Latest News
Crash Club’s EP ‘C.C.101’ is out now!
"... amazing crossover of electro rock... " - XFM
"... Crash Club play by no rules but their own... " - Clash
”... pummeling, rocked-up electro…” - Sunday Mail
Innovative, rule-breaking Scottish band Crash Club have now released their debut EP C.C.101 out via Samba Hut Records.
The video for their latest single Chemicals premiered on Clash and is now available to watch via the Crash Club YouTube channel.
The audio for the track premiered on Gigslutz and is available to stream now via Crash Club's Soundcloud page. You can also watch the video for the band's first release from the EP, Pennydrop via Crash Club’s YouTube channel.
Consisting of brothers Aran and Neal McHarg, with cousins Sammy and Colin, Crash Club are proving to be one of the most exciting bands around. In the last year alone, they were voted ‘Best Electronic Artist’ at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards, played a blinding set at Isle of Wight Festival, performed at a buzzing sold-out show in Glasgow’s Stereo and returned to T In The Park for a second year running.
With no one permanent vocalist, Crash Club expertly introduce a collection of session pals onto tracks inspired by the New York dance scene to really light up their Scottish electro-rock sound. And they’ve crafted that sound through influences ranging from the wide realms of the XTRMNTR work of Primal Scream to the Chemical Brothers with a heavy 90s Leftfield influence amongst it all.
With the melting pot of session guests including Ian Mackinnon of Medicine Men and Tony Costello of Tijuana Bibles, the band skilfully fuse together influences from rock and dance, creating a sound that’s truly unique. Imagine the groove of DFA or Soulwax with a rock ’n’ roll twist.
Having received acclaim from the likes of Louder Than War, Sunday Mail, Tenement TV and XFM Scotland, it’s not just the press that are singing their praises but their peers as well; Kasabian, The Klaxons, The Whip, Jagwar Ma and many more have been raving about Crash Club.
The first in a series of releases, Crash Club's debut EP C.C.101 is out now via Samba Hut Records.
Introducing… Thula Borah
“...a sludgy and melodic brand of rock music that recalls Hum, Silversun Pickups, and Blue Album-era Weezer..."
- Stereogum
Glasgow’s Thula Borah are eager to share their expansive sound with the rest of the world as they gear up for the release of their six track EP, Near Life Experience, out on 27th January 2017 via Kill Jester Records.
The band's track Confabulation premiered on Stereogum and is now available to download for free on Thula Borah's Soundcloud page.
Putting down a marker for all rock bands in 2017, Thula Borah have produced one of the best records your likely to hear all year, creating a sound that defies any one genre; switching seamlessly from post-rock, post-hardcore and dream-pop to grunge, indie-rock and emo. Indeed, Thula Borah have taken post-hardcore sensibilities and fuzzed out, meaty riffs and amalgamated them with catchy hooks that demand your attention. Opening track ‘Analysis Paralysis’ combines chiming guitar riffs with heavy distortion, atmospherically enveloping the listener in ways that bands such as And So I Watch You From Afar, Yndi Halda and Explosions In The Sky achieve so well. Official single The Psychopath Test recalls the feedback-laden stylings of Hum, while ‘Confabulation’ has all the immediacy of an indie-rock classic; a track the likes of Silversun Pickups would be proud. The second half of the record is more subtle, introspective, as the band play with a lo-fi sound and simple acoustics, creating an ambience that draws parallels with the quieter elements of bands such as The Appleseed Cast, Moving Mountains and Dads.
Hailing from Glasgow the band initially started when Lloyd James Fay (guitar/vocals) and Matthew Williams (bass/vocals) began jamming with a drum machine in 2009 before becoming a fully fledged band in 2010 when Kevin Heimann (guitar) became a full time member. The current line-up was complete when Michael O’Rourke (drums) was introduced to the band by a friend and Thula Borah haven’t looked back since, picking up support from BBC Radio Scotland as well as playing festivals such as Jocktoberfest in Inverness and Manchester’s Indie Week Europe. The band will be aiming to play more festivals in 2017 on the back of their impressively brilliant EP release, which is sure to capture new supporters in the industry and beyond.
Near Life Experience by Thula Borah is set for release on 27th January 2017 via Kill Jester Records.
ISLE share new ‘Faults’ video!
“...a neat, precise slice of artful pop.”
- ClashISLE have shared the video for their latest single Faults, which is out now and available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify.
The video premiered on The Skinny and is also available to watch on the band's YouTube channel.
