Junglehussi on returning to clubs, juggling jobs and River- side Festival.

Juggling Hustles

Photo: Matthew Arthur Williams and Alice Brooke

THE SKINNY

Glasgow-based DJ, artist and photographer Junglehussi tells us about his musical journey and returning to clubs for the first time in nearly 18 months, ahead of his set at Riverside Festival this month

Interview: Nadia Younes

After nearly 18 months of closed doors and empty dancefloors, nightclubs were finally allowed to reopen in Scotland last month, with many taking the opportunity to showcase local talent throughout their reopening weekends. During La Cheetah Club’s mammoth four-day reopening weekend, South London-born, Glasgowbased DJ Matthew Arthur Williams – aka Junglehussi – was one of those local talents returning to the DJ booth for a non-socially distanced club night for the first time since clubs closed in March last year. “Mentally you’re a bit like, ‘Oh, can I do this again?’ – especially right now,” says Williams. “And there’s a lot of barriers that you have, not just playing music but with your own health and safety, and with other people’s health and safety now as well.” Having moved to Glasgow eight years ago with the intention of completing a Masters degree, Williams’ DJing career began entirely through circumstance. As an avid record collector, Williams was asked by a friend to play some music at a Pride event and things snowballed from there. Then, in 2016, Williams became a resident at The Art School’s flagship Thursday night party, PVC. Just a few years later he was playing at The Art School “at least twice a month,” he says, along with being booked to play at various other venues around Glasgow. Despite going to clubs like fabric and Ministry of Sound while living in London, though, it was during Williams’ time studying in Manchester where his love of clubbing properly began. “Parties and music stuff really started to come alive for me when I was in Manchester… then I began kind of cornering my own community of people who were going out and also putting on parties,” says Williams. “That really opened a lot of things for me, I think, in terms of just being somebody who goes to parties.” Williams would regularly attend celebrated queer parties like Bollox and Homoelectric in Manchester at the venue then known as Legends, which was sadly demolished in 2013 and replaced by a hotel – a far too common trend for nightclubs in recent years. The venue was originally opened as The Twisted Wheel in 1963 and is steeped in musical history, known as the birthplace of Northern Soul in the UK. “[Legends] was one of the best venues I’ve ever been in,” says Williams. “I think the venue really shaped those nights for me. “I think when you go into somewhere like that, and you go down the steps and you’re underneath, and it’s just got all these different kind of layers and rooms you can enter where you’ve got multiple DJs playing in different rooms, the sound doesn’t really cross over but the atmosphere is just keeping you there for five, six hours each night… They really shaped a lot of my early club days and party days.” Music isn’t Williams’ only creative outlet, though. As well as DJing and hosting a bi-monthly radio show on Clyde Built Radio, Williams is also an artist and photographer, spreading his time equally across all fields. “It’s been pretty constant in a creative way [throughout the pandemic]... so a lot of things have been moving in different angles and different ways,” says Williams. “I kind of allow things to organically happen, so occasionally something will calm down within the art side of my working week, and there’ll be time for music.

“People keep saying I’m headlining; I’m just like, ‘Oh, I’m on last’”

Matthew Arthur Williams

“The same thing has happened this year,” he continues. “It was quite hectic art-wise the past couple of months and it’s kind of calming down, now the gig stuff is starting to come up. I’ve not orchestrated that, that’s just the way that things have orchestrated for me, so it’s just taking it as it comes and not really forcing it.” It’s through Williams’ involvement with Clyde Built Radio that he has landed a slot at this year’s Riverside Festival, too, sharing the stage with a whole host of local talent, including TAAHLIAH, Ribeka, Sofay and many more. Although lined up to close the stage on Friday night, Williams is reluctant to call it a headline set. “It’s funny... people keep saying I’m headlining; I’m just like, ‘Oh, I’m on last’,” Williams laughs. “Everybody that’s on that stage is a headlining act to be honest... I feel like every musician and DJ in Glasgow – and people who do shows on Clyde Built – are all incredibly talented, and the city has such a number of really amazing DJs... so it’s interesting but I’m not really seeing it as a headliner. If people have the stamina at the end of the evening then that’s great but we’ll see.”

Junglehussi plays Riverside Festival, Riverside Museum, Glasgow, 3-5 Sep

The Future of Home

Local Heroes presents a preview of innovative furniture, textiles and lighting from a new generation of Scottish designers at London Design Festival

Words: Stacey Hunter

At a time when we are experiencing an increased fluidity between our home and our workspace, a new exhibition titled The Future of Home offers a fresh and sophisticated take on modern interiors from a new generation of designers. A wide variety of products, from furniture and lighting to textiles and collectable craft have been brought together aimed at creating spaces of comfort and style that also reflect the hybrid needs of flexible working. Designers who found themselves at a standstill have used that time to innovate, speculate and dream, and the results are a vision of a future where interiors are as fun, beautiful, comforting and tactile as possible. The exhibition responds to Brompton Design District’s theme ‘From here on…’ – set by Jane Withers Studio – and invites visitors to explore a snapshot from Scotland that reflects the reignited optimism and youthful irreverence of the contemporary design scene. 15 studios and brands present over 40 new pieces that are positioned towards buyers, collectors, and future collaborators at one of the world’s most important design festivals. The collection sheds light on innovative working processes and emerging concepts in contemporary Scottish design, presenting multiple viewpoints on form, material, and beauty. Instrmnt Applied Design’s armchair – a collaboration with independent furniture makers Hame – is an exercise in minimalism using wind-felled sycamore sourced from the Weymss Estate on the East Coast of Scotland, paired with stainless steel and salvaged linen. It contrasts beautifully with a monstera plantinspired chandelier by Urpflanze rendered in brass and laser-cut green acrylic, and a brutalist inspired mixed aggregate and pigmented cement console table by Nicholas Denney Studio.

Myatt–McCallum blur the relationship between interior and exterior with joyful, flowing concrete furniture. Jeni Allison’s blankets play with and test the boundaries of digital and manual knitting processes, blending the master craftsmanship of intarsia with cutting-edge 3D modelling in her Digital Drape series. James Rigler presents the Glasgow Triptych; a series of monumental, austere forms with a distinctive black-and-verdigris surface. They

Myatt-McCallum

Photo: Reuben Paris

Bespoke Atelier (left), Jeni Allison (right)

Walac (left), Myatt-McCallum (bottom)

use the language of grandiose buildings, splicing this with humble object types. Walac’s shelving system elevates the storage of books and treasured objects into The Art of Stacking. A new range of wallpaper from Bespoke Atelier continues the studio’s radical No Rules philosophy, where patterns have been intentionally designed not to repeat.

Chalk Plaster’s gypsum-based Scagliola side tables have been created with wild pigments collected from the coastline of Fife, with each location offering its own distinctive palette of colours and tones. Simon Harlow’s walnut, poplar and beech furniture demonstrates how a chair can be a dining chair, a lounge chair, an office chair – even a workstation in its own right, and a boldly graphic sculptural object. Hard linear engineering for longevity and strength goes together with handmade processes, as seen in Mirrl’s latest solid surface material Fossil. It was developed as a way to use the waste material from the production of the original eponymously-named Mirrl surface. This is finely chopped and becomes the inclusions that give the new material its unique fossil-like appearance – and which carry their own histories. A bespoke stained glass piece by Pavilion Pavilion welcomes visitors to the gallery as they pass through the threshold. Once inside, a series titled The Isles of WonderGlass – a collaboration between Walac X Juli Bolaños-Durman, transforms found glass collected, rescued and gifted over the years into a combination of fantasy and functionality in their one-of-a-kind lighting sculptures. A large rug featuring an innovative and unusual topography is the result of a collaboration between Studio Sam Buckley and Milan’s cc-tapis. It has been hand-tufted in Nepal by expert Tibetan artisans. Hilary Grant returns to London with the St Ives wall hanging and blanket in a nuanced colour palette inspired by St Ives’ artists’ movement of the 1940s. These elements come together in a bold yet harmonious exhibition which we hope visitors will respond to with delight and surprise. Spending more time at home has presented an opportunity to rethink our immediate environment as a canvas for selfexpression. The Future of Home offers an exciting first look at exclusive new pieces and product launches with a focus on comfort and tactility. Hybrid uses give more meaning to key pieces – a table made to suit several functions with a hidden drawer, is a good dining table as well as an office desk. Likewise, a chair with a generous internal sitting volume can be used as a dining chair, a lounge chair or an office chair. The Future of Home establishes Scotland as a region of design excellence. Visitors will see expressive forms; innovations in production and thoughtfully articulated craft techniques combine to create a highly accessible collection that breaks new ground.

The Future of Home, Brompton Design District, 6-7 Thurloe Place, SW7 2RX, 18-26 Sep, 10am-6pm

This exhibition is made possible with the support of the National Lottery through Creative Scotland

localheroes.design/ldf

Music Now

We celebrate new releases this month from Hamish Hawk, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Kirsty Grant, Cahill//Costello, Georgia Cécile and more

Words: Tallah Brash

Costello Kellermann & Cahill Photo: Bernadette Photo: Laura Bourjac

Cahill//Costello Georgia Cécile

On Green Day’s 2004 album, American Idiot, Billie Joe Armstrong pleaded: ‘Wake me up when September ends.’ But if you sleep away the month, you’ll miss all of the musical treats Scotland has in store for you, so wakey wakey, rise and shine, September is here and she means business. Starting in Edinburgh, Hamish Hawk – who you may also know as one of the many friendly faces working behind the counter of the capital’s Assai record shop – releases his stunning new album, Heavy Elevator, on 17 September. Coming out on the shop’s own Assai Recordings label, it’s been quite an exciting year so far for Hawk, as a change in musical direction saw him picked up as one to watch by BBC Radio 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq who gave heavy rotation to the album’s lead single Caterpillar earlier in the year. Although the rest of the album doesn’t have the same new wave sensibilities as Caterpillar, Heavy Elevator sees Hawk put his Neil Hannon-esque voice to full use, stretching it into shapes he likely didn’t previously realise were possible. Heavy Elevator is an exciting collection of songs that sees Hawk fully exploring every nook and cranny of his musical ability and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for him. Read our full interview with Hawk on p38.

