Apple Store will be host a live demonstration masterclass from techno DJ Tony Lionni, and that night the Sub Club hosts another Red Bull Music Academy party in collaboration with Sub Culture, headlined by Kerri Chandler.

Altogether now, reach for the lasers. Or something.

Friday: 5pm–1am: SWG3, Eastvale Place – Free
Saturday: 4pm-5.30pm: Apple Store, Buchanan Street – Free
Saturday: 10pm-3am: Sub Club, Union Street – £9/£12