SNACKMAG.CO.UK FREE APRIL 2022
LOUISE WELSH JILL LOREAN BILLY GOT WAVES KOLBRÚN BJÖRT SIGFÚSDÓTTIR BBC SSO TECTONICS
THE MYSTERINES MUSIC | FILM | FOOD & DRINK | LGBT+ | BOOKS | COMEDY | THEATRE | VISUAL ART | WORDS
OPEN 7 DAYS
GIFT VOUCHERS
DISCOUNTS FOR STUDENTS ART GROUPS / CLUBS & YOUNG SCOT CARD HOLDERS
SHOP ONLINE 24/7
CLICK & COLLECT MAIL ORDER & LOCAL DELIVERIES snackmag.co.uk
www.EdinburghArtShop.co.uk
Discover Glasgow in 21 stops! Departures every 30 minutes from Friday 02 April! Don't forget to check out our new music tour, narrated by Eddi Reader.
Scan to book
Book now at citysightseeingglasgow.co.uk
CONTENTS WHAT'S ON
P8
Treasures Exhibition – Edinburgh Tradfest – Van gogh Alive Soutar Festival of Words – Toppings Book Events – You Are Here
INTERVIEWS
P16
The Mysterines – Billy Got Waves – Jill Lorean Tectonics – Louise Welsh
FOOD & DRINK P32 Food & Drink News – Lentil Bake Recipe
RECORD STORE DAY
P36
REVIEW
P38
The Mysterines – Kenny Boyle – Ryan O’Connor – Douglas Stuart Tropical Fuck Storm – Amber PB & L.T. Leif – Kojey Radical Sly5thAve & Verástegui – Happy Particles – Ibibio Sound Machine
WORDS
P54
CREDITS Editor: Kenny Lavelle Sales: Philip Campbell Sub Editor: Leona Skene Food and Drink Editors: Emma Mykytyn and Mark Murphy LGBT+ Editor: Jonny Stone Design: Julia Szekeres Cover photo credit: Chelsea Kostrey Spine quote: Jill O'Sullivan To advertise in SNACK hello@snackpublishing.com 0141 632 4641 SNACK is a supporter of the global Keychange movement.
Disclaimer: Snack Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this magazine in part or in whole is forbidden without the explicit written consent of the publishers. Every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the content of this magazine but we cannot guarantee it is complete and up to date. Snack Publishing Ltd. is not responsible for your use of the information contained herein.
Hello and welcome to issue 38 of SNACK, After winter must come spring: the sun is finally delivering some long-hankeredafter warmth (well, it is at the exact moment I’m writing this). Cherry blossom is dotting our parks and streets with thankful colour and I’m checking the time for Scottish wild garlic season, excited to make bitter, vaguely edible pesto that I’ll force down, saying ‘this is alright, isn’t it?’. Scotland’s creative world also continues to awaken after a rutted-grey winter of Omicron meh and we’ve a packed issue with loads of brilliant art and events to keep you occupied over the next few weeks. The Mysterines occupy our front cover spot this month. Their new album, Reeling, is a cracker and we’re looking forward to seeing them support Primal Scream at Queens Park later in the year. Where in the park are they putting a stage big enough to host a Glasgow Primal Scream audience? Bottom of Vicky Road? I’m sure they have it figured. Elsewhere we have our gossip column Record Store Day preview, interviews with Jill O'Sullivan about the debut Jill Lorean album, her new project with Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan, plus we speak to the ever-brilliant Louise Welsh about her new novel The Second Cut, the follow up to grisly classic The Cutting Room. As for the rest? I’m sure you’ll find your way around. Stay safe and we’ll see you next month. Kenny Lavelle Editor
STUDENT AND UNDER 30S TICKETS: £6
WHAT’S ON GUIDE TREASURES EXHIBITION National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh: 25th March onwards A brand new, rolling exhibition showcasing a finely curated selection of just some of their thirty million items, some a thousand years old. Every single week the library collects about five thousand new items! You can view a collaboration with poetry peeps Neu! Reekie! where a raft of artists have responded to items in the collection. Maybe you’re a map nerd – you can cast your peepers all over maps from legendary cartographer Timothy Pont, who was the first to produce a detailed map of Scotland. There are letters and belongings and original works from all manner of famous people, including Robert Burns, Beethoven, and Charles Darwin. This exhibition blends the old with the new, all fascinating – and it will be updated every half a year, so there’ll be new things to see. nls.uk/treasures
snackmag.co.uk
EDINBURGH TRADFEST 2022 Various Locations, Edinburgh: 29th April till 9th May 11 days of music and talks and new commissions to see, all across the capital. Tradfest is now in its tenth year and is showcasing the best of the Scottish and international traditional music scene. Come All Ye is an event created with musicians from all over the world who have made Scotland their home, blended together to offer a concert with notes telling ‘stories of arrival and departure, displacement and togetherness’. There’s Rebellious Truth 2022, a talk, recital, and discussion from harper, composer, researcher and sound artist Dr Úna Monaghan, which considers the privileged position of men in the traditional music scene. This festival features fiddles from Finland, harps from the Outer Hebrides, jazz from Jamaica, stories from Syria and Scotland, and tons more. And when was the last time we got to see a banjo so up close and personal? edinburghtradfest.com
RECORDS - CDS - DVDS NEW & SECONDHAND OTAGO LANE, GLASGOW MON-SAT 10-6
10% DISCOUNT IN STORE WITH THIS ADVERT WWW.MIXEDUPRECORDS.COM USE C OD E: SNAC K1 0 F OR 10% OUNT If you need free condoms, it is quick andDI easy.SC Fill in your details on our website form and your condoms will be sent direct to you. ON WEBSITE ORD ER THESE OFFERS END ON THE 22nd OF APRIL 2022 1 OFFER PER CUSTOMER
What’s on Page 9
VAN GOGH ALIVE
SOUTAR FESTIVAL OF WORDS
Festival Square, Edinburgh: 17th March till 17th July This multi-sensory experience takes you beyond the boring bronze plaques at the side of paintings and moves you through the space and time and contexts of Van Gogh’s life and work. Loads of my pals have seen it and said it was top notch, so I reckon I’m safe to recommend it here. Not only that, it’s for a good cause – they’re working with charity Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), raising money to support their 2021-2024 strategy, We Won’t Wait, which is focused on urgent action needed for people now, particularly with the farreaching effects of the panny-d.
Online & Various Locations, Perth and Kinross, 22nd till 24th April Any festival that uses exclamation marks at the end of lots of its events is sure to be just the right amount of energetic and manic. I mean, there’s opera in Scots! On top of that, there’s walks, there’s workshops, there’s witches, there’s whatever you wish for – all in the Fair City in the heart of the Central Belt. Have a look at their website to see which panels and performances are for you.
vangoghaliveuk.com/edinburgh
TOPPINGS BOOK EVENTS
Van Gogh Live
culturepk.org.uk/whats-on/soutar-festivalof-words-2022
The Bookshop, St Andrews, 31st March onwards Plenty of new books and awesome authors to take in at Toppings this year. Embroidering her Truth takes a new slant on Mary, Queen of Scots with textiles expert Clare Hunter – this talk celebrates the release of her new book and weaves together tales of Mary’s use of colour and cloth to convey power, one of the only ways women at the time could do so. Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking to Nourish Your Soul from Asma Khan will warm and fill you up – see and hear her in person. Khan is a fascinating individual, one of the UK’s most prominent female chefs and owner of the Darjeeling Express restaurant. 2020 Booker Prizewinner Douglas Stuart will stop in St Andrews as part of his tour for his new book, Young Mungo. Jenni Fagan will be there to discuss her new book Hex which highlights the ever-present persecution of women, with time travel! Plus many more writers besides! toppingbooks.co.uk/events/st-andrews
snackmag.co.uk
VAS – REVERB Online till 29th April Visual Arts Scotland will present their Annual Exhibition 2022 – REVERB – which will be presented on Artlogic, fully online for the first time in VAS history. This VAS exhibition is the most extensive in recent years with over 150 artists showing more than 250 works across seven programmes. Among notable awards this year is the W Gordon Smith Award, Open Eye Gallery Award and their first Young Space Award for emerging artists, selected by guest curator Kate Mothes – and many more.
30 April & 1 May 2022
The exhibition will also present work from their pilot programme of funded artist residencies. Emerging artists from their Graduate Showcase will be shown alongside invited artists Ruth Leslie, Soo Burnell and Sekai Machache. visualartsscotland.org
CITY HALLS & OLD FRUITMARKET, GLASGOW
A FESTIVAL OF NEW & EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC
Alasdair Wallace – Colonies
Weekend Passes: £30/£25 conc. Day Passes: £20/£15 conc. bbc.co.uk/tectonics @tectonicsglas
What’s on Page 11
YOU ARE HERE 2022
THE HOUSE & DISCO FESTIVAL
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh: till 1st January 2023 This exhibition gathers work from partner organisations from over Scotland and promotes local art. It showcases how myriad and widereaching the process and product of art can be, and touches on its necessity for our brain and body’s wellbeing. It’s got a focus on contemporary and ongoing art and projects, showing what is happening right here and right now in the creative spheres of Scotland. Curious photographs and sculptures of ribbon are amongst the highlights.
SWG3, Glasgow: 16th April D I S C O ! This festival promises to deliver ‘something for every house head and disco diva!’ Versatile vocalist Jocelyn Brown headlines this veritable feast of beats and is joined by the likes of the cheeky Mousse T., beat matching pioneer Nicky Siano, and splicing savant John Morales. There’s disco and house from all decades, including more recent and local talent like Edinburgh’s Natasha Kitty Katt, who livestreamed throughout lockdown with her green screen and Starship Enterprise DJ set up. Get glammed and glittered up but don’t forget your comfy shoes for hours of dancing.
nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/you-arehere-2022
swg3.tv/events/2022/april/house-discofestival
FROM SILVERY TAY TO SOUTHERN OCEAN Dalhousie Building, Dundee: 13th April Ernest Shackleton was, to put it mildly, a legend. Even a hundred years after his death we are in awe of his adventures across the Antarctic. This talk from Kenneth Baxter and Matthew Jarron marks the centenary of the death of the explorer and delineates his connections to Dundee, from epic elections to shiny ships to benevolent benefactors, and so forth. abertay.org.uk snackmag.co.uk
Jocelyn Brown
Pollokshields says
Support our work by setting up a monthly donation at www.pollokshieldsfoodpoint.org
USE SNACK22 AT CHECKOUT ONLINE FOR 10% DISCOUNT IN APRIL
QUOTE SNACKMAG IN STORE FOR A FREE COFFEE WITH THE
PURCHASE OF A RECORD IN APRIL
Thousands of plant-based, vegan, Your one-stop healthy food shop vegetarian, organic, free-from, Fairtrade, eco-friendly and ethical products to choose from 37 Broughton Street EH1 3JU & 8 Brougham Street EH3 9JH
Visit Real Foods for all your natural, healthy and nutritious plant-based ingredients
www.realfoods.co.uk natural healthy ethical shopping •
•
•
What’s on Page 13
SCOTTISH VEGAN FESTIVAL 02 Academy, Edinburgh: 8th May Stalls galore with food and drinks and talks and art and more! If you’re wondering about the future of veganism, this is the place to go. A great way to support local businesses, plus money raised will support Farplace Animal Rescue. scottishveganfestival.com
GLITCH 41 The Rum Shack, Glasgow: 21st April A new monthly residency which promises a night of improvised groove-based music from some of the most exciting musicians in the Glasgow jazz scene and beyond. Liam Shortall of corto.alto and trombonist Noushy host an amazing house band with a rolling line up of special guests. The first night sold out rapidly and turned a Thursday night into a sweaty stomp of jazz, hip-hop, and drum and bass. rumshackglasgow.com/events Noushy
A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT Various Locations, Scotland: 2nd April onwards Daniel Getting Married by JD Stewart kicks off the season with an invitation to a totally drama-free wedding. JKS: of course there’s drama! It begins with Daniel waiting in the church for his groom to turn up – but first his ex-boyfriend arrives and throws a spanner in the works. Then there’s My Doric Diary, a musical that follows Daisy as she is offered the thing we’ve all wondered about – the ability to go back in time and try again. If you’re a fan of cult stories, then Mooning, written by Erin McGee is for you – and, sure, who hasn’t thought of joining a cult to deal with a break-up? playpiepint.com/plays
snackmag.co.uk
If you need free condoms, it is quick and easy. Fill in your details on our website form and your condoms will be sent direct to you.
What’s on Page 15
snackmag.co.uk
THE MYSTERINES
Liverpudlian grunge-rock band The Mysterines didn’t spend long bubbling beneath the surface before releasing their hotly tipped debut album Reeling, which dropped on 11th March. With accolades coming from the likes of Paul Weller as well as Bobby Gillespie, who confirmed his support after announcing they’ll be joining Primal Scream on stage in Glasgow this summer, the chart-topping record further cements these newbies as one of the most exciting bands to break through this year. Despite most of the band battling chest infections just as they set off on their UK tour, we managed to catch up with front woman Lia Metcalfe to talk about Reeling, the band’s upcoming gigs, and the admirable attitude and defiance that’s helped her overcome setbacks in what can be a merciless industry. You are currently on tour: how is life on the road treating you? Yeah, it’s good. We’re all a bit sick but we are feeling a little bit better today. It’s wonderful and chaotic. What has the initial response been like to some of the new tracks on Reeling during these first few dates of the tour? It’s been good, to be honest. We made a choice when we came out on tour just to play the record and nothing else. I think everyone’s happy just to listen to some of the songs that they’ve never seen live before, so it’s been a good few nights. I read that Reeling was recorded live. What was the thinking behind this decision? We just all wanted to do a live record; a lot of our favourite records are recorded live and the producer wanted to do it this way. I think things just sound better when they’re live, especially albums, so it was a mutual decision amongst everyone. This is your largest offering of songs so far; do you feel like there’s a particular mood or inspiration? I suppose so, but I think it’s better that people figure out for themselves what they think. I think it’s easier for people to figure it out themselves, otherwise it just ruins it, doesn’t it?
Photo credit: Chelsea Kostrey
Music by Aisha Fatunmbi-Randall Page 17
Alongside the explosive, high-energy tracks, you also have numbers like ‘Under Your Skin’ and ‘Still Call You Home’ – there seems to be a real contrast between the fast, punky numbers and slower, reflective ones. Is there a difference in the songwriting process in creating these tracks, or is it more spontaneous? I would probably say there is a slight difference in the songwriting process. It just depends on the songs, really, because some of the faster ones took a lot of craft, especially lyrically. It ranges from song to song, but some songs on the record are quite spontaneous, like ‘Life’s a Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’. Did you have any expectations that you would be charting so highly on your first release? No, we didn’t! To be honest, I don’t really know what the charts are or how it works or anything like that. Maybe the naivety of our concept of the charts is why we’ve been quite nonchalant about the number nine. I don’t know, I think – yeah it’s a really good thing. It’s not number one though, is it? snackmag.co.uk
It must be exciting that you are embarking on a North American tour in May! What are you most looking forward to about being in the States? I’m just looking forward to going because none of us have ever been to America before. I think it’s just going to be good to be there, I’m looking forward to Detroit. I know it’s pretty bad for violence but it’s more just about the history of the music. Obviously, it’s every band’s dream to travel to America, so we feel lucky to be able to do it. How long has that been in the pipeline, then? Not that long, to be honest! Around the time that it got announced is pretty similar to around the time that we found out that we were going, so it wasn’t like we’d been sitting on it for ages or anything. That must be quite surreal, being able to put something that big out there just as you have found out yourself. Yeah, it was weird. I remember my mum ringing me just after, like, ‘What the fuck!’
You mentioned in another interview a wee while ago that you felt the industry can be quite cutthroat. Do you have any advice for other artists who might be feeling a bit disillusioned?
We see you’ve announced that you’ll be supporting Primal Scream in Glasgow this summer in Queens Park. How are you feeling about that? Can you tell us a little bit more about how you secured this gig?
Fuck them all, full stop. Yeah, that’s my advice – definitely. It is cutthroat and it’s shit, but you’ve got to crack on with it.
Yeah, it will be great, really cool. I think Bobby just liked the band – he’s liked the band for a while, to be honest. There’s been talk of it happening for a while or at least us doing something with him. So it’s just sort of come together. I’m really looking forward to that.
Is that the approach you’ve adopted in life generally? Yeah, pretty much. I think with everything that you care about you’re going to face resistance at one point in your life. If you don’t face resistance against something, then you’re obviously not doing something worthwhile. You can’t cut back out of something with the fear that you’re going to fail or face that resistance, so you may as well fuck them all, like I just said. Not literally, obviously – I mean you can fuck them if you want to, but that probably wouldn’t end well either [laughs].
Are you already working on new material or thinking ahead for the next release? If so, can you offer the readers any hints about where the band is going next? We are working on that. There is stuff in the works, and it will be sort of in another direction that we’re going. But obviously, we’re currently in a van so it’s not like we’ll be recording album two any time soon. But we’ve got stuff in the works which we’re pretty excited for. Reeling is out now via Fiction The Mysterines support Primal Scream 1st July at Queens Park, Glasgow
Photo credits: Chelsea Kostrey
Music by Aisha Fatunmbi-Randall Page 19
BILLY GOT WAVES
Beginning to make music at 12 years old, Edinburgh rapper and previous SAMA nominee Billy Got Waves cemented himself as one of the most exciting artists working within Scotland’s rap scene with his 2018 debut mixtape Kill Billy. We caught up with him upon the release of Rocket Boy 1/3 – the initial instalment of his 3 part album. Rocket Boy 1/3 has been your first solo release since 2018. How have you been applying yourself creatively during this hiatus? Bro, I have been busy! I was working on a film set for a while, I had some collaborative releases in between with [Edinburgh based artist] Joell and have been doing a lot of shows. For example, I did a show with Reebok and Size a few months ago, supporting London rapper Che Lingo. I have also just been working on myself, getting my head to the place it needs to be. I’ve been travelling, too; right now I am speaking to you from Toronto. snackmag.co.uk
This new EP reflects on drug abuse, sex, and partying, from a more retrospective point of view, rather than the hedonistic attitude we found on Kill Billy. On Kill Billy I was just focusing on the fun, going out, getting waved, never any consequences. That was my attitude at the time. Rocket Boy 1/3 focuses more on the reality of drug abuse, which isn’t just all glamour and having a good time.
In ‘Silver Surfer’, you say, ‘So high up this is where I feel safe, When I come back down, I hope I still feel this way, Numb the pain’. This lyric is reflecting on drug use as a coping mechanism. Can you delve further into your past relationship with drugs and how you feel it affected you on a mental health level? I used to be going out all the time and thinking about nothing else. I have another bar, ‘I don’t know where I’m going, but I know I’ll get there if I’m floating’ which basically means that it doesn’t matter what the occasion is, I am going out and finding a place to get fucked up, I think this can be a lot of people’s attitudes. Drugs have resulted in me going into dark places and Rocket Boy 1/3 reflects on this. More generally, what artists have inspired you the most musically? Lil Wayne has been someone I’ve always held up as the GOAT in terms of flow and lyricism. I’ve listened to him since a young age. Recently I’ve really been enjoying the sound and aesthetic of FKA Twigs, Lancey Foux, Rosalia, Santi, SALM, and Sega Bodega. Do you have any plans for music videos attached to these tracks? I have a visualiser for ‘Poison’ on its way! Right now, I am looking for more funding to be able to make a short film to attach to each of the parts, something more conceptual than your standard music video. Can you explain the series title, ‘Rocket Boy’? I guess because I want to take the listener up to space... Rocket boy has so many futuristic and outer space themes both lyrically and instrumentally, so it made sense to me. It is also an ode to Astro Boy from my love of anime and Japanese subcultures in general. Photo credit: Lunch Concept Store
You have a feature from Alloysious Massaquoi, of the Edinburgh legends Young Fathers, on your opening track B.O.A.W. How was it working with him and how did this collaboration come about? Alloysious I knew a bit from growing up in Edinburgh, as teenagers we were always in similar social circles and all of that. Later down the line, my collective 131 Northside ended up sharing a space with the Young Fathers guys. It’s always been inspiring seeing them do their thing. I was showing Alloysious some tracks, and he got on one of them and made it a completely different thing. What was the biggest challenge making Rocket Boy? Money. man. Money is always the biggest challenge. I would have loved a big PR budget, a bigger budget for everything really but that’s how it is. From a creative standpoint, Rocket Boy felt as if it had come naturally. Your grandfather, Bert Marshall, was a jazz musician who played alongside pioneer Django Reinhart. Did you know your grandfather? How has he influenced you as an artist? Haha! Close. Bert Marshall was my great great grandfather and died before I was born. I actually only found out about this recently and there is still a lot to uncover. It’s crazy, he still has songs on YouTube that probably have more views than mine! Bert was said to have been kicked out of Django Reinhardt’s band for being too dark skinned, which forced him to move to the UK and a few generations later I appeared. Billy Got Waves’ Rocket Boy 1/3 was released 11th March on 131 Northside
Music by Joe Rosenthal Page 21
JILL LOREAN Some names crop up repeatedly if you pay attention to the Glasgow music scene. With a few, it’s all about connections. With others, it’s a ringing endorsement of their talent and what they bring to the table. Jill O’Sullivan is one such act, her presence marking whatever project she is working on as being worthy of your interest. The latest example of Jill’s craft is This Rock, the debut Jill Lorean album. SNACK caught up with Jill to chat about reflection, Newsround, whether you should move beyond punching people in the face, and, of course, music. Sadly, the zombie-apocalypse-list chat has been squeezed into the outtakes!
Hi Jill, how are you doing? I’m good, recovering from the dreaded Covid. I’m okay, not my best self, but I’m never my best self! I had the busiest week for a few years the week before I got it. Your new album, This Rock, covers a lot of ground musically. Was this deliberate? The three of us [Jill, Andy Monaghan (Frightened Rabbit), and Peter Kelly] have different styles, which is why I wanted to work with them. My particular being lends itself to folkier sounds, while Andy is guitar-driven. It’s a different style to mine, and I love it. Also, Andy plays bass on the album. He uses his pedals creatively. Pete is more into electro music, and that lends more depth. I was hoping it would feel like a cohesive piece, but that each song has its identity.
snackmag.co.uk
How did the three of you come together? I knew I wanted to work with them. I’ve been working with Andy for years; he recorded different things I’ve worked on, including an album called Do the Gods Speak Esperanto, with my friend Sean [Cumming, of John Knox Sex Club]. Andy recorded it, and I loved the way he approached it. He was open-minded, but focused and thoughtful. He respects the art and wants to do it right, but he has fun with it. He enjoys messing about with things. He calls himself a button pusher, but that doesn’t give him enough credit. He said to me that if I wanted to go into the studio and get some demos done, we could. I also had Pete in mind for drumming. He and I worked on a dance project together. He’s very fluid and flexible, really emotional, and I like that combination. I was happy to work with the two of them. Andy and I demoed up eight or nine songs, and six of them were really clicking. We got offered a couple of gigs, we played those six songs, and loved it. I asked if we could record them as a document, just so I have it. Andy put up all these mics in the studio, and we recorded the six tracks. When I listened back, I loved it, and I asked the guys if they’d be cool with putting it out as an EP [Not Your First, released in 2020]. They were up for that! We promoted it a little bit and then lockdown happened. It was a strange thing because people were being so supportive of vinyl and bands, people were buying the album, and there was so much warmth. There wasn’t much pickup on blogs and the media. We were new, and it was such a strange time that I felt weird promoting it, and avoided assertively doing that.
Folk were stuck indoors and coping by listening to tunes, and this was reflected in the support we got. It put wind in our sails, and we wanted to do an album. When we were allowed to, we played about with ideas, but none of us had any money. We were all skint and scared! I applied for some funding [from Creative Scotland], and we were able to do it. The EP was released in May 2020. It’s a different world to the one the album comes out in. As an artist, have you changed? With the EP, everything was quick. I was starting to explore the idea of this act, this band. I had done so many specific collaborations; I was trying to get a better sense of myself. By the time the album came out, I was trying to grasp what was happening inside my head. In Sparrow and The Workshop [Jill’s former band], it was really intense. We did 180 or so gigs in a year. A lot of that, I was in my 20s, I was angsty and angry. I don’t think the lyrics were selfish, as people said they related to them, but when you make stuff you need to be a little bit egotistical. With Jill Lorean, I want to relate to people on an organic level. I was thinking about nature, and being kinder; lockdown made me think about that. We’ve been far apart at times, and I wanted to feel like two branches touching. Lyrically, I think the album is cohesive – there’s a lot of reflection. Of womanhood, of motherhood, thinking about my ancestors and what it means to be, and be better.
But people were warm, and I realised people needed music. It wasn’t me or Jill Lorean, but music.
Photo Credits: Stephanie Gibson
Music by Andrew Reilly Page 23
In the past, I would point fingers and say, ‘you suck’ or ‘I’m going to punch you in the face’ and now, like ‘Beekeeper’ on the record, it’s about making something positive that grows. As opposed to just punching something! I feel I’ve become a bit more complex as I’ve got older, but strangely, seeking simplicity. You can control your emotions a bit more as you get older. Also, honesty and confidence in saying this is what I like, and this is the music I want to make. I lost my confidence in playing guitar, and this was one of the nice things about connecting with Andy. When we demoed songs, I asked him to play the guitar part, and make it better. He’d say no, and said it was an expression of me and I should do it. I was buoyed by his support; he’s encouraging and I’m glad I played it. I also got my violin out, and explored that. Pete too, he wanted to be involved, and it was nice being in a room, working with them. I’ve been lucky that everyone I’ve worked with, I’ve enjoyed. Even BDY_PRTS [Jill’s band with Jenny Reeve] was a left-turn, and it was enjoyable. That was an exploration of me and Jen’s friendship, and it was fun. I was out of my comfort zone, if I’m honest, but it was nice.
Working with Pete and Andy was a positive space, and when you think about life today, everything’s heavy, and feels bigger than us as individuals. War, a pandemic, a virus we still know nothing about. It’s easy to think what is my purpose? Social media is so fast-moving, and the way we communicate or absorb information, it's fast. I think it's faster than our brains can handle. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but it’s heartbreaking. Art is important. With all the heaviness going on, if you’re not hurting people and you’re trying to live a decent life, that’s good. With ‘Anti-War Lullaby’, that actually happened, with my daughter asking me about war. It was me who cried. Most of us do want to live in peace, have nice connections. Even with music. Music is beautiful, but the music industry is terrible. Within everything, there’s reflections of light, and reflections of dark. It’s all about looking for light. The album ends with ‘Anti-War Lullaby’, it’s a title that will always ring true, but you’ve timed that well? I didn’t mean to! Oh, man. My daughter watches Newsround, a lovely show for kids, and it’s presented to them in a way that gets them to think without being too scary. She was asking me about the war in Syria, and we had a discussion around that. Is your daughter of an age where she engages with your music? She is going to be eight soon, and she wants to engage, so I get her involved a little bit. If we have mixes, I ask if she wants to listen, and she gives her opinion. One of the great things about asking her is she still thinks I’m really cool! She says sweet things. She loved ‘Strawberry Moon’ from the EP and she asked if I could go on Eurovision and sing it. She’s a champion.
snackmag.co.uk
I put out a video for ‘Black Dog’ with a bunch of animations, and I got her to do ten seconds. She wanted to do the whole thing, but I’m sure that’s child exploitation. She was super chuffed to take part. It makes sense for me because she inspires me, so it's good to see a small bit of her in what I do with Jill Lorean.
I love helping people to write songs. I never thought I had a skill, but over the years, I’ve done this, and that’s nice. Also, some stuff for theatres. I had projects before Covid, and they were paused, but in late summer to winter we’re doing them, so I’ll be busy. And trying to write and perform more Jill Lorean songs, so I won’t have much time to come up for air!
Some great artists will support you at Hug and Pint – are you able to stay in touch with new acts?
And finally, with the album set for release, what are your general thoughts?
Well, yes and no. I love listening to music, and I’m always seeking out new stuff. I can fall into the habit of playing the same stuff over and over, so I ask people for recommendations about new stuff. I asked Hug & Pint for recommendations.
I’m really proud of this record, I hope it connects with people in some way, and that they dig it. That’s all I can ask for. It would be nice, if people were in a position to, to buy the album on vinyl, as that would really help us!
I like Raveloe. Before lockdown, she put a song out on Olive Grove, and it was brilliant. I think she’s great, and she’s playing, so that will be really nice. Her writing is sophisticated and she plays really interesting chords. It's emotional, and I engage well with emotional music. I don’t know what her plans are, but I look forward to her show.
This Rock is released 1st April on on Monohands Records. Jill Lorean play The Hug and Pint on 28th May
Also, Ali Sha Sha, who I don’t know, but I listened to her and she’s very unique and eclectic. I don’t know what she’ll bring live, if it’s just her or a band, but I love that. I get the feeling she does a different show every time, and I like that. It’ll be fun, and it’s good to support other Glasgow musicians who are great, and who are women. Hopefully, there will be more gigs for autumn. I’m like a snail with an itchy foot, I want to get back out there. I’m also thinking about another album or EP. Jill Lorean is a labour of love, but I do music facilitating workshops for people in care, prison, and in community centres. I don’t know how I got involved with that, but I get regular work, and I love it.
Photo credit: Stephanie Gibson
Music by Andrew Reilly Page 25
Janet Beat
TECTONICS Words like ‘pioneer’ get thrown around a fair bit, but as the person who owned the first commercially available synthesiser in the UK and director of the Scottish Electro-Acoustic Music Association, Janet Beat has a better claim to the title than most. Her experiments with electronic music and tape loops in the 70s and the beautiful hand drawn scores that she created finally saw a commercial release in 2021, with the album Pioneering Knob Twiddler. This year’s Tectonics Festival at Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket will celebrate her legacy with a line-up that reflects a spirit of fearless experimentation. I caught up with festival curator Ilan Volkov to discuss Beat’s work and what we can expect from the return of Tectonics. I guess the first thing I'd really want to know is: what brought you to Janet Beat’s work? We’re always trying to discover new voices from all around the world, and local talent, and also look at stuff that maybe has been overlooked. The hub of this work is happening in Glasgow with the BBC. I think the first time I read about her was in some catalogue of electronic music in Scotland, and then there was an article in Sound and Music about her life, which was revealing. So this interest kind of already started way before the Trunk Records LP; we were already in the process of trying to figure it out then, what pieces we could do. There were several composers in Scotland that were doing electronic music. She was not the only one, but she has done a large amount of it; some works are with tape delay or with different synthesisers during the 70s and 80s. Electronic materials change as technology changes. snackmag.co.uk
And is that reflected in the line up this year? We've asked two acts to respond to Janet's work, a very open call for them to respond in any way they feel. So I’m quite curious about what they come up with.The first focus on the Saturdays is Sharon Gal and Andie Brown, two local musicians. What we did was send a lot of scores and recordings to both of these acts and they were free to take it from there. Not knowing the result is a really crucial aspect of deciding to do a piece, especially the new collaborations, or asking people that have never worked with orchestras to work with them for the first time. Of course it can fail, but it can also lead to this totally new way of combining electronic and acoustic music. And if we didn’t ask them, the chance that they would do a piece with an orchestra is quite low. That's a very exciting thing to do and that's the sort of risk which I enjoy, because if you don't take this step, you have no idea what we could achieve. This also includes old works, which somehow are not perceived as important. There were an incredible amount of amazing musicians; some of them isolated by living in a place which meant that they couldn't be known, or there were women inside the establishment, like Janet. I met her a few months ago, and she told the story of how difficult it was to be accepted by her colleagues and how many problems she had at the beginning. So somebody who is famous usually is fantastic, but also very lucky.
Douglas Ewart
Do you see that as part of the role of the curator? Passing these artists on, keeping their legacy alive? With Janet it was quite easy because most of the music was available, although one piece we couldn't find. We had a recording of the piece that Juliet Fraser will do – it's a piece with some percussion and electronics and voice, but they couldn't find the score. But then we did – in Janet's house. These things are great because this piece hasn't been performed for 30 years. Resurrecting these pieces is crucial. They might not become repertoire, but they will be recorded. You spoke about creating an environment of experimentation. How do you go about fostering that? I think we tried to challenge ourselves, to find musicians that we had never heard of to keep developing. Janet Beat, who is not known enough in Scotland, or Douglas Ewart, who we're bringing from the USA, is a kind of musician that even if you talk to jazz musicians not all of them would know of because he’s not somebody who did millions of records. He was always based in the community; he was never pursuing a career. Then you discover an artist that has a huge amount of experience and different perspectives and that is super interesting. I'm so happy we can bring him to do a duet with Joëlle Léandre and also a piece with GIO. So then we get two facets of his work as a composer and as a player. I feel like curiosity is what drives the project forward. When the project ends I'm like, oh, this was really good. What do we do next year? But somehow, new ideas come in and suddenly we need five festivals again. It's an endless thing, but to work with Alistair and the orchestra and the whole team there, it’s an ideal way of doing this kind of very unusual project, which is still - even though it's now in its 9th year – pushing us. Tectonics 2022 runs 31st April till 1st May Music by Chris Queen Page 27
KOLBRÚN BJÖRT SIGFÚSDÓTTIR When I speak to Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir, she’s just opened one of two shows she’s directing back-to-back at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. The first, Me and My Sister Tell Each Other Everything,was greeted with a round of positive reviews. The second, hang by debbie tucker green, has its Scottish premiere at the end of this month. hang, a short, sharp shock of a play exploring the limits of justice, was originally set to open in 2020, and will finally hit the Tron stage at the end of the month. Let’s talk about hang. Say I'm not familiar with debbie tucker green, and I don't know the play. Could you give me an overview? So there is a woman – she doesn't get a name within the play. She's referred to as ‘3’. She’s arrived to make a decision. And the decision is to be noted by two officers of this dystopian system, this organisation that we're in – it's not really spelled out what that is, but it’s within the legal system. There’s been a crime committed against 3, and she's there to make a decision regarding her attacker. snackmag.co.uk
We don’t know what the crime is, and we don't know for the longest time what that decision is about. But we know that she's deeply traumatised by what's happened. And the system seems hellbent on re-traumatising her through its inability to be human. Even though they repeatedly tell her they want her to be comfortable, there's nothing comfortable in this situation. And she can't be, because of her trauma. It was originally done at the Royal Court and debbie directed it herself. It's never been staged in Scotland – in fact, none of her work has. What?! Yeah, it’s wild. The thing that really drew me to this text is its ability to go to the darkest corners of the human psyche, and still make you really laugh. It's so uncomfortable, so wrong, so hard to watch; and it’s really, really funny. It's a magnificent piece. It's very short. It's really tense. It's really like a pressure cooker.
The show was originally intended to be staged in the Tron’s studio space. Has it changed now that it's moved to the Main House?
It is. 3, from the playwright’s point of view, is a Black woman. No discussion about that. The other two are more open. One of them is a woman, but in terms of the race and gender of the other, it's open.
I think we can push some of the ideas to be slightly bigger, physically. I've not directed for a big stage before, so that's going to be a learning curve for me, to scale up. I’ve actually recently acquired a movement director to be looking at the physicality. Because of the pressure-cooker thing, instinctively you want it all to be really close. But how do we make a whole auditorium feel like that? That’s the challenge.
So why did you choose to go for two women?
What's your process like as a director?
Because I could. [Laughs.]
Well, it depends on each piece. For hang it will be very character-heavy, very script-focussed. This particular script is written like a musical score. I actually had a chat with debbie tucker green about it. She directed it herself in 2015. I asked, director to director, what should I watch out for? Mainly, she said it looks easy on the page, but actually achieving the rhythms that are needed for this to be both tense and funny is hard. So I'll be looking at that kind of dance and the music of it quite a lot. And she lovingly said, ‘Don't fuck it up.’ [Laughs.] Which I will take to heart.
I saw some photos of other productions, and the casting – is that quite open-ended?
Great, great answer. Yeah! Because I could. Because why not? There aren’t that many all-female plays – if you can, why not? So, why did you choose this piece? What does it have to say to an audience right now? It’s slightly changed. Because when I pitched it [in 2019] we weren't as aware of the Black Lives Matter movement. The structural and systematic ways in which abuse and racism is perpetuated in society weren’t as obvious to a lower-middle-class white person like me. And that's my own ignorance. So the context in which I viewed the play at first has shifted.
hang will be performed at the Tron Theatre 28th April till 7th May 2022
For me, it’s about injustice. Is justice achievable? Can there be repercussions for any crime that match the effects of that crime on the victim? That’s what I will be looking at. And what drives me to put this on – in Tory Britain, how are we treating people? Are our systems fit for people, or are they actually just fit for systems?
Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
Theatre by Katie Smith Page 29
LOUISE WELSH Back in 2002, the Glaswegian noir novel The Cutting Room introduced writer Louise Welsh to the world. It was a groundbreaking novel which made its mark, winning the Saltire Society First Book Award among other accolades. At its heart was the unforgettable central character of Rilke, a man inexorably drawn to the darker corners of the city – places few writers had explored before. 20 years on, The Cutting Room remains one of the great Glasgow novels. Welsh has gone on to write some of the most interesting and arresting novels of the 21st century, including the portentous Plague Times trilogy, but she has now revisited arguably her greatest literary creation and reunited with Rilke in her latest novel, The Second Cut. SNACK caught up with Louise Welsh to find out more. How was it to revisit the people and places of The Cutting Room after such a long time? Hooking up with Rilke and his merry bunch of pranksters was a treat. I have tapped him on the shoulder a few times in the twenty years since I wrote The Cutting Room and asked if he’d like to go on another adventure, but he always ignored me. This time he turned around and looked at me and we were off. snackmag.co.uk
It's wonderful to see that the central character of Rilke (sometimes referred to by others as 'Cadaver' and 'Corpse' in The Cutting Room) is still with us, as the life he led was one which embraced all sort of dangers. Did you have to consider his life between novels? Rilke has been busy in the interim since we last met. He’s aware of the changes in the city and in society generally. Despite this he has only aged three years in the twenty-year gap. The Second Cut brings us right up to date. It's one of the few novels I've read to mention COVID – why did you want it to be so contemporary? Part of the appeal of crime fiction for me lies in its reflection of contemporary politics and society. I couldn’t ignore the pandemic. COVID has affected the economic and physical landscape Rilke inhabits. Bowery Auctions’ finances have been hit, like many small businesses. This ups the ante and makes Rilke more inclined to take risks. After saying that, the pandemic is only mentioned a couple of times in the book. I’m as sick of it as everyone else! Looking back, why do you think The Cutting Room made such an impact on readers? Perhaps it was part of a zeitgeist. The Cutting Room was written during a time of open and institutional hostility against LGBTQ+ people, during the Keep the Clause campaign. Every day I walked past billboards which openly equated being queer with being a paedophile. I wrote The Cutting Room out of anger. Perhaps other people were angry too and found it refreshing to encounter an openly queer man who was the driving force of a novel.
Photo credit: Jerry Bauer
Rilke is such a strong character. How do you approach creating a supporting cast who also leave their mark? Like many hardboiled detective antiheroes, Rilke is his own man. He’s comfortable traversing the city alone and has his own set of values which don’t always align with wider society’s. The unifying factor between Rilke and his friends Rose and Les is a scabrous sense of humour, a precarious income stream, good clothes, and a willingness to put two fingers up to society Glasgow is almost a character in its own right in both books. How do you view it as a city? I have lived in Glasgow for most of my life. Like all cities, it is more than one place. You can probably find what you want here. I’m fascinated by the city’s architecture, traces that the past has left behind and how earlier periods impact on the present. I have questions such as: why can’t I walk the full length of the city section of the Clyde? Who owns the fenced-off land on its banks? I like looking at old maps and photos of Glasgow, especially the Charing Cross section where I live. The old streets have been obliterated to the extent that it is challenging to rebuild them in your mind. Do you think we will meet Rilke again? Perhaps we will meet again, but who knows? I will have to see if he is up for another escapade. I hope so. He’s fun to write and three is a magic number. The Second Cut is out now, published by Canongate Books
Books by Alistair Braidwood Page 31
FOODIE NEWS This year’s Edinburgh Science Festival runs from 9th - 24th April, featuring A Toast to Gaia, a selfguided trail of Edinburgh’s leading independent bars and restaurants, each offering a brand-new, climate-themed cocktail. The trail aims to highlight the important work the Scottish drinks industry undertakes to help fight climate change. Also look out for Climate Cocktails on Friday 15th April. This event explores how the drinks industry can reduce their carbon footprint without compromising on taste. Three cocktails and zero-waste canapes are included in the admission price. sciencefestival.co.uk Ka Pao has opened within the St James Quarter after taking Glasgow by storm. If you haven’t made it to the Glasgow restaurant then here is what to expect: small plates with vegan and vegetarianfriendly dishes such as salt and Szechuan pepper oyster mushrooms with pickled mooli; corn ribs with salted coconut; roast Jerusalem artichoke and harlequin squash. Other items include grilled aubergine and chilli dip with pork skins and crudités; fried chicken with spicy caramel; and grilled pork and bone marrow sausage with peanuts and herbs. Larger maincourse size dishes and sharing platters are also available. ka-pao.com/Edinburgh snackmag.co.uk
Image credit: Holyrood Distillery
EDINBURGH
Holyrood Distillery are launching two new ‘strong waters’ spirits named Charmed Circles. Using heritage barley varieties such as Golden Promise and Chevalier, Holyrood’s team have produced powerful flavours, textures, and aromas. The name Charmed Circles refers to a collection of wells situated around Arthur’s Seat near the distillery. The labels on the bottle will use 100% recycled paper, made from waste produced from the brewing process. holyrooddistillery.co.uk L’escargot bleu restaurant and wine bar in Edinburgh is the first restaurant in the UK to be certified by Pasture for Life, which supports and promotes producers of 100% pasture-fed beef, lamb and dairy. Founded in 2011, Pasture for Life champions the restorative power of grazing animals on pasture, and the positive impacts this brings for biodiversity and carbon, human health and wellbeing, and animal health and welfare. lescargotbleu.co.uk
GLASGOW
The UK’s first black female distillery owner, Jacine Rutasikwa, at Livingston-based rum distillery Matugga, has launched a crowdfunder to set up a sugarcane plantation in Uganda and purchase additional distillery kit. This will enable them to become a true ‘cane to cask’ producer who can export worldwide, as currently their distillery is operating at full capacity. To learn more, and to help them towards their £300k goal, go to: crowdcube.com/companies/matugga-distillery/ pitches/bVNXjb matuggarum.com
PRODUCT Scottish Chef Tony Singh has collaborated with Aberdeen’s Fierce Brewing to create a range of beers that taste good on their own, but also go well with a curry. The flavours include Indian lager infused with cardamom and citrus pale ale infused with lemon zest and coriander seeds. The beers can be purchased online or at the Moxy Edinburgh Fountainbridge’s bar. fiercebeer.com
Image credit: Matugga
The Glasgow Coffee Festival will be returning to the Briggait on 7th and 8th May. The twoday festival of coffee, organised by Dear Green Coffee Roasters, will have over 40 exhibitors attending. Tickets cost £12 per session and include presentations, film screenings, tastings, and as much coffee as you can drink. glasgowcoffeefestival.com Cairn O’ Mohr wine has been making Scottish wine, yup you read that right, Scottish wine since 1987 (non-grape though). Using homegrown berries and even leaves, their range includes strawberry, raspberry, bramble, elderberry, and oak leaf. Rhubarb and strawberry wine is the latest release, bringing a combination of sweet and sour flavours to this medium-sweet wine. cairnomohr.com
Food and Drink by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 33
Image credit: Credit Cairn O' Mohr
To coincide with the Van Gogh Alive exhibition which is on until 17th July at Festival Square in Edinburgh, Peacock Alley at the Waldorf Astoria - The Caledonian on Princes St will have a Van Gogh-themed afternoon tea, featuring novelty items such as sunflower macarons and scones served with tubes of ‘paint’, where you paint the jam on. £50 per person: note that the themed afternoon tea is only available until 13th April. hilton.com/en/hotels/ednchwa-waldorf-astoriaedinburgh-the-caledonian/dining
snackmag.co.uk
LENTIL BAKE
Spring may be trying to break through but there is still a nip in the air, so there’s a need, here at least, for comfort food. This is a filling, hearty dish with extra vegetables to make it a healthy alternative to the fatty foods we often crave at this time of year. Either make this vegan lentil bake for lunch or dinner at the time or omit baking and then store it in plastic tubs so you can easily pop it in the microwave at a later time for a quick meal. The following recipe will feed four with a side or two to three hearty appetites. Add some smoked paprika for more depth: the choice of hot or sweet is up to you.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD ▌ Add the onion and garlic to a large pot and cook over low heat until the onion is translucent. ▌ Add the carrots and celery stalk. ▌ Cook for ten minutes. ▌ Add the lentils, thyme, red pepper, water, and stock cube to the pot. ▌ Simmer for 10 minutes until the lentils and vegetables have cooked through.
▌ 1kg sweet potatoes
▌ Whilst the lentil mix is cooking, slice sweet
▌ 15g parsley, finely chopped
potatoes into 3mm slices.
▌ 1 onion, finely chopped
▌ Place sweet potato slices in a bowl, add oil,
▌ 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped ▌ 1 red pepper
and season with salt and pepper. Mix together to
▌ 400g tin of cooked green lentils
ensure potato slices are coated.
▌ 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
▌ Add the lentil mix to a baking dish.
▌ 2 carrots, diced
▌ Cover the lentil mix with the sliced sweet
▌ 2 celery stalks, sliced
potatoes.
▌ 1 meat-free beef stock cube, diluted in half a
▌ Cook in a 200c/fan 180c/gas 6 oven until the
can of water
potatoes start to crispen – this should take around
▌ 1 teaspoon dried thyme
20 minutes, depending on your oven.
▌ 2 tablespoons of oil
▌ Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
▌ Salt and pepper Food and Drink by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 35
RECORD STORE DAY Even allowing for the heightened increase in vinyl, there is no point in downplaying the importance of Record Store Day (RSD) for independent music retailers. Put aside your cynicism about how the event has been railroaded by the major labels, and think of the money spent in stores that we all love, all year round.
With Aidan calmly and simply explaining the situation, you get the feeling it will all be resolved away from the public's prying eyes. So, not every shop has a great relationship with artists, but some terrific record shops are set to make RSD 2022 a memorable one.
So, given how vital RSD is for shops and bands, it’s entirely a Scottish trait to see some controversy heading into the big day on Saturday 23rd April. Avalanche Records in Edinburgh is long known for being a spiky little venture. Their social media account has had many pops at artists and customers. In 2022 though, they’ve pulled out a whopper. In the Edinburgh Evening News, store owner Kevin Buckle had a pop at HMV’s new shop on Princes Street. More importantly, there was a go at Gentle Sinners, the duo of Aidan Moffat and James Graham, and record buyers in general. The language used in describing dedicated music fans wasn’t great. The issue wasn’t about RSD but limited-edition indie shop exclusives of upcoming album These Actions Cannot Be Undone. So, it’s not a million miles away. As you’d expect, a social media ‘war’ kicked off; presumably, some people feel rather sheepish about it now.
snackmag.co.uk
Cover: These Actions Cannot Be Undone Mixed Up, on Otago Lane, have a brilliant day lined up. Since it began, they’ve engaged RSD, and with 10% off regular shop stock, you don’t need to look for RSD releases to find something great. The staff will also hand out goodies, and the store goes all out to welcome first-time record buyers. Days like these are great for getting people excited and involved with buying music for the first time. In a streaming world, that’s a joy we all need at times!
Peter Ashby from Mixed Up has tipped us off that their most requested titles for this RSD (at time of print) are from Childish Gambino, Taylor Swift and Beth Orton. You can’t fault that quality, and it’s sure to be a fun time in store.
The Jasmine Minks are well placed to capitalise on the sustained interest in Creation Records. The Aberdonians hope to hit the road later this year, but for now, an updated version of their self-titled 1986 album will have to suffice. Primal Scream are ushering more Andy Weatherall mixes at us with Shine Like Stars, The Proclaimers are doubling down on Sunshine On Leith (Includes the original album + BBC Radio Session & Live at Glastonbury.), and Rebecca Vasmant implores everyone to ‘Dance Yourself Free’.
If you’re looking for record shop exclusives, there’s a limited green edition of the new Pictish Trail album, Island Family. VLURE fans should look out for the White Rabbit frosted clear vinyl edition of the ‘Euphoria’ EP. Onto the standard list, which hardcore buyers have already pored over religiously: there are many Scottish acts with something to look out for on RSD. The 12” The Associates Covers release will get many people up and out of the house early in the morning. The voice of Billy MacKenzie continues to captivate old and new (age or otherwise) listeners, so don’t assume it’s just the mature crowd who are keen on this one – if you rest on your laurels, you might just miss out. Sticking with the Dundonian link, the 35th anniversary of Deacon Blue’s Raintown is commemorated, with £1 from every sale being donated to War Child. There are two Frightened Rabbit EPs on offer, with State Hospital and A Frightened Rabbit getting long awaited reissues.
Don’t just take our word about the Rebecca Vasmant release, the Dance Yourself Free EP is also an RSD tip from Fiona at Glasgow Southside record shop Some Great Reward. Fiona highlighted this alongside Ade with It's Just Wind (Mexican Summer) and Viktor Vaughn’s Vaudeville Villain as records she’s looking forward to saying: ‘We (the world) have an insatiable appetite for MF Doom and his aliases, particularly since his untimely death in 2020. Vaudeville Villain from 2003 is a particularly gritty release and possibly some of his best work’. We’re looking forward to seeing what Some Great Reward serves up alongside Radio Buena Vida DJs, so there’s plenty of reasons to head along down Victoria Road. Monorail's in-store RSD line-up is as great as ever with GABO, Melenas, and Lady Neptune all playing live with Rebecca Vasmant, Camera Obscura & Lost Map taking care of DJ duties. Assai Records in Edinburgh & Dundee haven't announced their in-store events for '22 but a quick look down their stock list for the big day sees Vince Guaraldi Trio 'Baseball Theme' 7" Single & Weyes Blood sitting amonst their best sellers. There’s also the Definitive 12” Singles 1983-1987 from Sheena Easton, and we can only say it’s about bloody time. Music by Andrew Reilly Page 37
Track by Track: The Mysterines Reeling The Mysterines live are like a punch in the mouth. In a good way. Well, I suppose punches to the mouth are rarely, if ever, positive. So they’re nothing like an actual fist in the kisser, but the energy that exuberates off them on stage leaves you feeling like someone has definitely tampered with your countenance, if not outright assaulted it. The Liverpudlian four-piece have been broadly covered with reference to their obvious influences. Anything you read about them will no doubt have referred to PJ Harvey and listed various grunge artists. The Harvey influence is, perhaps, the most audible in the phrasing and attitude of Lia Metcalfe’s vocal delivery.
Opening track ‘Life’s a Bitch (But I Like it So Much)’ starts with a rasping, mildly overdriven riff before gyrating viciously straight into your ear. The chorus is, on first listen, almost too anthemic and feels slightly unwieldy when compared to the main riff. However, on repeated listens, it acts more as a structural, soaring relief than a traditional refrain.
All of the chat comparing them to acts from the last century’s final decade does them a disservice, to be honest. Along with the aforementioned Metcalfe, Callum Thompson (guitar), George Favager (bass), and Paul Crilly (drums) belong firmly in the current moment. Plus, they do occasionally give off the occasional Banshees or Cramps vibe, as well as there being a distinct dollop of glam stomping.
‘…Hung Up’ was released as a single in October and is already a fan favourite. It has enough rhythmic energy to move a permanently berthed burger van but the overlapping coda and chorus in the last minute elevates it with harmonic pop sensibilities to balance the raw scuzz of the guitar track.
snackmag.co.uk
‘Reeling’ strays slightly from the bombastic trend set by the opening two tracks, with a slinkier tempo, a moodier, more yearning tone, and the album’s best guitar solo. My lowkey favourite on the album, ‘Old Friends / Die Hard,’ has all the sleazy, air-humping energy of a Jon Spencer side project, while ‘Dangerous’ is disappointingly not a cover of the Michael Jackson song but the most recent single release. You’ll have heard it – it’s the one with the piano out of I Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges over the chorus. ‘On The Run’ is one of only two songs on the whole record that were obviously written on an acoustic guitar at some point. The lead guitars really take centre stage, flitting between blues-rock pentatonic runs and big country slides. ‘Under Your Skin’ is a slow, swelling tale of mutual infatuation and seeming annoyance. A dreamdestroying relationship suffering from being too sexually charged. If ever a song suggested a rainswept, shady city street, this is it. One of four singles already released, ‘The Bad Thing’ is probably their best single so far, moving from a greasy riff with tonnes of bend into a chopping thrash of emotion. The lyrics to ‘In My Head’ blur the line between the idea of a former relationship and whether that idea can be classified as a ghost or a phantom, and play with occult imagery in a sweeping gust of the darker side of desire.
‘All These Things’ changes the guitar tones up a good bit with an intro on a satisfyingly trebleheavy pick-up. If earlier songs conjure images of rainy streets in Gotham, this is the sound of an open road, albeit one tinged with a sense of regret so palpable that it aids singing along in empathy. A chopping acoustic guitar not unreminiscent of ‘C’mon Billy’ by PJ Harvey forms the backbone to ‘Still Call You Home’ while the flesh, brain, and consciousness of the song come directly from Metcalfe’s vocals building and reacting to everything around her. Almost a perfect closing track, ‘The Confession Song’ adds backwards samples and droning noises over the slow toms or bongos that form most of the rhythm track, while a demonically doubletracked vocal exudes an emotional nudity not many peers could approach. In terms of a debut album, Reeling is that rarest of artefacts – a debut where the band feel like they’ve landed on their own perfectly formed plinth with no half measures in terms of their identity. They’re not creating a new genre by any means (not that anyone singularly does, ever) but they are in such a naturally matured state already that they could easily spin into any musical direction they fancy. I’m sure most of their already numerous devotees would want them to stay firmly on the dark, anguished, yet sexy path they’ve firmly set out on. Reeling is out now on Fiction Records
‘Means To Bleed’ is where, I think, the band show their raw, roaring chutzpah in its neatest form. The riff, when played clean, is not a million miles away from a certain Metallica song about Sandmen and struggling to nod off but when the whole band open up on it and Lia’s room-filling yelp reaches its peak, it’s hard not to feel the uncooked nature of their energy, even in a studio-recorded format. Music by Stephen McColgan Page 39
KENNY BOYLE Book: The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock A good novel should always surprise you, but few have wrong-footed me in the manner of Kenny Boyle’s The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock. I initially thought it was going to be a ‘buddy comedy/drama’, with a pair of misfits who would appear to be ill-suited to begin with, but who come to find out more about themselves through each other – part Midnight Run, part Thelma and Louise —which is all true and good, but led to certain assumptions as to where the story was going. However, reassessing the novel (which I have done in some depth) it’s clear something more interesting was going on from the start. The central character of Wendy – an aspiring writer from the Southside of Glasgow – redefines the notion of the unreliable narrator, with a few false starts in the telling of the story, and lies confessed to the reader and herself. But what becomes clear is that her narration is as much to do with self-deception and a fear of facing up to reality, as the increasingly few certainties in her life fall apart. As the story progresses, you start to experience an increasingly uneasy feeling that the reality Wendy has been protecting herself from is about to break through her defences, which it does in a powerful and heartbreaking way. Again, with hindsight there is a melancholy to Wendy’s voice and to Boyle’s writing which should have acted as a clue that things were not as they seemed, but the madcap and often comedic nature of Wendy and her best friend Cat’s lives hid the true meaning and complexity of their relationship. To say the final chapters of The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock are moving is a huge understatement. They blindside you with their power and honesty, and the unexpectedness of this emotional shift only adds to its strength. snackmag.co.uk
The book changes completely and moves to another level of insight and importance. Kenny Boyle has written a novel that will not only strike a chord with many, it could, without giving anything away, help heal as well. The Tick and the Tock of the Crocodile Clock is published on the Lightning Books imprint of Eye Books Alistair Braidwood
RYAN O’CONNOR Book: The Voids Ryan O’Connor’s debut novel, The Voids, grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go until it is done with you. Set in Glasgow, but with a story which could have been set in any city or town, the narrator goes about burning any bridges he has left in spectacular fashion, with relationships, work, ‘friends’ and even the most casual of acquaintances got rid of as if they are lines on a to-do list. Even his safe space of an abandoned high-rise is under threat, his ignoring of a bath full of letters marked URGENT another sign that avoidance appears the only rational approach.
But reason and reality seem further away with each day, with the belief that if he can just get his drinking correct all will be well. He is searching for balance, with the dedication of a Zen Buddhist crossed with a chemist, for that perfect state of unconsciousness which he believes will, for a time, bring him understanding and even release. The Voids is a breathtaking and often brutal depiction of a one man’s walk on the wild side, apparently addicted not only to drink and drugs, but to the people and places they take him to and the shared life they all lead – individual, yet interlinked. With humour which is black as pitch (until the joke just isn’t funny anymore), The Voids depicts a lost weekend which never ends; a life where dreams and nightmares weave into one another and the past feeds the present and future. Ryan O’Connor describes the disorientation, chaos, and selfdestruction which accompanies such a life in a manner which will seem extreme to some, entirely relatable to others. It’s J.G. Ballard’s High-Rise meets Ron Butlin’s The Sound of My Voice meets Jeff Torrington’s Swing Hammer Swing!, and I could easily go on. But The Voids is so much more than the sum of its influences. Few debut novels have excited me as much as this has, leaving me desperate to read more Ryan O’ Connor. It’s honest and artistic, setting out the drama of ordinary lives in a manner direct and raw, yet humane and ultimately hopeful. The Voids is published with Scribe Publications Alistair Braidwood
EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL Book: Sea of Tranquility The award-winning, best-selling author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel has returned with an epic novel that includes art, time, love, and plague, taking the reader from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon three hundred years later. Sea of Tranquility feels anything but tranquil as we try to gauge where we are throughout the 272 pages. Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an ill-conceived diatribe at a dinner party. He enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and suddenly hears the notes of a violin echoing in an airship terminal – an experience that shocks him to his core. Two centuries later a famous writer, Olive Llewellyn, is on a book tour. Her tour is on earth but her home is the second moon colony. Within the text of Olive's bestselling pandemic novel lies a strange passage, connecting us to Edwin: a man plays his violin for change in the echoing corridor of an airship terminal as the trees of a forest rise around him. With the hiring of Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective in the Night City, we uncover more across the vast expansion of the world. It’s a novel of epic proportions that doesn’t quite pay dividends. There is potential, though. The premise, the characters, the world are all there for the taking, but 272 pages doesn’t quite do it all justice. A short novel that could’ve done with expansion to engage with character, setting and concept, this new one from Emily St John Mandel is quick-paced and fleeting but with marvellous prose. Sea of Tranquility is published 28th April by Pan MacMillan Keira Brown review@snackmag.co.uk Page 41
DOUGLAS STUART
TROPICAL FUCK STORM
Book: Young Mungo Young Mungo is the brilliant second novel from the Booker Prize-winning author, Douglas Stuart. It’s a queer tale that packs in sectarianism, alcoholism, and trauma within 1980s Glasgow; a significant but not lighthearted read. It’s a page-turner, with poetic and literary prose: Stuart paints another vivid portrayal of working-class life, with his emotive and suspenseful tale of love and trauma.
EP: Satanic Slumber Party When two of Australia’s wildest bands get together for a joint EP, there’s bound to be a fair bit of madness unleashed. Each band takes a track from the same session and builds them out into a four-guitar, two-drummer, multi-limbed thrash they describe as being ‘like Love Shack by the B52’s, except it’s evil’. Satanic Slumber Party folds villainous whispers and birdsong into three songs packed with hobgoblins, satanists and Medusa.The centrepiece, ‘Midnight In Sodom’, runs a stomping glam-rock chorus and hair-metal solos through psychedelic acid-punk weirdness, the two bands seemingly pushing each other to more ludicrous extremes. The three-song EP is taken from a double A-side due out later in the year, in advance of a Northern hemisphere tour which promises to be a wild ride: ‘just bring your toothbrush and your ouija board’.
Growing up in a Glasgow scheme, Mungo and James are born under different stars – Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic . The story is set during a time when being sworn enemies is the norm for two from these religions. Despite this, they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. The relationship unfolds to become a first love, and it soon becomes obvious that they need to ensure family and parents do not find out. As things develop, Mo-Maw, Mungo's mother, sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in the west of Scotland with two men she knows due to her alcoholic tendencies. This is the time in which his strength and endurance is most needed, summoning detachment and a sense of brutality to allow him to find safety.
Satanic Slumber Party is out now on Joyful Noise. Tropical Fuck Storm play Stereo, Glasgow on 26th May tropicalfuckstormrecords.com Chris Queen
With rich and fully-fleshed characters that we feel tangible emotion for, Young Mungo is a fascinating read that combines deeply affecting content with a typical dry, west coast humour and prose that will make you invest your time to finish the tale. Young Mungo is published by Picador Books on 14th April Keira Brown
Tropical Fuck Storm
snackmag.co.uk
AMBER PB & L.T. LEIF
KOJEY RADICAL
Album: NOOODs Amber Phelps Bondaroff and Laura Leif are two alt-folk musicians, from Canada and Glasgow respectively, whose new collaboration was recorded in an ambitious project over ten days and was inspired by small objects personal to participating collaborators. NOOODs, therefore, is an acronym for 'Newfangled Objects of Our Desires'.
Album: Reason to Smile Kojey Radical's Reason to Smile is an album of many faces. A soulful ode to family and heritage, a polemic against the ills of modern society, and a self-congratulation from a rapper reaching a personal and artistic peak.
It's mired in the kind of late nineties anti-folk and early millenium freak folk ideals particular to artists like Devendra Banhart, Coco Rosie and Joanna Newsom, with wobbly synth sounds, naive, pure vocals and whimsical harmonies. But thankfully the suffocating, try-too-hard tweeness which sometimes blighted the scene isn't present here. Some of the tunes are not always as strong, as with the whispered experimental noodle 'I Am A Tuber' which feels more like a mood than a fleshed-out song, or 'Clam Jam' which is a little static, despite its sweetness. However, opener 'Grubby Ghost' is a lovely track reminiscent of artists like Nina Nastasia, with warm acoustic guitars and Moog-like synth waves caressing the background as the duo's harmonies collide. 'Jacket Jacket' also fares well; a sort of reverb-heavy sea shanty.
The album starts with its title track, entering with a gorgeous neo-soul guitar arrangement, later accompanied by uplifting vocals from Tiana Major9. Radical's lyrics set up the omnipresent theme of overcoming internal and external pressure. ‘Is he up? / Is he next? / Who knows? / Who cares? / Felt ten pound lighter when I let go of my fears’. The impact of fame is explored on the song ‘pressure’, making the listener question ‘How you gonna act when the cameras flash? / Would you strike a pose, Would you double back?’. You can hear throughout Kojey reflecting on social ills and the cutthroat nature of the music industry. These criticisms cumulate on the track 'Pusher Man', where he compares the ethos of the industry to that of organised crime.
Artists like Wyndow (Laura J Martin and Lavinia Blackwall) and Aldous Harding do this kind of music far better and with more bewitching charm, but there are enough ideas and earthy moments of beautiful folk here. It should satisfy those seeking a gentle alternative to all the post-punk influenced music that is seemingly ubiquitous in the indie scene right now.
The seamless fusion of genre is a breath-taking aspect of RtS, allowing its hip-hop foundations to be the basis of a diverse musical journey. From the atmospheric R&B on ‘Anywhere’, to the afro bashement of ‘Born’. This variety is enhanced by the colourful array of features, from jazz producers Blue Lab Beats to grime legend Wretch 32. Reason to Smile as a debut makes my mouth water for what is to come next. It is indicative of Radical’s potential to transform the whole rap game.
Newfangled Objects of Our Desires (NOOODs) was released March 20th on OK Pal Records Lorna Irvine
Kojey Radical's Reason to Smile was released 4th of March on Atlantic Records UK Joe Rosenthal
review@snackmag.co.uk Page 43
SLY5thAVE & VERÁSTEGUI
HAPPY PARTICLES
Album: Agua de Jamaica
Single: Far Enough Inside
The first collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Sly5thAve and composer Roberto Verástegui is all about exploring connections – between jazz and hip-hop, between African and Latin music, between the USA and Mexico. They take elements of inspiration from across their lives and flip them into a cultural mix that feels like a busy city street with music coming from all directions. Dialogue clips from the two men barbequing intersperse the tracks, giving the whole thing a casual, backyard vibe. The title track begins with a record swoop from a dirty south hip-hop track before dropping in 90s house keys that allow Sly5thAve’s sax and the gliding vocal of Silana Estrada to soar. The polyrhythmic ‘La Tormenta’ takes the 808 kick of Sir Mix-A-Lot and turns it into a funked-out afrobeat track. There’s influence pulled from all over here, taking the old Hollywood glamour on jazz standard ‘Poinciana’ back to its Latin roots, or on the opening ‘Tie Break’ which builds a breakbeat Hammond organ jam out of a Wimbledon match.
It’s been ten years since Glasgow’s shoegazey Happy Particles’ debut album, Under Sleeping Waves, and soon the follow-up will be here. ‘Far Enough Inside’ is the third single to be released from this, and it’s a slow-core, ethereal beauty. The simple piano line and drums offset Steven Kane’s ridiculously angelic vocal, which, perhaps surprisingly, is sounding better than ever. The track builds to a single electric guitar that is clean and melodic. Overall, it’s the best thing from a Scottish band I’ve heard this year.
Best known for his work with Prince as a member of the New Power Generation, Sly5thAve’s previous album, The Invisible Man, was a jazz take on Dr. Dre‘s production that was much beloved by festival DJs. Parts of this feel like they’re building on that work, using string arrangements to bed in a groove, looping Veraìstegui’s Hammond in a cut-and-paste style on top. Leaning into the retro synth sounds and echoes of that early 90s Jam & Lewis production does give it a smoothness that could maybe do with being roughed up a little, but it’s one food truck away from being a perfect evocation of the city, bursting with life. Agua de Jamaica is out now on Tru-Thoughts Chris Queen
snackmag.co.uk
‘Far Enough Inside’ was released 14th March Martin Sandison
THE KOOKS Single: Jesse James Released as part of The Kooks’ latest EP, Connection – Echo In The Dark Part 1, ‘Jesse James’ is a chilled out, optimistic track about dropping your ego and letting go. It has a dreamy, layered electro-pop sound, combined with the band’s signature guitars. The guitars bring to mind earlyish Metronomy, but Luke Pritchard’s vocals are 100% The Kooks. ‘Jesse James’ is available to stream now Lily Black
IBIBIO SOUND MACHINE
WINTER MOVES
Album: Electricity
Single: C U Under the Moon
Don't be fooled by the slinky, laidback eighties pop strut of single 'All That You Want'. New album Electricity from Ibibio Sound Machine, their follow-up to 2019's Doko Mien, has sharp teeth and claws. Produced by Hot Chip, with Al Doyle and Joe Goddard adding extra keyboards to the mix, there is a panoply of influences throughout, lending a global jukebox quality to the whole thing. The band have always straddled genres and transcended easy categorisation, but this feels like an epiphany. Opener 'Protection From Evil' sets out its stall straight away: it's a manifesto, an antidote to our worldwide problems. As the squelchy acid house-inspired keyboards ascend, singer Eno Williams chants in a frenzied mantra, ‘Spiritual! Invisible! Protection... from evil!’ and there is a sense that she's a messenger from Mother Earth, a kind of goddess-healer.
There’s a wistful and melancholic beauty to ‘C U Under the Moon’, the debut single from Winter Moves. This contemplative piano ballad will have you longing to wander along the beach at night, reflecting on life and love, all the while mumbling the refrain, ‘We are not gonna die today’. The vocals have a soft sincerity and, together with the lap steel flourishes, create a hopeful yet sombre hold on the listener. Winter Moves ‘C U Under the Moon’ was released 18th March Matthew O’Donnell
Afrobeat and electronica are never far from their sonic stew, and so it’s on tracks like the teasing 'Casio (Yak Nda Nda)', P- funk homage 'Something We'll Remember' and the storming, jittery euphoria of 'Freedom' where Afla Sackey's percussion really cuts loose, but this is tempered by the more contemplative moments found in the gorgeous, gospel-influenced 'Afo ken Doko Mien', a kind of electronic prayer.
Ibibio Sound Machine
Image credit: SimonWebb
It should sound incredible at the big summer festivals, but above all, it's music for the head as well as for the dancefloor. This global, genremelding triumph is a timely release. Threaded throughout the lyrics are open pleas for love, tolerance, and peaceful protest, at a time when these liberties are being flagrantly eroded, right in front of us. Electricity was released March 25th on Merge Records Lorna Irvine
review@snackmag.co.uk Page 45
FONTAINES D.C.
POCKET KNIFE
Album: Skinty Fia
Single: Me & The Ceiling
Fontaines D.C. continue on the path of poetic postpunk triumph as they return with their third album, Skinty Fia. Following their 2020 award-nominated album A Hero’s Death, the band haven’t deviated far, with the esteemed sound of Grian Chatten’s distinctive vocals singing emotive lyrics over dark basslines and brooding melodies still key.
Often, the best pop tunes have lyrics that are not in the same book, let alone on the same page, as the feel of the song. That’s precisely what Pocket Knife offer on ‘Me & The Ceiling’.
With Skinty Fia the Irish musicians, who are now living in London, address their identity as semioutsiders. The Irish phrase translates roughly to ‘The Damnation of the Deer’; the album cover of Skinty Fia shows the extinct Irish deer taken from its natural habitat, standing in the hallway of a home. The band nurture themes of loss and love in the opening track ‘In ár gCroíthe go deo’ (In Our Hearts Forever). The song was written about the true story of a woman in England who wasn't allowed to have ‘In ár gCroíthe go deo’ on her gravestone because the council deemed the Irish language on a memorial as political. You might be surprised to learn that these events happened in 2020, emphasising the relevance of Fontaines’ thoughtful, sociopolitical lyrics confronting the still tense stigma surrounding Irishness. The band celebrate their heritage, particularly within the accordion-led song ‘The Couple Across The Way’. This composition encapsulates the honest hopes and fears of love through means of Irish traditional music. The rest of the album is a bittersweet love letter to Ireland, supported by bass-dominated catchy riffs and upbeat rhythms. With a well-crafted string of dark and reflective songs, Fontaines D.C.’s latest album will not disappoint lovers of pensive thoughts and alternative rock. Skinty Fia is out 22nd April on Partisan Records Emily Silk snackmag.co.uk
The natural propensity to move comes from the bassline, but the power of Pocket Knife lies in what each party brings to the mix. Louise Connor delivers an assured and knowing vocal, ranging from coquettish charm to weary resignation. All the while, Michael Nimmo is marauding in the background. Its bristling and bright chorus has enough energy to propel even the surliest of music fans onto the dancefloor. You’ll be spellbound in under three minutes. All the things you want in a pop song can be found here, and the act is shaping up to be as sharp and flexible as their name suggests. ‘Me & The Ceiling’ was released on 10th March with Olive Grove Records Andrew Reilly
STRATA
SELF ESTEEM
Gig: Graham Costello,Websters Theatre, Glasgow, 4th March
Gig: Self Esteem, QMU Glasgow, 1st March
On a short tour to promote Second Lives as a fivepiece without trombonist Liam Shortall, Graham Costello’s STRATA take the locked-in minimalism of the album and expand it out into something much more voluminous and cosmic.
With her album Prioritise Pleasure topping a lot of the ‘best of 2021’ lists, Self Esteem is at the tipping point of household name status and a sold out QMU tonight is behind her all the way; the rapturous reactions of the crowd prompting a ‘you’re going to turn me into a proper dickhead’ from Rebecca Lucy Taylor.
Without breaks between songs, the tight-knit group of musicians push out into wide swathes of improvisation – pianist Fergus McCreadie running scales across the keyboard with one hand whilst plucking the strings with the other at one point, Joe Williamson on guitar, kicking into overdriven solos, Harry Weir’s rapturous skronk on tenor sax – before Costello nods a head and kicks a drum to bring it all back together and move onwards. The rhythm section of Costello and Mark Hendry on bass holds down the tone with a building intensity as the night goes on, from a spacey and freefloating beginning to an overwhelming sensory blast that sees Weir pull the sax out of his mouth with a vulpine roar. ‘The Colossus’, on record a moody Lalo Schifrin-esque sneak, becomes a pounding wall of noise with as much in common with Mogwai as Monk. They excel at taking the moments of repetition from the record and really drilling down and finding the spaces to expand them, with elements of post-rock and kosmische musik informing the groove. The band finish their tour in Edinburgh with a 360-degree show that they’re clearly excited about, before embarking on a summer of festivals.
A full-tilt tear through the album, propelled by her band in matching suits and shorts, showcases her self-deprecating and subversive pop – with lyrics about consent and patriarchy behind dancefloor-filling pop songs, it strikes a balance between the campy fun of production pop and the ambition of something larger. Every time she leans into the conventions of the form it is with a bit of subversion: the backing singers playing their roles with a deliberately exaggerated and playful choreography, even the encore signposted with a knowing ‘this is definitely the last song’ before set closer ‘I Do This All The Time’. It’s pop music at its core though, bombastic hooks and choruses that the packed crowd sings every word to, and Taylor is very much the pop star tonight – commanding the stage and sharing in the joy of the audience. The last time they played in Glasgow was at Audio; I’d guess this will be the last time we see her in a venue with a roof for quite a while. Chris Queen
Chris Queen
review@snackmag.co.uk Page 47
JILL LOREAN Album: This Rock The appearance of Andy Monaghan from Frightened Rabbit might be the aspect that draws many people in, but Jill Lorean is proudly a power trio. Peter Kelly is associated with as many local bands as warm lager and optimism, while Glasgow has long claimed Jill O’Sullivan [Sparrow and the Workshop, Bdy_Prts] as one of its own. Jill’s vocals, as always, are powerful and captivating. However, it’s the diversity of music that steals the show. The opener, ‘Breaking Down’, sets the tone wonderfully. It’s a foreboding number, putting the listener immediately on edge. It’s not a marker for the record, but it’s one hell of an introduction.
Pollokshields says
It’s an album made for playing through, flipping across genres but never losing the overall thread of the record. ‘Kneading’ carries a Velvets-like urgency, while the battle between folk and rock roars across several tracks. Who wins depends on your preference, but there are no losers on display here. This Rock is released 1st April on Monohands Records Andrew Reilly
Support our work by setting up a monthly donation at www.pollokshieldsfoodpoint.org
snackmag.co.uk
A BANQUET Film A Banquet focuses on four females across three generations of one family, with the plot revolving around Betsey (Jessica Alexander), her younger less-favoured sister Isabelle (Ruby Stokes), and well-meaning, though overbearing, recently widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory). The story begins with central character Betsey's sudden refusal to eat. Betsey states that she is called to serve a higher, supernatural, sacrificial purpose, and that her body is a vessel for this. The trio are joined in the latter half of the film by maternal grandmother June (Lindsay Duncan), to further stir the pot by suggesting Betsey is feigning illness, which adds to Holly’s maternalistic panic. This sets up the viewpoint that holds no sympathy for Betsey’s disordered state of mind and being. The film sputters into action with a disturbing, wordless, yet noisy domestic death scene which introduces the importance of sound as a main player. It is as important as any one actor: the soundscape does a lot of the talking for this film. Many of the most uncomfortable moments are held amidst no dialogue, just audio for impact. Sensory overload for the ears is matched at times by sensory deprivation for the eyes: the film uses darkness as a tool for framing sinister overtones. We spend most of the film in the dark, expansive, suburban family home, where the only colour comes from its tree-lined garden. We feel the claustrophobia and terror of being bedbound, as Betsey is for much of the film.
Early on in the film Holly screams at Betsey that anorexia is the preserve of ‘entitled middle-class white girls’, and forces her to weigh herself twice a day. Despite starvation, her weight mysteriously remains stable. Holly’s own mother later advocates for her granddaughter to have psychiatric care, as Holly did as a child. Doggedly determined, Holly continues to nurse her at home. Eating food is presented as a visceral act: jarring close ups of family feasts feature, with Holly and Izzy chewing amid Betsey’s stoic abstinence. Triste, macabre and haunting, Buxton’s directorial debut is more intergenerational domestic psychodrama than horror, with elements of stylism at play in use of sound and shadow in cinematography that may well come to be her signature. A Banquet is available to stream now on YouTube, Amazon and Apple TV Yasmin Ali
review@snackmag.co.uk Page 49
MY OLD SCHOOL Film It’s taken a long time for someone to make a film about one of the most awe-inspiring stories in recent Scottish history, the story of Brandon Lee, aka Brian Mackinnon. It was worth the wait. Filmmaker Jono Mcleod’s documentary/animation brings the tale to vivid life, and is at turns charming, hilarious, and stupefying. In 1993, 32-year-old Brian Mackinnon did the unthinkable: he pretended he was a Canadian teenager, renamed himself Brandon Lee (after Bruce Lee’s son who had passed in a tragic accident on the set of The Crow months before) and went back to his old high school, Bearsden Academy. Back in the days when background checks were not as stringent, and that’s putting it lightly, Brian fooled everyone at the school for over a year. His aim was to get the grades to go to medical school, as he had missed out the first time round. My Old School interviews his teachers and classmates and Brian himself, though he refused to be filmed. In the time after the story had broken in the news, there was talk of a fiction-based film to be made, starring Alan Cumming as Mackinnon. It never materialised, and My Old School’s masterstroke is to feature Cumming lip-synching to Brian’s interview. A tricky thing, but with an actor as great as Cumming, it’s a performance for the ages. The nuance of his gestures and mannerisms display sensitivity and depth in depicting Mackinnon, who comes across as a troubled and complex man. The interviews with Mackinnon’s classmates (including one alarmingly also named Brian Mackinnon) are candid, funny, and revealing. Revealing much, not just about the story and Brian himself, but also about the generation
snackmag.co.uk
they represent, in which, being nearly 40, I am included. There is an open-hearted honesty about them, an ability to laugh yet also know how dark life can get. That Mcleod himself was a classmate of them and Mackinnon at the time gives the film an authenticity and a note of sympathy for Mackinnon. Unfortunately it’s not possible to observe the teachers' interviews without thinking they should have realised what was happening… och well. The twists and turns of this picture are up there with any Hollywood thriller, and will have you gasping in disbelief knowing all of it is true. Mcleod has a great grasp of how to pace and structure a documentary, and the use of Rick and Morty-esque animation adds an extra dimension. While watching, it did make me long for a fictional adaptation, and I felt the end becomes a bit too sombre for its own good. Saying that, this is a truly absorbing film and one that does justice to an incredible tale. My Old School screened at the Glasgow Film Festival 2022 and will be on general release later in 2022 Martin Sandison
THE METAMORPHOSIS Tron Theatre Glasgow, 17th March
Initially premiered in 2020 and rescheduled, the pandemic has given the play a hideous contemporaneity - the revulsion and avoidance of the sick Gregor locked away in his room, the expectation that he’ll have to suffer and work through illness echoed by his boss telling him that people in the service industry have to ‘ignore the little things’ for the good of the customer. His saying that a ‘person needs proper rest’ is echoed by Alana Jackson’s Greta later on, the implication that some people are seen as more deserving of rest than others. Some people are more human than others. These are themes that have been running through Vanishing Point’s work for a while - the dark fairytale Subway dealt with the idea of a world that wanted you rich and healthy or poor and exploitable - but anchoring them in such a wellknown story underlines that the issues that we’d maybe see as a product of the time Kafka was writing in are as present as ever; it’s just that now we take in lodgers through an app and not from a sign in the window.
Nico Guerzioni’s performance as the transformed Samsa, their wide-eyed horror at their own degradation and inability to communicate, their frustration and despondency, give us a real empathetic take on a performance that becomes an allegory for the treatment of anyone different - when the chants of ‘vermin’ build to the point of becoming overwhelming, it echoes not only the antisemitism of Kafka’s time but the hostile environment of modern Britain. We feel Gregor’s isolation, watching his family through the screen window and picking up only parts of the story - a technique previously used in 2009’s Interiors. The crepuscular, claustrophobic set design by Kenneth MacLeod and Simon Wilkinson is an ingenious part of the storytelling; Gregor’s dank and dusty room amplifies the disgust that the family gradually distance themselves from, and his own horror as they forget him. Ultimately, we’re left with the thought that if tomorrow you awoke from uneasy dreams to find yourself transformed, would your boss still expect you to work? The Metamorphosis is at Dundee Rep 30th March-2nd April, Eden Court Inverness on the 7th and 8th and the Traverse, Edinburgh 13th16th April Chris Queen
Image credit: SimonWebb
There’s an anger to Vanishing Point’s retelling of the famous Kafka story - Gregor Samsa’s travelling salesman updated as a bicycle courier, oversized thermal backpack and helmet echoing an insectoid exoskeleton and making the issues that he faces seem very contemporary. His main concern is not his monstrous transformation but how he will get to work, and that’s echoed by everyone around him, his bickering parents and aggressively sickly-sweet boss fretting about him missing deliveries more than how or why this has happened.
review@snackmag.co.uk Page 51
SNACK BITS The journalist who covered the Teenage Mutant Hero (yeah, Ninja) Turtles, the surly intern who stole hearts on Parks and Recreation, and the month where fools get their special day: April is everyone’s time to shine, and we’re back with another SNACK Bits as the world, finally, moves into spring.
And if you like that, we think you’ll grow fond of the debut St. Dukes album, released in the middle of April. It’s an easy-going record with a lot of warmth, ideal as the temperature levels inch upwards. 'Take What You Want' will place a smile on your face, especially with the guitar work.
Sadly, and this is becoming too much of a habit, we must firstly mention another musician that's passed away recently. 18 Wheeler never made it big; annoyingly, most casual music fans of the time will know them because Tony Blair messed up their name. Don’t worry, Tony; we all make mistakes, and you made much bigger ones than this. That’s a shame, because their 1997 Year Zero album deserved much more. It was a little ahead of its time: the indie-rock and dance blend should have had kids pogoing around The Attic at The Garage and similar indie discos every weekend. As it was, a classic gig in The Cathouse was perhaps the record’s peak. Do yourself a favour and check out ‘The Ballad of Paul Verlaine’, ‘Grease’, and ‘Stay’ along with the new Scottish releases we mention below. RIP Neil Halliday. Okay, there’s a lot of great new music to check out this month. We’re always suckers for woozy-Wilco-esque numbers, and you’ll hear a bit of Jeff Tweedy in ‘Lucky 22’ from PAWS’ Phillip Jon Taylor. That’s no bad thing and the single certainly makes us want to check out the forthcoming EP, Supportive Partner Please Stand Here.
snackmag.co.uk
There's an album launch show in Stereo on 7th May, if you’re keen to fill your May diary asap. We’ll stick with the sunny disposition for a touch longer. The new Belle & Sebastian songs have been rather enjoyable, haven’t they? New single ‘Unnecessary Drama’ is particularly good. Let's hope these bode well for what’s to come. Something which can be classed as necessary drama is how we respond to the housing market crisis, the topic of the new Jack Brotherhood song. Opening with the line ‘Get The Bastards Out’ will always appeal to SNACK, so listen to it for this alone. (Has anyone used the line ‘Get him out Sharon’ in a song yet? If so, let us know; we’ll review it positively.) It’s a hefty topic dealt with joyously, which is perhaps strange, but if it helps people comprehend the struggles of such a sticky situation, it’s no bad thing. Also, this might be an age thing, but it reminds us of Naughty By Nature’s ‘Hip Hop Hooray', and it’s always a fine day when that’s in your head.
‘Better Friend’ by Fatherson is for the more delicate souls among us, but that doesn’t mean rock is out of the question now and again. HVSK are a Perth trio who whack up the volume and allow the sustain to ring out. There's enough freshfaced positivity to drag it through for those of us old enough to recall that sort of thing from the 80s and 90s. ‘Lie With Me’ is a good gateway song on the What Do You Know release – it’s a spirited collection of tracks. And when it comes to pumping up the volume with a side order of crunch, you can’t fault the staying power of Vukovi. They appear to have switched gears from the band we saw back in 2014, but they seem to have found their sound, style and crowd these days. There are a few swearies on ‘Lasso’, so it’s probably not a tribute to the wonderfully optimistic Ted, but it's an anthem of angst for those who love noise and confusion. That might not get the thumb up from the AFC Richmond boss, but he’d have this next song on his playlist. Ideally, the chorus would soar slightly higher, but for those who love emotional pop with a synthy feel, ‘Big Love’ by The Eves will appeal. It’s a co-write with Paolo Nutini collaborator Jim Duguid, so there’s a strong pedigree behind this song, but it’s Marissa Keltie and Caroline Gilmour's prominent voices that stand out. It’ll be too sweet for some, but it'll feel just fine for those with a touch of glee in their hearts. Megan Black serves up a sassy, 70s-infused take on sexuality and modern society on her new album, Deadly Is The Woman. The guitar licks and riffs will transport you to a time when cocaine use and increasing confidence in sexual expression was rampant. Mind you, maybe for some, that suggests last week instead of four decades ago, but it’s an album that straddles the eras well. Meghan has a strong voice, musically and on topical matters, and you’ll find a lot to like and to ponder here.
Dead Pony squeeze in before the print deadline, returning with 'Bullet Farm', and it doesn't disappoint. It's spiky, upbeat, and the vocals add a lighter touch than you'd possibly expect to go with the sound. They've fired a belting chorus at us all, and some of the rhymes will make you smile! Ross Wilcock has his City Streets EP out, too. It's billed as a disarming and tender reflection of identity, heartache and romance, with a fairytale twist. Featuring Josephine Sillars and Finn LeMarinel, it's lyrically heart-honest and earnest in a way that is quite unusual to hear.
Whether you’re rolling eggs or just rolling down the road, make the most of April – it’ll be gone before you know it. SNACK Bits by Andrew Reilly Page 53
snackmag.co.uk
OLD HOUSE Learning how to be tender, so as not to break anything figuring out where the weak points are figuring out how to hold it with an empty mind and a banishment of worry quick and quiet into a cauldron perhaps, a tomato soup, an eruption of steam stirring till it calms the pain in my left breast and the look of worry in my eye, peaking round the corner and looking in the mirror, glass surfaces and department store windows figuring out the entrance to the secret door, the façade bookshelf that makes no noise when you push it aside figuring out how to not get pushed aside calculating my own steps in time to the plucks of tender strings as I bounce down the stairs of this old house, with doors in the bookshelves, my father has a silver moustache and there are ghosts in the kitchen at night where the cook makes us tomato soup whilst we hunt for the hidden door figuring out how to get out of this house and figuring out where I hide in the glass wall through the trap door into the midst of the smoke and the steam covering myself in pages covered in ancient script Katie Coxall
Did you know, only 3% of people in Scotland give blood? Or that every time you do, you could save or improve the lives of up to three people? Sign up to give blood. 0345 90 90 999 scotblood.co.uk facebook.com/givebloodforscotland @givebloodscot
snackmag.co.uk