We Were Promised Jetpacks also have a new album out this month. Enjoy the View lands on 10 September via Big Scary Monsters and sees the band arriving at a more indie-pop sound than we’re used to hearing from the Edinburgh three-piece. Read lead singer and guitarist Adam Thompson’s full track-bytrack walkthrough on p40, and turn the page for our full review, where you’ll also find words on the new one from Proc Fiskal. If it’s gleaming pop you’re after this month, check out London-based Scot Kirsty Grant (originally from just outside Dundee), whose debut EP Chain Reaction is due on 10 September. Featuring six tracks – only two of which break the perfect-pop three-minute mark, and only by a few seconds. From the minute the chorus of Bad Boys, Good Girls (‘Why do bad boys fuck around with good girls’) comes into view, we’re sold. The concise nature of this short, sharp EP is what works so well here, and while its touchpoints are clear (Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen, Taylor Swift), Kirsty Grant could well be on her way to being an artist future pop acts cite as inspiration. What sounds like the clanking of a teaspoon being swirled around a freshly brewed cuppa haunts The Visitant, the opening track of Offworld – the debut album from new ambient/lo-fi duo Cahill//Costello (guitarist Kevin Daniel Cahill and drummer Graham Costello). The track itself constantly swirls, oftentimes swelling and spilling over, but by allowing this spillage, it creates room for further exploration of sound. The cacophonous 95 second-long And It Was Not Meant That We Should Voyage Far feels perfectly placed, suddenly making you sit bolt upright around 30 minutes into this record. If that doesn’t wake you up, the crashing and thrashing on eight-minute epic Pylon II certainly will. There’s an uneasy familiarity that runs through Offworld, but the most gripping aspect of this record is the way in which its ominous, ethereal soundscapes can very quickly transport you to an almost meditative state, forcing you into a trance before you’ve even noticed. Take me to your leader. Scottish jazz talent Georgia Cécile already has a plethora of accolades under her belt. She won Best Vocalist at the 2019 Scottish Jazz Awards, has been tipped as One to Watch by BBC Introducing and Jazzwise magazine, and was nominated Jazz Vocalist of the Year at the Jazz FM Awards 2020. Listening to her debut album, Only the Lover Sings (17 Sep, Warner ADA), you can certainly hear why – her voice is full-bodied, becoming smoky, sultry or playful in exactly the right moments. While occasionally this album stumbles into slightly cheesy terrain – the upbeat feel-good anthem Always Be Right For Me could easily soundtrack Phil Rosenthal’s next continenthopping TV show – ultimately Only the Lover Sings oozes old fashioned glamour, and there’s a real warmth across the record. From the romantic violin swells of Goodbye Love, to the swirling piano on Come Summertime and the staccato brass on Blue Is the Colour, it’s all effortlessly held together by the power in Cécile’s voice. On 3 September, Edinburgh-Nigerian rapper LOTOS (Last of the Old School) – alongside her collective of the same name, which includes Revelations, Kope and singer Oggie – release their latest album, Renaissance. Combining their crystal clear vision with grime-infused beats and just a whiff of garage, Renaissance shines brightest when LOTOS’s lyrical flow is placed front and centre. Also this month, Declan Welsh and the Decadent West release their new EP, It’s Been a Year (2 Sep), Tijuana Bibles release their new album Free Milk (3 Sep), Andrew Brooks releases EAST (9 Sep), and Bemz (who takes The Skinny's monthly Q&A on p.70) releases his new EP, M4 (24 Sep).

Photo: Oscar J Ryan

Low HEY WHAT Sub Pop, 10 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: White Horses, More, The Price You Pay (It Must Be Wearing Off)

Proc Fiskal Siren Spine Sysex Hyperdub, 24 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: Convaerge, Iaosiphsean Powers, Recall [Throate Achres] Low’s last record, Double Negative, was filled with disintegrating and corroded music, songs that were haunted by evil spirits and unfinished business. The melodies and voices – trapped under a cacophony of indecipherable instrumentation, as tracks leaked into one another – struggled to the surface and then died away. It was a left turn degradation of their melodic slowcore, and some of the most original music in ages.

HEY WHAT is a natural progression, feeding off the same charged energy. However, now the ghosts have escaped and are in chorus as clearly and piercingly as they can muster. The rumble that underlies these devotional hymns now crackles into place rather than dissolving away. When there’s percussion, it’s not just drums, but thunderous biblical crashing. When there’s electronics, it isn’t just guitars and synths – it’s the one clear transmission from another plane. It gives the record a brighter disposition than its predecessor, even if it’s been put together with the same tools, whatever they are. For Low to be making music that can truly surprise you 13 albums and 28 years into a career is a testament to Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker’s continued dedication to their craft. [Tony Inglis] 박혜진 Park Hye Jin Before I Die Ninja Tune, 10 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: I Need You, Never Give Up

Not content with releasing one of the best EPs of the year with March’s Lothian Buses, Proc Fiskal’s second full-length is a superb development from the promise he showed on 2018’s Insula. He has shown time and again his ability to meld the sweetest synth tones with remarkable gymnastics of momentum, and it’s apparent again here. Thurs Jung Youtz takes its brief melody and creates a gorgeous mutating landscape around it that morphs into a twinkling sugar rush by its final movement, while Convaerge is a giddy tumble of masterfully glitched out space. You get the sense he could throw out these wonky chaotic rhythms until the cows come home, but the record’s greatest achievement is the scale and depth of emotion he wrings from them. There are great geysers of surging euphoria on Recall [Throate Achres] and a pensive melancholy in the way Her In skitters about like a clockwork moth, while the moment Iaosiphsean Powers blooms halfway through contains an emotional delicacy we haven’t seen before. With the great sweeps of skriking noise that close the record on Roman Fatigue you get the sense of an artist fully realising their sound and heading for exciting new horizons. [Joe Creely] Little Simz Sometimes I Might Be Introvert Age 101, 3 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: Introvert, Miss Understood, I Love You, I Hate You Blood Orange, Clams Casino and Nosaj Thing are among the artists 박 혜진 Park Hye Jin has collaborated with over the last year. On her debut album, Before I Die, the South Korean-born, LA-based producer, rapper, singer and DJ demonstrates exactly why she’s one of the most in-demand artists around. The album’s tracks generally take a similar form, with sung choruses made up of short, repeated phrases and verses delivered in Hye Jin’s signature mumble rap style, switching between English and Korean throughout. While the album’s first half leans towards a more mellow, jazz-tinged sound, by Whatchu Doin Later the production takes a heavier turn. Hints of early TNGHT and SOPHIE influences can be heard on Never Give Up and Can I Get Your Number, and the beat on Sex With ME (DEFG) is about as filthy as the lyrics. I Need You and i jus wanna be happy play out like lullabies in comparison. Although fairly simple in its lyrical content, it’s in the intricacies of the album’s emotive production where 박혜진 Park Hye Jin’s talents really shine. Before I Die firmly establishes Hye Jin’s multifaceted sound and crafts a mood that feels very of the moment. [Nadia Younes]

It feels almost a little reductive to categorise Little Simz as anything when her new album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, draws on hip-hop, jazz, 70s funk and 21st-century grime. Written between London and Berlin, Simz dives deep into the internal on her second album by way of a massively expanded soundscape. Lead single and album opener Introvert is a bombastic yet intimate exploration of being a young black woman in 21st century Britain and sets the tempo for the 18 songs and spoken word interludes that follow. Speed sees the young MC brashly spitting over industrial electronic sounds, not a million miles away from Kanye West’s radical Yeezus. Protect My Energy is a luscious throwback to Nile Rodgers-inspired funk and a more dramatic take on Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak’s Silk Sonic project. I Love You, I Hate You is a deeply personal tackling of her relationship with her estranged father – putting her elegant flows front and centre over an orchestral beat. While pulling from here and there, what binds Sometimes I Might Be Introvert together is a flair for the cinematic and the result is an album that’s both monumental and an innermost peek into Little Simz’s soul. [Sam Moore]

Ada Lea one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden Saddle Creek, 24 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: hurt, writer in ny

Moor Mother Black Encyclopedia of the Air ANTI-, 17 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: Shekere, Made a Circle, Tarot There’s something lasting about the atmospheric nature of Alexandra Levy’s music as Ada Lea; its capacity to reach around the edges of an empty room, and ability to cut through the sound of life bustling in the background lends it a warm, encompassing quality. With a fuller and more studio-defined sound than 2019’s what we say in private, it almost comes as a surprise that one hand... captures this same authentic vibrancy of life. Its fluttering, non-linear narrative weaves together a number of vignettes, emulating a ‘very Proustian passage of time’, as Levy sings on saltspring. In response, the record’s musicality flutters accordingly. Like a changing of seasons, one hand moves between both lo-fi and hi-fi sounds, shifting from finger-picked folk to bedroom pop: saltspring sits in a summer daze; writer in ny is soft and hopeful; hurt is a wintery nightdrive; damn climbs and climbs until it spirals out in a feverish end. Painting a portrait of life in Montreal, one hand... is narrated as much by hurt as it is by hope, and demonstrates Levy’s ability to develop her artistry without letting go of the colouring of sound that renders her music as hers. [Bethany Davison] Amyl and the Sniffers Comfort to Me Rough Trade, 10 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: Knifey, No More Tears, Guided by Angels

Wise up on Pink Siifu and you’ll learn the rapper treats genres “as blank canvases for his own odd compositions.” The same could be said for Moor Mother, the Philly-based noise project of Camae Ayewa who welcomed Siifu onto recent single Obsidian. Ayewa’s 2016 release, Fetish Bones, reimagined electronic noise as protest songs. Five years on and her latest release proves there’s still ample to be riled about. Album opener Temporal Control of Light Echos is a direct, spoken word piece addressing pain and problematic figures of power. The soundscape Tarot presents these musings as a mantra over scant jazz trills and the tinkles of a wind chime, as she reasons: ‘Our elders are holders of history / Our gardeners of truth and foundation’. Elsewhere, rage-fuelled single Zami channels Sault-style distorted delivery and fractured frustrations. But it’s in the curation of the record where Ayewa excels, presenting a platform for black and queer collaborators throughout, from the taut strings and shoulder shuffle of Shekere (ft. Lojii) to slow jam Made a Circle (ft. Nappy Nina). In the wake of a revitalised Black Lives Matter movement, we’ve all got some wising up to do. Thankfully, Moor Mother’s Black Encyclopedia... is just what we need. [Cheri Amour] We Were Promised Jetpacks Enjoy the View Big Scary Monsters, 10 Sep rrrrr

Listen to: All That Glittered, I Wish You Well, Just Don’t Think About It By the time The More I Sleep the Less I Dream closed with its epic, post-rock inflected title track, it seemed as if We Were Promised Jetpacks had successfully navigated a tricky crossroads, one that involved existential angst around turning 30, as well as the fulfilment of their contract with FatCat. Fast forward to 2020 and they found themselves in choppy waters again, adapting to life as a three-piece and unable to work together in person due to pandemic restrictions. What’s arisen from these circumstances is a grab bag of experiments, as the now-trio try on a variety of stylistic hats while they figure out what the future of WWPJ sounds like. Enjoy the View runs the gamut from icy, synth-flecked atmospherics to breezy, melodic indie pop and scuzzy punk squall. Past comparisons to The Twilight Sad have often been lazy and superficial, but All That Glittered genuinely sounds like something that was left off of Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave. By the time proceedings close it’s not clear whether WWPJ are any closer to having chosen their next direction. They seem to be enjoying the process, though. [Joe Goggins]

Everyone’s favourite mullet-adorned mad squad, Amyl and the Sniffers are back with their sophomore album, Comfort to Me. Their selftitled 2019 LP shot the band onto the world scene with their relentless energy, and though their newest body of work retains a fiery core, it also reveals a more pensive and reflective side to the band. “The whole thing was less spontaneous and more darkly considered,” says the band’s charismatic frontwoman Amy Taylor on the album, who found herself “drowned in introspection” during much of lockdown. Her lyrics, which draw on rap phrasing throughout, are unapologetically vulnerable. Tracks like Security and Freaks to the Front brim with a punkloving aura, while No More Tears channels The Stooges’ effortless guitar cool. Knifey, however, marks a shift in tone. It pleads for simple pleasures and for a sense of normality that’s unexpectedly tender, but never incoherent. In essence, creating this second album has been cathartic for Amyl and the Sniffers. During a live showdecimating pandemic, it’s been their form of comfort. Yes, it will still be more than worthy of providing a riotous sonic backdrop for Taylor’s on-stage shadowboxing when the time comes. But who said comfort couldn’t be chaotic too? [Jamie Wilde]

Edinburgh Parklife

With Meet Me Halfway, the City of Edinburgh Council is encouraging you to think greener and meet friends halfway, preferably by foot, wheel or cycle if you can. With live events now possible, maybe a local gig is the ideal place to meet a friend halfway?

Interview: Jamie Dunn

With Edinburgh now opening up after a year-and-a-half of lockdown, it’s been extremely exciting to see our favourite local businesses back thriving and live music back on the menu at the city’s much-loved gig venues. While the August festivals have been more modestly scaled than in previous years, it’s been extremely heartening to see the Edinburgh pavements and cycle paths busy again, with people walking and cycling across town to catch a festival show or gig with friends. One person who’s been enjoying the return of Edinburgh’s August festivals is Claire Ferguson. The cofounder of Claire North Creative, Claire is a freelance social media director and Scottish travel influencer – find her on adventures around Scotland at @alittlebitofclaire and @alittlebitofscotland. She’s also a music fan, and was excited to visit Edinburgh International Festival’s new pop-up pavilion at Edinburgh Park to catch one of her favourites from back in the day: Damon Albarn. The Blur and Gorillaz frontman was in town and had brought a string quartet in tow for a new solo show ahead of the release of his new album The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows. We spoke to Claire about the return of live music, getting to the festival’s new pop-up venue at Edinburgh Park and using a gig as the opportunity to meet a friend halfway.

The Skinny: Where did you begin your journey to head to the concert at Edinburgh Park? Claire Ferguson: I travelled from South Queensferry, where we live.

Photo: Jess Shurte Why did you choose to meet at the Damon Albarn gig? I loved Blur and Gorillaz back in the day, but I haven’t seen any of his solo shows, so I was really keen to see him in Edinburgh.

Was this your first gig since the pandemic? How was the atmosphere? Yeah, it was. It was a strange experience. It took a while to get used to sitting down in the chairs for social distancing. I think it was strange for Albarn too, as he asked us to get out of our seats and come to the front. Many of us did get up as asked and it was fantastic!

Photo: @alittlebitofscotland How did you choose your route to Edinburgh Park? I always use an app on my phone to check the best route for walking, cycling or using public transport.

Did you see a different side to Edinburgh or anything new on your journey? I was glad to catch the sunset. Sunsets always bring out the best in Edinburgh people! Such a happy chilled vibe.

Did you get any food or drink on your route to the gig or afterwards? No, but I got to order a couple of drinks to my seat at the venue, which was very convenient but could be deadly if you were having some of their amazing cocktails.

How long did the journey take? It took roughly 30 mins door-to-door.

What were the highlights of the gig? Definitely when Damon asked people to come up to the front and stand to experience the gig. The sunset and just seeing how happy people were was also great. Simple things!

What, for you, were the benefits of meeting halfway? I don’t actually drive so using local transport is always easy and convenient. And I find it less stressful than being in a car.

Can you see yourself meeting friends halfway more often? Absolutely! If there’s no need to drive, then don’t.

Photo: Jess Shurte Follow Claire’s journey at @alittlebitofscotland

To find out more about the health and environmental benefits of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Meet Me Halfway campaign, as well as ideas for your own journey, head to edinburgh.gov.uk/ meetmehalfway

Ninjababy Director: Yngvild Sve Flikke Starring: Kristine Kujath Thorp rrrrr

Yngvild Sve Flikke’s riotous take on the unplanned pregnancy comedy unfolds through the creativity, rage and vulgarity of its protagonist. Comics artist Rakel (Thorp) has no qualms about her wild life, and her intruding memories and expressive animated art invite audiences into her chaotic forcefield. But her roommate Ingrid (Tora Christine Dietrichson) notices some weight gain and strange cravings – and the test is immediately, unmistakably positive.

Ninjababy rejects the idea of pregnancy as a burden or blessing, revelling in its protagonist’s rejection of maturity foisted upon her. Thorp is a force of nature, showcasing the whirlwind of activity and the extreme candour Rakel has developed to deflect from any vulnerability. Of course, the walls come down as Rakel makes new connections and decides the future of her unborn child (crucially, a future not with her), but this slow deconstruction never invalidates her choices. Flikke deftly intercuts Rakel’s internal hyper-realistic commentary for both comedy and pathos. The director’s unique, assured visual style brings out the absurdity of Rakel’s predicament, and the self-knowledge she alternately acknowledges and buries. For all its irreverence, Ninjababy never turns its characters into punchlines, not even the likely father, referred to only as “Dick Jesus”.

Ninjababy knows that life is precious, and the choices to protect one’s self and one’s dependents are hard, rewarding, defiantly individual and frequently hilarious. Sometimes growth comes in baby steps, kicking and screaming with each one. [Carmen Paddock]

Released 10 Sep by Curzon; certificate TBC

Gagarine Director: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh Starring: Alseni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri rrrrr

It would be easy to imagine a social drama set in the Parisian banlieues to embody an urban grittiness well established by predecessors such as La Haine, but Gagarine is a stranger, more otherworldly creature. Set in the real-life housing project Cité Gagarine, named after the first human in space, Gagarine traces the building’s impending demolition through a daring sci-fi framework that renders awe-inspiring what has long been considered mundane. The housing project first appears on scene with celestial grandeur, the sun slowly emerging from behind its planetary breadth. Still aerial shots echo the magnificence of space photography. A camera rotates slowly down an elevator shaft, mimicking Stanley Kubrick’s 2001. There is a sense throughout Gagarine of the importance of being situated. It is an audaciously pervasive play with genre that belies and indeed empowers an extraordinarily grounded film about the inescapable politics of home. As the building’s largely immigrant residents are forced to rehouse, 16-year-old Yuri sets out to save Gagarine. His attempts are charged with the same science fiction static as the rest of the film, yet behind each is a tender, moving tribute to the community and safety that his home represents: a telescope gazing out onto a barren, terrestrial lot before focusing in on a group of women; plants grown in a Martian-like environment with gentle, compassionate attention. Told with an unshakeable depth of passion, Gagarine is an ode to community and social housing on a cosmic scale. [Anahit Behrooz]

Released 24 Sep by Curzon; certificate 12A

Image: Motlys Image: Tine Harden

Ninjababy Rose Plays Julie Gagarine Shorta

Rose Plays Julie Director: Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor Starring: Ann Skelly, Orla Brady, Aidan Gillen rrrrr

Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s films are deliciously slippery. Shifting identities are their MO. With this new psychological thriller, the roleplay is explicit in the title, although the identities being switched are one and the same. Rose (Skelly) is a veterinary student who wanders the corridors of her college with an inscrutable blankness that’s another trademark of Molloy and Lawlor’s characters. Julie is the name Rose was given by her birth mother, Ellen (Brady), who put her up for adoption and is now a successful actor (more shifting identities). Rose begins dipping out of class to stalk the woman who gave her up, and their reconnection leads her to learn of her father, Peter (Gillen), a famous archaeologist. Like her old man, Rose is interested in uncovering the past. To say more would spoil some of Rose Plays Julie’s creepy pleasures. What we can say is that Molloy and Lawlor approach the psychological thriller in a pleasingly unsettling fashion. The genre’s tropes are continually subverted, and sequences in slow-motion set to an operatic score, recalling the duo’s virtuosic single-shot short Who Killed Brown Owl?, gives the film the quality of an unfurling dream, which forgives any lapses in real-world logic. The issues Molloy and Lawlor are playing with, though, are very much grounded in reality. The lasting scars of male violence and the morality of revenge are explored to haunting effect, with no easy answers given. This is hypnotic, thrilling, deeply confident filmmaking. [Jamie Dunn] Shorta Director: Anders Ølholm, Frederik Louis Hviid Starring: Jacob Hauberg Lohmann, Simon Sears, Tarek Zayat rrrrr

This sinewy thriller from Denmark presents us with a very familiar setup. Veteran cop Anders (Lohmann), a racist hothead with a beer gut and a chip on his shoulder, is teamed up with the younger, empathetic, straightlaced Høyer (Sears). Tensions are high in Copenhagen; specifically in the deprived neighbourhood of Svalegarden (invented for the film), where the inhabitants are reeling from the brutal beating of a 19-year-old Black resident by law enforcement. A wrinkle appears in the shopworn good cop-bad cop dynamic with the introduction of Amos (Zayat), an Arab teen who Anders harasses and subsequently arrests for no reason while on patrol in Svalegarden. The estate is already a tinderbox ready to ignite, and this latest piece of heavy-handed policing sets off an all-out attack from local youths, leaving the two cops and their wiry detainee stranded in Svalegarden. The switch from Danish Training Day knockoff to a pulpier siege thriller that owes no small debt to the films of Walter Hill significantly ups Shorta’s adrenaline. Directors Ølholm and Hviid show a talent for elegant action filmmaking, with Svalegarden becoming a concrete maze from which the trio need to escape, but around every corner is a new obstacle in their way. Less finely calibrated, unfortunately, is Shorta’s script, which is comfortable when trading in movie clichés but messy when addressing real-world morality. [Jamie Dunn]

Let’s Get Critical

We’ve teamed up with Edinburgh International Film Festival’s Young Critics Programme, with each of the emerging critics being asked to review a work from EIFF’s 2021 programme of fiction films, animation and documentary work

Animation

The Deer King

It’s hard to think of an animation studio held in higher esteem, with a more boundless influence, than Studio Ghibli. At first glance, you might think The Deer King is just one of many Ghibli-inspired projects that dot the anime landscape. True, both co-directors Masashi Ando (a long-time Ghibli character animator making his directorial debut) and Masayuki Miyaji helped create some of the studio’s best-loved films. But look closer, and you’ll uncover a film darker, and more eerily resonant, than you imagined. The film takes place in a world where the formerly noble nation of Aquafa has become a vassal state of the Empire of Zol, breeding resentment and prejudice. When a harrowing disease that only affects Zolians spreads, Van and Yuna – a former warrior and his adopted daughter – must join the legendary doctor Hohsalle in discovering a cure before the epidemic becomes unstoppable.

The Deer King is breathtaking. Thick forests and mountains glistening with snow surround beautifully detailed towns and villages. Ando’s acumen as a character animator is on display: the disparate cast of characters are dynamic, full of joy, fear, regret. Sure, there are some visual echoes of Princess Mononoke, but the film rarely descends into derivative territory. In the age of COVID, all films featuring deadly pandemics are going to seem somewhat timely. Colonialism, political intrigue, and connection to the land are also addressed. However, the film really shines in its quieter moments. The bond between Van and Yuna is incredibly moving, and even when the film loses its way in a somewhat muddled narrative, they are the epic tale’s emotional core. If you’re looking for the next Spirited Away, The Deer King may disappoint. But if you embrace its dark and stunningly realised world, you’ll discover some cinematic magic all its own. [Jack Richardson]

Mad God

Jeff Goldblum, as Dr Ian Malcolm, once said “life finds a way”. This is true both for the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and their creator, special effects wizard Phil Tippet. His magnum opus Mad God has finally seen the light of day after 33 years in production and it is entrancingly grotesque. The plot is less of a linear structure and more a collection of progressively maddening thoughts. The opening 20 minutes follow a masked figure in World War I regalia traversing through the smoke into a twisted factory-laden landscape. The further he descends, the viler the images become, in an ode to Dante’s nine circles of hell. Mad God is not for the faint of heart, then, and includes bodily fluids, genitals, and copious amounts of blood. But once this section concludes, so too do the worst of the visuals. What follows is an hour of sporadic scenes loosely connected via brief character interactions. The visuals are gruesome but Tippet’s craftsmanship astounds. This nightmarish realm is large in scale with minor details that could be missed upon first viewing. The appearance of legendary animator Ray Harryhausen’s cyclops from 1958’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a particularly lovely touch – after all, Harryhausen spent years pioneering the use of stop-motion animation and Tippet builds upon that work by occasionally splicing live-action footage into his film.

Mad God features no dialogue – unless you count screams of anguish – so Dan Wool’s score steps in to fill the void, and elevates the film by provoking feelings of fear and melancholy. An astoundingly surreal and captivatingly horrific project, Mad God finds beauty in decay and corruption, and is worth every one of the 33 years it took to make. [Beatrice Copland]

Absolute Denial

AI is considered to be the holy grail of computer programming – a sentient entity capable of computing impossibly complex equations in microseconds. Yet that prospect is as terrifying as it is tempting, threatening to make humanity, with all its flaws, obsolete.

Absolute Denial, an animated science fiction film helmed by first-time director Ryan Braund, explores that paradox. It follows David, an unemployed programmer who builds an AI in an abandoned warehouse. The intelligence, named Al for Alpha, is forced to communicate through a computer monitor and microphone, making David its only possible means of escape. The film focuses on the battle of wits between the programmer and his program. David may begin in a position of power, but he quickly finds himself intellectually outpaced by his creation’s childlike thirst for knowledge. Despite having no camera, Al is able to use David’s breathing patterns to deduce that his mental health is in decline, an ominous revelation that reveals just how little control he has over the situation.

Absolute Denial may be more interested in cerebral conflict than physical confrontation, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. A propulsive synth score drives the plot forward at breakneck pace, and the monochromatic colour palette adds a foreboding hint of film noir, amplified by David’s angst-ridden voiceover. A late twist threatens to drag the film into narrative quicksand. The twist itself is ingenious, but Braund overplays the kaleidoscopic visuals that symbolise David’s confusion, robbing the film of its carefully crafted momentum. Nevertheless, Absolute Denial remains an engaging exploration of the dangerous fascination with AI and our own limitations. Like the increasingly erratic Al, Braund’s debut may be flawed, but it effectively probes humanity’s fear of being made redundant by its own creations. [Nathaniel Ashley]

Stop-Zemlia

Ukrainian filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai wanted to make a ‘boring film’ about adolescence. StopZemlia was the outcome: a debut coming-of-age film focusing on three friends, Masha, Senia, and Yana, and all the stomach-lurching, vertigo-inducing emotions of growing up. It resists the sensationalism of adolescence so often found in Anglophone coming-of-age films – think Booksmart or Lady Bird – and embraces the liminal space and hesitancy of teenage life. Its subject is social anxiety, unresolved crushes, the terrifying vastness of the future – and it’s ‘boring’ in the best possible way. A significant proportion of the film is set in Masha’s bedroom, where Masha, Senia, and Yana flicker from topics of dating to mental health. Oleksandr Roshchyn’s restrained cinematography and long shots mirror the expansiveness of their lives, when so much yet so little happens. Engaging one coming-of-age trope, the film culminates in a stunningly-shot leavers’ dance: that bruised and glittered edge of adolescence, which is rarely all that it is made out to be. Gornostai’s background is primarily within documentaries rather than fiction filmmaking, and Stop-Zemlia sits comfortably between the two. Archetypal documentary talking-head shots are interspersed with surrealist badminton games and the ennui of a biology classroom on a Friday afternoon. The script was developed through interviews with potential actors and the characters were named after the cast, reminiscent of Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 social commentary classic La Haine. There is a generosity to Gornostai’s craft which infuses the film with earnest authenticity, and it neatly sidesteps any adult condescension. The power of the film lies in its universality: everyone can relate to the difficulties of adolescence and uncertainty about the future. StopZemlia! Stop the world, I want to get off! Gornostai holds space for these emotions, without judgement – with the retrospective knowledge that it does get better. [Leeza Isaeva]

The Road Dance

The Road Dance is, on the surface, a typical period piece. Following Hebridean teenager Kirsty (Hermione Corfield) as she comes of age amid the height of the First World War, its set-up is unsurprising. Look deeper, however, and you’ll find a film concerned with the devastating impact of war on isolated communities, as well as the harsh realities of patriarchal oppression. American director Richie Adams’ film is a strikingly beautiful homage to the rough Scottish coastline, and its harsh, isolated setting – a village in the Outer Hebrides – is made more alluring by the undeniable sense of community. Adams’ cast, which boasts some excellent up-and-coming Scottish talent in Corfield, Will Fletcher, Tom Byrne, and Ali Fumiko Whitney, builds a convincing sense of interconnectivity in the village, wherein the loss of one citizen is felt by all. For all these charms, The Road Dance does succumb to clichés. An enthusiasm for romantic letters read in voiceovers and the ever-looming promise of an escape to America minimise the sensitivity with which Adams attempts to handle certain plot points. It also undermines the film’s portrayal of sexual assault. Instead of an introspective look at the violence and injustice of patriarchy and war, the film leans too heavily into fulfilling period drama genre tropes. Adams ultimately fails in his attempt to make a compelling drama concerned with the scars war inflicts on far-flung communities, but as a visually stunning and generally enjoyable period drama, it’s a welcome addition – and a rare Scottish one. [Alix Hudson]

Mandibles

“Strange, isn’t it?” That’s the perfectly reasonable reaction by our irreverent protagonist, Manu (Grégoire Ludig), when he finds he has unintentionally kidnapped a freakishly large fly while embarking on a hasty get-rich-quick scheme with his best friend, Jean Gab (David Marsais). From that setup, it’s surely clear that Quentin Dupeuix’s Mandibles hasn’t strayed far from the absurdist storylines which we have come to expect from the French director – such as in his earlier work Rubber (2010), which features a murderous car tyre in the starring role. From here, strap in for a wild goose chase with this zany double act, who first land in a desert setting, where they begin to train their newfound pet to do tricks. It’s here we begin to see a more detailed glimpse into their eccentric friendship, reminiscent of the duo in Dumb and Dumber. The leads begin to employ a similarly exaggerated acting style through their quasi-slapstick facial expressions and childish mannerisms. Initially, this ‘comedy of errors’ feels inescapable, with the pair’s phatic conversations dominating the dialogue, filled with pauses and prosaic onomatopoeias. However, as the narrative progresses, more humanistic elements of this tongue-in-cheek comedy blossom brilliantly. One of Dupieux’s central aims, he’s said, was to “celebrate friendship, because it’s beautiful”. Although this concept could have easily been diluted by the kooky storyline and unrelatable characters, it eventually shines through. We ultimately warm to the charmingly foolish pair, along with their cryptically nonsensical handshake. [Lauren Musa-Green]

Documentary

Faceless

The summer of 2019: the citizens of Hong Kong pour into the streets dressed in black, their faces hidden behind masks. Two million voices protest against the Extradition Bill that permits offenders to face trial in China with a 99.9% chance of conviction. “Withdraw the Extradition Bill! Give us back our freedom!” Directed by award-winning journalist Jennifer Ngo, Faceless centres on the lives of four Hong Kong citizens – The Student, The Artist, The Believer and The Daughter. Alluding to the need for anonymity to avoid arrest, these names also foreground the individual lives that come together in mass political struggle. Interviews with the four protestors reveal their stories: a desire to protect democracy for future generations, fear of what the bill means for LGBTQ+ Hongkongers, and a search for truth led by religious faith. Juxtaposing the individual against the systemic, these personal reflections are interspersed with scenes of police violence.

Faceless doesn’t soften any of its blows, and the footage of protestors being brutalised by officers in riot gear is harrowing. But the documentary also spotlights the power of grassroots mobilisation – strangers run into the fray, giving each other first aid, dousing out canisters of tear gas, and distributing protective gear. “We want to democratise the methods of resistance,” The Artist says. When they disperse for the night, protestors prepare home-cooked meals for one another, nourishing the solidarity that keeps them alive – and keeps them believing that a “Hong Kong for Hongkongers” is in their grasp. The Hong Kong pro-democracy movement has since become a blueprint for protests in the face of racial injustice, the climate crisis, and the devastation of a global pandemic. Though it’s a difficult watch, Faceless carries hard-won hope – and it’s a necessary film in an era where grassroots organisation and international solidarity is more important than ever. [Xuanlin Tham]

Rebel Dykes

The confident stomp of Dr. Martens down the streets of London. Leather jackets rolled up at the sleeves. Protest signs brandished without fear. From the second they appear in this rousing documentary, the titular Rebel Dykes are impossible to look away from. Harri Shanahan and Siân A Williams’ film focuses on a group of lesbian activists living in London during the Thatcher era, exploring their lives and their unwavering commitment to dismantling the system.

Rebel Dykes utilises an eclectic mix of interviews, archive footage and animated sequences to create a narrative of close community. The film showcases multiple activism movements – from the Greenham Common Peace Camp to lesbian protestors infiltrating parliament. Interviews with participants as well as recreations of the actual events add a very personal lens to the movement while also paying tribute to the bombastic and legendary efforts of the protests themselves. However, activism is not all that the filmmakers decide to document. What stands out is the sheer volume of lesbian culture that emerged in this scene. Lesbian punk bands (with fantastic names like Sluts From Outer Space), lesbian magazines, and lesbian S&M clubs. Rebel Dykes goes further than saying being a lesbian is OK. It says: being a lesbian is pretty damn cool. These women tear through the streets in motorbike gangs, they are unapologetically sexual and refuse to be subtle about it. Quite the opposite, the lesbians being interviewed explicitly link their political identity to their sex lives, stating a desire to fight the stereotype that lesbian sex involves “holding hands in 20 passionate positions”.

Rebel Dykes is a poignant account of the lesbian activists of the past, but also looks to the future. As the women reminisce on their glory days, they leave us with something to remember whenever we enjoy the greater freedoms queer people have today: “We stand on the shoulders of giants.” [Hannah Eglinton]

Bridging the Gap shorts: Mobile

COVID has significantly limited our movements and narrowed our lives to an extent, showing us how much we took mobility for granted. This year, as part of the Scottish Documentary Institute’s Bridging the Gap series, five Scottish and Northern Irish directors have creatively explored the theme ‘Mobile’ and its significance to many lives. Mobility acts as solace for two teenagers in the coming-of-age style shorts: Run With Her, directed by Lia Campbell, and West Country, directed by Rowan Ings. Whether that is endurance running in Campbell’s film, or conducting daily jobs at the farm in Ings’, both doc’s protagonists are accustomed to their routine lives. However, they loom on the possibility of change as they ponder the future. Will their lives continue to have the same rhythmic motion as they mature? Location, time, and memory are barriers to mobility in Laura Wadha’s Born in Damascus. As Wadha reconnects with her cousin after ten years, they realise their memories of Syria and of each other are immobile. Wadha highlights the lost recollections of migrants and refugees who have been forced to move, yet their heart and memories remain at home. Similarly, Daniel Cook’s The Bayview features migrant fishermen in the North East of Scotland longing for home. Cook encapsulates moments where the arduously-worked and underpaid fishermen are in respite, a short pause in their mobile lives. In Steven Fraser’s colourful Prosopagnosia, the contents of a memory box – drawings, photographs, diaries – are constantly mobile. The stop-motion medium allows Fraser to reveal what face-blindness is like to unfamiliar audiences. As the snapshots of faces move, transform, and alter, so do Fraser’s own memories. For Fraser, his neurodiverse behaviour affects his mobility, and the people and places he encounters. The Mobile collection ultimately delves into an intimate view of change and longing, which are some things we ourselves can desperately relate to after COVID. [Sungleen Moon]

For more of EIFF’s Young Critics Programme, head to edfilmfest.org.uk/young-critics-2021

All the Names Given

By Raymond Antrobus rrrrr

Keeping the House

By Tice Cin rrrrr

Several People Are Typing

By Calvin Kasulke rrrrr

Never Saw Me Coming

By Vera Kurian rrrrr

All the Names Given is a meditation on communication: not only on what is communicated, but also how. Whether using his text as spoken word, gesture, or image, Antrobus blends these lines of communication into a seamless flow of poetry, investigating racial and cultural identities, familial relationships, and the spaces of silence among language. Identity, in all its complexities, is explored in this collection, with silence itself becoming a pillar in that construction. That silence is investigated by the [Caption Poems], which are spaced throughout the collection and give a textual voice to the moments between poems. Formally inventive, these pieces bring to the fore precise silences which so often fall between the gaps of reader recognition. The layers of communication are particularly poignant in Plantation Paint. Antrobus uses his text to quote speech from Tabitha, who uses that speech to communicate information on the 1860 painting Plantation Burial by John Antrobus. ‘…the paint / depicting the black / of these men / huddled for burial / will decay before / the cypress trees’. Through these layers, the reader is brought to an abrupt understanding of the racial prejudices that are woven into the very fabric of the image. So much of All the Names Given is this unwrapping of necessary communications: it is a gift of realisations for the reader to explore and come back to again and again [Beth Cochrane] Keeping the House is a refreshingly unique and vivid debut by Tice Cin. Set over three generations, it follows an interconnected group of Turkish Cypriot immigrants as they navigate life in north London. It’s the story of those who will keep their families afloat by any means necessary, in this case, by dealing heroin concealed in cabbage leaves. Told in a series of bite-sized chapters, the novel expertly interweaves questions about family, community, trauma and belonging into episodes that are often humorous, sometimes heartbreaking but always poetic. Although it encompasses the lives of a dozen or so protagonists, this is arguably a story about three strong women (Makbule, Ayla and Damla), the love they have for their family and community, and the lengths they will go to in order to ensure each generation that follows is provided for. The inclusion of Turkish Cypriot expressions and segments of fragmented poetry add to the individuality of Keeping the House and, although at times slightly scattered, Tice Cin manages to offer the reader a totally new and exciting narrative style that feels fresh, confident and powerful. It captures the buzz of London life and lifts the lid on the vibrant culture of the Turkish Cypriot community, giving a behind-closeddoors look at the women who quietly, instinctively keep the wheel of family life turning. [Kerri Logan] After a year and a half of lockdowns, work apps have slowly infiltrated more people’s lives. But what if you were to infiltrate your work app? That is the premise of Several People Are Typing – Gerald was working on a spreadsheet about snazzy coats and then suddenly, unexpectedly, is absorbed into Slack. While his colleagues consider his pleas a joke, he’s left to meditate on life and reality with his new friend, slackbot. Told in fragments of Slack messages, it’s quick to get into. The perceived difficulty in facilitating a plot of highs, lows, tension, and character development in direct messages and Slack channels is navigated deftly – big topics like surveillance are all :dusty-stick: and giphy references, then you’re laughing at an implied screenshot of supposed secrets, or watching romances unfurl in hidden chats. The action element loses pace slightly, but it’s the flow of characters across channels – the work, life, gossip divide – where it shines. Maybe it’s one for the Slack aficionados and others like us who are glued to these annoying work apps and would love nothing more than to be a sunset GIF and leave responsibility behind. It’s surreal and off the wall; it’s also incredibly witty, deals with existential crises, and makes you hate how recognisable this whole book is in terms of living in apps – minus the (literal, at least) absorption. [excellent.gif] posted using giphy [Heather McDaid] Chloe Sevre’s hobbies include yogalates and frat parties; she’s an honour student, looks the typical girl next door, and she’s going to kill Will Bachman, the childhood friend who wronged her. She’s part of a sevenstrong clinical study of psychopaths – who, like her, can’t comprehend emotions like fear and guilt, and lack empathy – but when one of the students is found murdered in the psychology building, everything shifts. What began as the perfect waiting game to strike her own revenge becomes a chase in which she is both a hunter and the hunted, as everyone seeks the answer while being under the strongest suspicion. Welcoming readers with the intent and timescale for murder, this is a compulsive read – as unreliable narrators and plot twists aplenty build up; the hooks aren’t lacking. Chloe and fellow students Charles and Andre deftly build up the full picture while ripping it to pieces simultaneously. Truth never feels certain. The term ‘psychological thriller’ is thrown around often, but Never Saw Me Coming takes it literally; it goes beyond the tropes of psychopathy, showing the reality of living a normal, average life too. Unsure who to trust from page one, readers fall deeply down the wormhole of seeking answers. However, the book does lose its momentum amidst its many threads. But when at its strongest, Never Saw Me Coming is difficult to step back from – dark, complex, and gripping. [Heather McDaid]

Picador, 2 Sep, £10.99 And Other Stories, 7 Sep, £11.99 Hodder Studio, 9 Sep, £12.99 Harvill Secker, 9 Sep, £14.99

THE PALMERSTON, EDINBURGH

The Palmerston showcases great Scottish ingredients, but it’s the bakery that steals a lot of the limelight Words: Peter Simpson

The Palmerston, 1 Palmerston Pl, Edinburgh, EH12 5AF

thepalmerstonedinburgh.co.uk

Bakery open Tue-Sun from 9am, kitchen open for lunch 12-2.30pm Wed-Sat and 123.30pm Sun, dinner 6-9.45pm Tue-Sun In the classic Simpsons episode Krusty Gets Kancelled, the whole town becomes entranced by the arrival of a ventriloquist’s dummy named Gabbo, but all they have to go on initially is the name. Gabbo! Gabbo! GABBO! The Edinburgh food equivalent in recent months has been The Palmerston, the new venture from chefs James Snowdon and Lloyd Morse. The Palmerston! It’s a restaurant! And a bakery! The Palmerston! There’s a bar! They seem to be decorating, must be opening soon! The Palmerston! Where is it again, oh Palmerston Photo: Peter Simpson Place, that makes sense! Having visited on the opening weekend, our report is that The Palmerston has largely been worth the hype. The good bits are very very good, led by everything coming out of the restaurant’s in-house bakery. The bread is light, bouncy and flavourful, and the good news is there’s plenty of it going around. The aubergine, goat’s curd and dukkah (£7) comes on a toasted slice, smeared with creamy cheese and topped with extremely soft, mellow aubergine. Throw in some lemon thyme flowers and seeds and you have an extremely tasty and surprisingly approachable bit of food. The grilled sardines (£6.50) do not feature any bread, but they are accompanied by a zesty, punchy blob of romesco. It’s a simple dish but it’s super effective, highlighting really good ingredients and letting you loose on them with a knife, a fork and a ‘good luck’. Throughout, The Palmerston treads the fine line between simple and clinical, uncluttered and overly pared-back. The decor is cool but restrained, all teals and tiles and dark wood. The uniformly lovely staff have lovely uniforms; big canvas aprons on the front, T-shirts with illustrated ducks on the back. We spend a good few minutes focusing on a particularly lovely steak knife; salvaged antique blade, nicely weighted and seemingly-refurbished handle. When we’re done playing with the cutlery, it goes to work on a plate of roast venison (£20) with white beans and braised chard. It’s brilliantly juicy and tender, and accompanied by some incredibly savoury and meaty veg, but it might have fallen a touch short had it not been for a late intervention from more of that bread. As we’re finishing up, some sourdough ends are brought forth for mopping up, and we’re in business – the business of devouring every single bit of this meal without resorting to licking the plate. The fish stew (£21) is one example of the approach not quite working – maybe it’s just our palate, but while everything feels very fresh and lovingly made, there’s just a little spark missing. Or maybe there’s too much spark; there’s an impressive range of sea life jostling for attention in a small pool of broth, with the resultant flavour clashes growing stronger by the moment. The bakery comes good once again to round things off, with a brilliant raspberry and almond tart (£6). Gooey frangipane, sharp berries, a crust so short and crisp that cutting into it creates a snap you can hear over a passing tram – you love to see it. All in all, The Palmerston is a success, but a qualified one. It’s early days (we visited on their second-ever day of service, and their third day was rained off by a leak in the kitchen) so some growing pains are to be expected, but the high points are excellent. That said, you quite literally pay the price for those great moments – our lunch for two topped the £75 mark, which might give you cause for pause. As a showcase of local ingredients, The Palmerston sets a high bar, and if everything can reach the heights of that loaf of bread, this place could become very special indeed.

Photo: Peter Simpson

Photo: Peter Simpson September 2021 – Review

Pedal Powered

Meet Me Halfway aims to encourage people across Edinburgh to choose more active and greener travel options this summer. Laura and Tom, the couple behind TravelTwo, took up the challenge by biking to Portobello – via a cheeky ice cream pit stop in Leith

Interview: Jamie Dunn

Laura and Tom are the couple behind TravelTwo, and they share a love of photography and a dislike for sitting still. They have been living in Edinburgh for around three years now, having moved to Scotland from London. As well as photograCrolla's phy, they love to hike and just generally be active, and they document their adventures around Scotland on the TravelTwo Instagram (@traveltwo_) and blog (traveltwo.co.uk). Their motto is “if there’s a photo that’s worth sharing, chances are there’s also a story behind it that’s worth telling”, and they hope their photographs and stories of travelling around Scotland will help inspire people to get out there and explore this beautiful country too.

As part of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Meet Me Halfway campaign, Laura and Tom decided to cycle from their home in the New Town to meet friends halfway on the promenade at Portobello beach. We had a chat to them about their journey.

The Skinny: Where did you set off from? Laura and Tom: So we began in St Andrew Square and cycled to meet some friends on the beach.

Why Portobello? We just love it there and try to get down at least once a week – whether it’s for a swim, a run or just to meet up with friends. This time we were desperate to try out the new Civerinos restaurant that’s opened on the beachfront. And with the sun out, it just felt like the perfect excuse to go and enjoy a slice with some friends.

How did you plan your route? We always try to plan routes that avoid too many main roads, but also take in some of our favourite spots. For that reason, the Water of Leith is just an amazing way to get down to the water from the city centre without needing to cross a single road. It’s so green and scenic that you completely forget you are in a city at all. A pit-stop at Leith is always nice too, before we headed across Leith Links and then along the shorefront until Portobello.

When you travel by bike or on foot, do you see the city differently? When we moved to Edinburgh, it definitely surprised us how many quiet spots you can find in the city by actively travelling around. Despite thousands more people here for the Fringe, there’s always spots you can find to yourself – sometimes a whole stretch of beach too!

There’s always something different to see every time we get around Edinburgh – the seasons make such a huge difference, but there’s also just so many new places opening up. This time though as we were capturing our journey on camera – we forgot how incredible the view is back to the city from the shore and it gave us a fresh perspective of Calton Hill that we’d not seen before.

What did you get up to during your stop in Leith? We stopped for ice cream at Crolla’s (a regular occurrence). There are so many flavours to choose from and enjoying an ice cream by the harbour is a must. We also brought a bottle of wine with us on the trip and so enjoyed that with our friends on the beach with the most amazing pizza from Civerinos.

“There’s always something different to see every time we get around Edinburgh”

Laura and Tom of TravelTwo

What, for you, were the main benefits of meeting halfway? With our friends living a bit outside of Edinburgh, meeting them halfway, especially during the week, meant we could still plan a fun evening without worrying about being too far from home. Most importantly, though, after sitting staring at screens for a day, sometimes the best thing is just to build in some screen-free exercise by way of walking or cycling. It definitely makes you feel like you’ve earned the pizza at the end!

So sounds like you’ll be meeting halfway quite often? We will definitely be suggesting more things like this, using it as an excuse to try new places and see different parts of the city.

How long was the journey? It only takes about 20 minutes to cycle down to Leith from the city centre and then less than that to go from Leith to Portobello. However, it’s definitely more fun to break it up and so it took us about an hour and a half including our ice cream pit-stop. Follow TravelTwo’s journey at @traveltwo_

To find out more about the health and environmental benefits of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Meet Me Halfway campaign, as well as ideas for your own journey, head to edinburgh.gov.uk/meetmehalfway

What were the highlights of the journey? There were so many! Seeing Leith harbour with all the boats provides endless photo opportunities. Portobello beach also takes some beating. It’s such a long stretch of sand (around two miles) that you genuinely could have a whole stretch to yourself. We love meeting all the dogs that are out for walks too – running in the water and just genuinely having the time of their lives!

ICYMI

Podcasters Laurence and Lindsay from Long Cat Media take a trip with the Griswolds

Illustration: Lotte Schuengel

Lindsay: Initial expectations: National Lampoon’s Vacation is an 80s comedy with a theme park. Sounds like it’s made for us! Laurence and I have been theme park enthusiasts for some time now, and yes, that makes us very cool. We even got married at Disney World, and soon after gave birth to our very own theme park – Mockery Manor*. We should be the ideal audience for National Lampoon’s Vacation, shouldn’t we? Nooope. This is a dated, dubious movie, folks. It did have good moments, but mainly we spent the 92 minute runtime exclaiming such things as “What is going on? Why are we seeing the mum’s boobs again? How long is this comedic set-up going to go on for?! Is that a young Jane Krakowski?” Laurence: OK, let’s start with the plot – cheeky hapless dad Clark Griswold takes his wife Ellen and children Rusty and Audrey on a road trip cross country to visit Walley World. I’ve never much enjoyed the ‘everything-goes-wrong road trip’ genre of family comedies: I find them stressful and usually want to flip tables as each inevitable disaster approaches. But this didn’t give me the toe-curling stress response I’d expected. What was striking was just how many jokes are set up but then just… move on. Scenes like Clark getting lost in the desert feel like such well-trodden ground that you think “Ah, there’s the Lawrence of Arabia music, there’s the skeleton wearing the same clothes as him… soon he’ll collapse and some desert people will rescue him, and he’ll be indoctrinated into their way of life etc.” But instead he just arrives at a gas station where the family is waiting. And then the film moves on. He’s not even comically sunburnt. It’s like the film goes “yeah, you know the rest of this bit,” and spares you the hassle of a punchline. It’s… efficient?

Lindsay: Comedy, some might argue, is about building stress and then relieving it in a heightened and/or unexpected manner (Gadsby!! *shakes fist*). But National Lampoon’s Vacation kept setting up stressful situations (dangerous driving, accidentally killing a pet, a granny dying) and then, instead of capitalising on all that zany potential, taking it reeeeeally easy. Like, hey man, no need to get too excited. It’s fine. Shit happens. *shrug* The film has the low, low stakes of a giant SNL skit. Or maybe the problem is that there’s no real commitment to mania. Even at the climax when Chevy Chase is supposedly at his wit’s end, he’s only a smidge more wild-eyed and sweary than before. And the wife’s response to her husband pointing a gun at two innocent security guards is essentially, “oh honey, siiiigh.” The overall result is VERY WEIRD, like a laid-back fever dream. So it’s like a mellow cartoon. But then there’s the racism. Yep. The Griswolds are a parody of a typical middle-class American family, oh-so suburban and naive; the perfect set-up for tired ‘fish out of water’ tropes (even by 1983). The most heinous example of this is when they take a wrong turn into a ‘bad neighbourhood’, depicted as exclusively black. It’s a hive of gun-toting pimps, prostitutes and thieves, all primed to prey on the Griswolds when they ask for directions. The family drive away minus hubcaps. And that’s it. That’s literally the whole joke.

Laurence: I think this film hinges on how much we like Chevy Chase. As Clark, he gives it big comedy dad-throb energy. He loves his kids (though forgets the girl’s name sometimes) and his wife Ellen (even when he’s vigorously attempting to cheat on her) and he’s just trying his dang best. Ellen herself is the straight man for Clark to bounce off, but she’s also there to be smokin’ hot. This might look like a family comedy, but in the first 20 minutes Ellen has been the butt of a blowjob gag, and we’ve seen full nipple in a ‘where’s the joke tho’ shower scene. Both of us were getting flashbacks to sitting with parents in childhood living rooms, watching what appeared to be an innocuous family comedy, then sitting in awkward silence when all the boobs appeared. So, this isn’t really worth a rewatch. *But hey, tell you what else is set in the 80s and has a theme park and some decent comedy that isn’t racist or sexist - Mockery Manor!

Long Cat Media write and produce the following podcasts: The Ballad of Anne and Mary with Christina Bianco, Sooz Kempner and Hamilton’s Karl Queensborough Mockery Manor, again starring Sooz Kempner and Alistair Beckett-King Madame Magenta: Sonos Mystica

Listen to all of Long Cat Media’s podcasts wherever you get them or at longcatmedia.com/podcast

Listings

Looking for something to do? Well you’re in the right place! Here's a rundown of what's happening in music, art and theatre across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee this month.

To find out how to submit listings, head to theskinny.co.uk/listings

Glasgow Music

Tue 31 Aug

BLOSSOMS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £36.50 Beloved indie band Blossoms bring their chart-topping recent album Foolish Loving Spaces to the stage for an unmissable live performance. CARA ROSE (HANNAH SLAVIN + BRODIE BARCLAY + LEWIS ROSS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:30, £8.80 Soulful melodies and incisive lyrics come together to create a compelling musical portrait of being young in the world today. Part of King Tut’s Summer Nights. CRACK CLOUD

MONO, 20:00–23:00, £11 Vancouver-based multimedia collective Crack Cloud are known for their uniquely radical, subversive approach to music, blending the personal and the political with each new album. DECLAN MCKENNA

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, TBC Only 22 years old, pop prodigy Declan McKenna has been radically altering the face of British music for several years thanks to an ambitious play with genre and subversive, politically astute writing. PASSENGER

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–23:00, £29 Indie singer-songwriter darling Mike Rosenberg, AKA Passenger, brings his gentle, soulful lyrics and sound to the stage in celebration of his latest melancholy album Songs For The Drunk And Broken Hearted. SARA ‘N’ JUNBUG (PSYCHADELICACY + DEAR CINDER)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 Lying at the intersection of folk and pop, Glasgow four piece Sara ‘N’ Junbug’s compelling sound is as fun as it is piercing. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Wed 01 Sep

THE SNUTS

ORAN MOR, 17:00–19:30, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts play an intimate acoustic show. THE SNUTS

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts play an intimate acoustic show. DECLAN MCKENNA

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, TBC Only 22 years old, pop prodigy Declan McKenna has been radically altering the face of British music for several years thanks to an ambitious play with genre and subversive, politically astute writing.

CULTE (TARRAGON + SCOTT C PARK + JEN ELLA)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 Summer vibes from a irresistible line up. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Thu 02 Sep

THE SNUTS

ORAN MOR, 17:00–19:30, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts play an intimate acoustic show. THE SNUTS

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts play an intimate acoustic show. SLEEPER + THE BLUETONES

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 18:30–22:00, £34.50 90s Britpop legends put on a co-headline show playing their debut albums in full. GALLUS (MYSTIC PEACH + SHE)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, TBC Glasgow-based five piece indie-punk band with a reputation for relentlessly energetic and entertaining live shows. LAST HYENA (INTECHNICOLOUR + GREATER THE DIVIDE)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 Bristol band known for their wry prog rock vibes.

Fri 03 Sep

LUKE LA VOLPE (BLACK DOVE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, TBC Rising star who has supported the likes of Lewis Capaldi and The Snuts. CHRIS HELME (MARK W. GEORGSSON)

MONO, 19:30–22:00, £14 The frontman of indie band The Seahorses turns solo with gorgeous folk-infused music. MASON HILL

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £14 A mix of classic and modern rock, these anthemic songs are not ones to miss. EASY DAYS (TALK MORE + BEAFETS)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £7 Mellow indie band Easy Days play out the end of summer. THE GILHOOLYS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £5 A cult Glasgow band who made their name in the 90s,this well-loved indie rock group are back on stage. SCHEME

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, £15 Well-loved local band play their first show after the sad passing of their founding member.

Sat 04 Sep

LITTLE BARRIE + MALCOLM CATTO

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, TBC Exploring funk and psych, this coming together of two great musical acts is a unique musical experience. NATHAN BALL

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £9.90 British singer-songwriter with a distinct summer sound. DEMOB HAPPY (DEAD POET SOCIETY)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £12 Synth-filled, upbeat vibes from this Newcastle band. PEEPING DREXELS (SALOON DION + GOTH GF)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £10 Underground five-piece bring their charismatic, grungey tunes to Scotland.

Sun 05 Sep

THE LUKA STATE

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, £8 Bringing a unique free spirit and positive energy to Glasgow’s music scene. AOIFE NESSA FRANCES (ALEX REX + DJANA GABRIELLE)

MONO, 19:00–22:00, £9 Music that inhabits an ethereal, liminal landscape, traversing the beginnings of love and moments of loss. TVAM (MANDRAKE HANDSHAKE + MODERN WOMAN + POLLY + THE KUNDALINI GENIE)

BROADCAST, 16:00–22:00, £14 Five bands take the stage for this all-afternoon mini fest. GOOD DOG (BOBBY KAKOURIS + GRAYLING + RAVELOE)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 A celebratory line up of live music. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Mon 06 Sep

FOY VANCE

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, TBC Foy Vance merges the folk sensibilities of his native Northern Ireland withthis rich musical history of Southern Americana. BLACK MIDI

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00, £15 Post-punk, jazz and prog rock come together in a blistering performance from Mercury nominees black midi. EMILY BURNS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £9.90 British musical artist inflienced by the likes of Tove Lo, Sigrid, and Kehlani. THE SPECIALS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC One of the UK’s most foundational ska-punk bands infuse their music with an incisive politics.

SONIC BOOM

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £16.50 Renowned singer and producer Peter Kember known for his genre-bending sound. ENJOYABLE LISTENS (LOUP HAVENITH + BLUSH CLUB)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 Avant garde pop from an acclaimed up-and-coming band. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Tue 07 Sep

JAX JONES (DANIEL BLUME)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £17.60 - £20.40 Prominent DJ Jax Jones headlines a smash party. VISTAS

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, £26 - £36 Charming indie band from Edinburgh. SAM FENDER

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC Guitar-led melodies and socially engaged lyrics make for a dynamic show. THE MAGPIES (CHAMELEON LADY + LIAM WELSH)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7 Neo-folk’s leading stars pioneer their fresh sound.

Wed 08 Sep

MEUTE

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £22.70 Stunning brass music from a techno marching band. HIMALAYAS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £8.80 Welsh rock group known for their energetic live performances. SAM FENDER

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC Guitar-led melodies and socially engaged lyrics make for a dynamic show. LARKINS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £13.20 Big sounds are delivered by this catchy indie-pop group. TOM CLARKE

ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:00, £16 Musical artist from The Enemy plays his own tour. LEBANON HANOVER

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:00–22:00, £13 Warm New Romantics-style songs from enigmatic duo Larissa Iceglass and Wiliam Maybelline. DREAM NAILS

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8 A feminist punk band of witches, this is a show not to be missed.

Thu 09 Sep

SPEAK EASY CIRCUS (CONNOR JOHNSTON)

BLOC+, 21:00–22:00, TBC Experimental indie posse from the East End of Glasgow.