Faults features the band’s signature euphoric pop, ending the year on a high with their huge sound. It is about telling yourself that it’s ok to make mistakes growing up, as long as you learn from them. Melodically, the single is taut, hooky and uplifting, brimming with electrifying energy.
The audio, which premiered on Clash, is also available to stream via ISLE's Soundcloud page.
ISLE are multi-instrumentalists Liam John Rutherford and Ben Singer. Based in the Scottish Borders, the talented duo pride themselves on producing everything from their artwork and videos to their production all done independently.
This year they headlined the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park and have built a strong following with support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Scotland, Amazing Radio and Radio X with the likes of Clash, DIY, Gold Flake Paint and Louder Than War singing the band praises online.
Faults is out now and available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify
The Imagineers release single ‘Utopian Dreams’!
"...fuses strident indie songwriting with ambitious, widescreen arrangements." - Clash
"...emphatic, inspired and distinctive." - Tenement TV
Eclectic Scottish five-piece The Imagineers make a welcome return with the release of their first single and title-track from the forthcoming album Utopian Dreams, due for release on 24th February 2017 via Hit The Light Records. The single is out now and available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify.
The video for the single premiered on Clash and is now available to view via The Imagineers YouTube channel.
The audio for the single premiered on Tenement TV which is now available to stream on The Imagineers Soundcloud page.
The album is full of melodic twists and turns throughout; taking in elements of west coast surf, baroque pop, and singer songwriter, giving the album a film score feel. However, there is no denying a clear brill building pop inspiration and the band’s unique take on it, creating a sonic storyboard that could have starred the likes of Burt Bacharach and David Bowie, orchestrated by Ennio Morricone. The Imagineers have endeavoured to create an intriguing sound akin to The Growlers combined with a storytelling quality that would make Ben Folds proud. Lead singer Stevie Young’s (vocals, guitar) undeniable Scottish twang, as well as the band’s natural cinematic flare, mean that The Imagineers have created a sound uniquely their own.
After the original band members parted ways in 2013, Stevie travelled Europe with his guitar in tow, finding new inspiration by playing with various musicians around rural Spain, France and Italy. Eventually, Utopian Dreams was created and, with the help of producer Tommy Phillips (keys), the record began to take shape. With Scott Forsyth (drums, percussion, backing vocals), David Dunsmuir (bass) and Craig McGown (lead guitar, backing vocals) added to the ranks, The Imagineers were officially reborn.
The band appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in 2012, before receiving praise from an array of publications including The Scotsman, The Skinny, The Daily Record and The Evening Times as well as performing live at festivals T in The Park and Wickerman.
Title-track Utopian Dreams is out now and available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify. The Imagineers forthcoming album Utopian Dreams is out on 24th February 2017 via Hit The Light Records.
Law Holt releases new mini album ‘Gone’!
"Playful pop with sinister undertones..."
- DIY
"...explosive..." - The Line of Best Fit
“...magnificent.” - The Skinny
Fresh from the release of debut album City, a UK tour with Mykki Blanco and love from Spin, DIY, Huck, The Skinny, The Line of Best Fit, Drowned in Sound, Notion and many more, Law Holt has now released her mini album Gone, out now via Soulpunk and available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify.
Holy is the latest single to be released from Gone. The video premiered on Kalt Blut and can now be streamed via Law's YouTube channel.
The audio for the track premiered on Northern Transmissions and can be streamed via Law Holt's Soundcloud page.
Gone is the second part of the mini saga that began with City. Gone focusses on the biggest, most important subject, love, from the most personal viewpoint.
It’s Autumn going on Winter in the big city.
A young woman is starting her life, away from the constrictions of her family in a small town. Her new life feels like it starts because of a man. In a compact time period she develops a legend around their relationship. They’re going to get married. She pours everything into what they have, even though she knows it will never last, even though she knows he will move on... sooner rather than later. He doesn’t want her to photograph him, he seems frightened by her passion and her thirst.
He is dispassionate. But that’s okay, this is her story, not his - she’s got enough passion for two and more.
Law Holt, in a deep melancholy of browns and greys, channels that one room city living self exploration that happens when we are surrounded by millions of people we will never know. A sweeter Berlin tale. A caustic Sade in Lou Reed leathers.
Her voice is as individual as Macy Gray’s, as potent as an RnB diva who has absorbed the crystalline tones of Broadcast’s Trish Keenan then turned left and then left again into waters unchartered.
The UK seldom produces true soul voices. Law Holt stands outside the battle between X-Factor hollerers and cutesy-wootsy mandolin banging part-timers, with her back turned, looking towards the sunset over the rooftops, articulating that.
Mini album Gone is out now via Soulpunk and available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify.