Three very different bands have new material for your delight and delectation. Three bands who once again show the diversity of music on offer at this moment in time. Three bands who are, to borrow from Mugatu in Zoolander, ‘So hot right now’. Three bands who make my world, and I’m willing to bet yours, a better place.
First we have unfinished business with one of my favourites; The Seventeenth Century (see It’s Time For The Seventeenth Century…). They are back with the The Seventeenth Century (Part II), the second of a pair of EPs which showcase their accomplished songwriting and playing. The two parts make a whole that is remarkable for its consistency and quality. Part I has been a constant companion to me this year so it’s exciting to finally meet its sibling. If you associate the term folk with music that is wan or fey then you are in for a delightful shock. This is folk music that is played as if their life depends on it, with layer upon layer of drums, violin, guitar and horns behind Mark Brendan Farmer’s vocals. There is an intensity here that cannot fail to move you. They mean it, man.
The Seventeenth Century are a band who should be seen live and you can do just that this Friday (29th April) at Glasgow’s Oran Mor where they will launch Part II, and considering they are going to be supported by another bunch of Scots Whay Hae! favourites, The Scottish Enlightenment (see The Scottish Enlightenment…), it promises to be a right good night. You can learn all you need to know about the band by going to theseventeenthcentury. Here they are playing for the legendary Glasgow PodcART. This is Farmer’s Son:
Next we have two bands who are new to me, and their songs are simply terrific. First is Marianna by the Imagineers, a single released last year. This is psychedelic pop with a Latin twist and a love of harmonies. You can hear shades of bands such as Love, The Association, The Zombies and even XTC’s side project The Dukes of Stratosphere in their sound. There’s a new EP, See As I Say, coming soon and a UK tour in April and May and you can find all the details here the-imagineers. The Imagineers are a band confident in both sound and look, as is in evidence in the video below. This is the aforementioned Marianna:
Now for a taste of summer in the form of a five minute and fifteen second pop song. An email popped into my inbox last week with a link to this video by Aberdeen’s The Little Kicks (Seinfeld fans perhaps?). Like The Seventeenth Century and The Imagineers their sound is from another age, but a much more recent one than that of the former two. It reminds me of the joyous sounds of Orange Juice and The BMX Bandits, but the band they most remind me of is The Go-Betweens, and I don’t think I could pay a higher compliment. The Little Kicks also have a new album in the offing and tour in May. This is their new single Call of Youth which you can get for free from thelittlekicks.bandcamp .
Great music from three great bands. Reasons to be cheerful, 1,2,3…