AFFLECKS PALACE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £13.50 Manchester-based band that have taken the local music scene by storm. THR PRIMITIVES

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £15 English 80s pop band reformed in 2009 to the delight of their fans. JOHN GRANT

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £34 The primary songwriter for alternative rock band The Czars takes the stage. DOSS (GELATINE + DRAGGED UP + PEARLING)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 Electro-pop influenced by the 90s dance scene. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Fri 10 Sep

ELBOW

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £51.40 Now on their eighth studio album, this is rock at its most lyrical. KSI

KING TUT’S, 22:30–22:00, TBC Chart-topping musician with YouTube’s third biggest music channel. FEVER

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £9 Four-piece group who have supported the likes of Blossoms. ARAB STRAP

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC Scottish indie rock band headed by Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. SHADER

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £6 Northwest-based indie rock band deliver an eclectic swirl of melodic guitar riffs and northern grooves. RURA

ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:00, £14 Instrumental group known for their raw yet polished sound. ELIJAH WOLF (LORKIN O’REILLY + SCOUT + FAITH ELIOTT)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £9 Indie artist Elijah Wolf shines a hopeful, sentimental light on modern life.

Sat 11 Sep

SPEAR OF DESTINY

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, TBC Punk rockers put on an exhilirating live show. AMY MCDONALD

KING TUT’S, 22:30–22:00, TBC Beloved Scottish musician whose 2007 single This Is The Life topped charts in several countries.

Sun 12 Sep

THE VAMPS (JC STEWART)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, TBC Beloved ppop rock band return with their fourth album Cherry Blossoms.

SEAN FOCUS (OAKZY + SHERLOCK + MELROZE + AMA JANE + 4TUNE + TAZTAR)

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £10 Edinburgh-based Afrohop artist brings together a dynamic set of special guests. THE VIOLENT HEARTS (DANGERS OF LOVE + GLASS RASPBERRY)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £7 British punk rockers with a jagged edge and an even more jagged heart. JANET DEVLIN

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00, £15 New tunes from X-Factor hopeful Janet Devlin.

Mon 13 Sep

DERMOT KENNEDY (LOLA YOUNG + ZOLA COURTNEY)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, TBC Irish singer-songwriter heads out on his largest tour yet. HAGGARD CAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £11 Hardcore punk band who have played Glastonbury. PIZZAGIRL

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £11.50 Scouse singer drawing on influences as diverse as The Beatles and Janet Jackson. TWINNIE

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £13.50 Strong, socially aware song-writing is matched by irresistible country-pop tunes. NOUSHY 4TET (SOPHIE PENMAN)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £10 Modern jazz quartet evolving Glasgow’s jazz scene. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Tue 14 Sep

KYLE FALCONER

ORAN MOR, 20:00–22:00, £16 - £20 Album launch for Kyle Falconer’s new solo album Love Songs For Laura. DERMOT KENNEDY (LOLA YOUNG + ZOLA COURTNEY)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, TBC Irish singer-songwriter heads out on his largest tour yet. CALLUM BEATTIE (KEIR GIBSON)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, TBC Incisive songwriting that gets to the messy heart of love and life. COURTING

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £8 Subersive Liverpudlian band with a punk edge. BOY PABLO

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £16 Indie-pop tunes from Chilean-Norwegian musical artist Nicolas Muñoz.

PAN AMSTERDAM

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, TBC A masterful genre-bender known as much for his accomplished jazz trumpeting as his wry lyrics. JOE AND THE SHITBOYS (THE WIFE GUYS OF REDDIT)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7 A radical queer band set on addressing homophobia in the rock scene.

Wed 15 Sep

TOM GRENNAN

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, TBC Playing his latest album, Tom Grennan brings his radical emotional honesty to the stage. BRU-C

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, £12.50 A leading figure in the UK’s garage and drum and bass scene. SAM GELLAITRY

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, TBC Scottish DJ’s experimental, genre-bending electronic music heralds the return of the club. KNEECAP

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £15 Electric, politically minded hip hop trio from Belfast. ARXX (GHOSTBABY + EVERYDAY PHARAOHS)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £7 ARXX aren't taking any shit, putting on a invigorating show. DELTA SLEEP

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £13 Delta Sleep return to Glasgow to support their more recent release Soft Sounds. HEIR OF THE CURSED (ADAM ROSS + AMIE HUCKSTEP + RAMBLER)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £7 Atmospheric instrumentals and soulful vocals mark out one of Scotland’s most unique artists. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Endless Summer.

Thu 16 Sep

BILLIE MARTEN (CONCHUR WHITE)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, £12.50 Emotionally intelligent songwriting from dreamy folk artist Billie Marten. OCEAN GROVE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, TBC Australian nu-metal band with an eclectic sound. TEENAGE FANCLUB

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £27.50 Scottish alternative rock band beloved in the 90s and still going strong. ANNA ASH

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8 Speaking to the heady, gritty heat of an Americana summer, Anna Ash’s new album makes for a soulful live show.

Fri 17 Sep

PETTY THIEVES (TOMMY MCGUIRE + GRANT KILPATRICK)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, £8 Gritty, vibrant reggae-ska played by a dynamic eightpiece band. NIGHTSHIFT (R AGGS + OPEN FACE)

MONO, 20:00–22:00, £8 A creative group of musicians pushing the boundaries of and blurring the lines between DIY, punk, experimentalism and indie pop. GROVE

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £8 Genderqueer Bristol-based producer and DJ creates a rave-inspired sound. CAM COLE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £16 A one-man band show by singer-songwriter and seasoned busker Cam Cole. BLACK STONE CHERRY

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £37 Hard rock Kentucky quartet head to Scotland. SCHOOL DISCO (EASY PEELERS)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00, £7 Cosmic space-rock and heavy psych from Brighton. THE QUILTER

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £10 Melodic indie pop from Glasgow musician Stuart Dougan.

Sat 18 Sep

LUCA STRICAGNOLI

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £17.50 Using up to five guitars and modified capos, this is acoustic guitar playing like you’ve not seen before. ANDREW CUSHIN

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, £9 Candid, emotionally vulnerable writing from an astonishing young talent. WITHDRONES

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £8 Melodic band Withdrones launch their new EP Meaning II: The Mind. SARPA SALPA (WHITE NOVELS + KARDO)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £8 Influenced by the likes of Foals and Two Door Cinema Club, this is a live music at its most energetic and sweaty. TRAIL WEST

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC A band leading the thriving scene of Gaels in the city of Glasgow. GFOTY (SPINEE)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £11 An exclusive performance by high concept indie-pop singer GFOTY.

GRáINNE HOLLAND (MARIT & RONA + PADDY CAVANAGH TRIO)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 20:00–22:00, £5 - £14 Three bands come together for Gaels le Chéile's Ceòl is Craic’s celebration of Gaelic music. SLIME CITY

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £12 Glasgow-based band playing fast-paced, existential nerd rock.

Sun 19 Sep

MR BEN & THE BEN'S (FAMILY SELECTION BOX + BUNKHOUSE)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £9 Vibrant storytelling and tender vocals set this indie band apart. FLYTE

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £15 Dynamic indie rock band with an irresistible funk edge.

Mon 20 Sep

DODIE (WILL JOSPEPH COOK + MATILDA MANN)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £26.60 Intimate songs from one of indie pop’s most disarming rising stars. LADY BIRD (DITZ + HAZEYDAYS)

KING TUT’S, 20:00–22:00, £9 Subersive punk-inspired music with a distinctly storytelling approach. THE BLINDERS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £14 Gorgeous stories abound in the alt-rock lyrics of this Manchester-based band. THE SNUTS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts put on a highenergy show.

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7 Ambient guitars and melancholy vocals characterise Deter’s tunes.

Tue 21 Sep

ASH

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £22.50 With a career spanning 25 years, alternative rock band play from their extensive back catalogue. GOAT GIRL

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £14 South London post-punk band headline this set. SODA BLONDE

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £8 Dublin alt-pop band celebrate their debut album Small Talk. THE SNUTS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts put on a highenergy show. LONELADY

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £12 Blending synth with a post-punk sensibility, LoneLady’s music has been released to widespread acclaim. BRING ME THE HORIZON

THE SSE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, £48 Multi-award nominated, metalcore band bring their huge songs to a suitably enormous stage.

Wed 22 Sep

TOKYO POLICE CLUB

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £12 Canadian indie rock band jump across the pond for a buzzing show. THE SNUTS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, TBC Emerging indie boy band The Snuts put on a highenergy show.

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, £15 Supergroup performance from members of Sorry, Dead Pretties, Girl Ray and more. MINERVA WAKES

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7 Dark trip-hop is given a twist of glitchy psychedelia.

Thu 23 Sep

WENDY JAMES

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, £15 The voice of Transvision Vamp brings an intimate yet high-energy show to celebrate her new album. FATIMA YAMAHA

SWG3, 20:00–22:00, £16.50 Refined house and dreamy synths characterise Fatima Yamaha’s immersive live shows. TEMPE (STEREOFIRE + PEACHED)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £5 Scottish band play their first show since their recent album release.

Fri 24 Sep

RIANNE DOWNEY

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, TBC Courageous, emotionally acute songs from a rising star. THE PIGEON DETECTIVES

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00, £18 Indie rock band with platinum records under their belts. PHIL MADELEY

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £8 Phil Madeley’s songwriting speaks to modern states of alienation and loneliness with piercing clarity. EXPLORING BIRDSONG

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £10 Piano-led progressive rock from Liverpool.

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, TBC Classic rock’n’roll from Fife. QUICHE (EMME WOODS)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £8 Psychedelic pop rock quintet hailing from Glasgow play this local show. THE FLAVOURS

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00, TBC An intimate live gig by up-and-coming band The Flavours. CALLOW YOUTH

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8 Manchester band head on their first UK headline tour.

Sat 25 Sep

PROUD MARY

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, TBC Manchester band play songs from their acclaimed fifth album Songs from Catalina. FROM THE JAM

QUEEN MARGARET UNION, 19:00–22:00, TBC Featuring Bruce Foxton from the original Jam line up, this incindiary live show features some of their best loved numbers. TIN PIGEONS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £8.80 Bouncing, excitable indie-pop from charming two-piece band. PRETTY PREACHERS CLUB (MAGPIE BLUE + BERTA KENNEDY)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £7 Glasgow alt-pop two piece founded during lockdown. CHARLIE AND THE BHOYS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £22 A Celtic Irish folk band hailing from the heart of Glasgow.

BLACK CAT REVUE (THE DREADS + LAS ACUARELAS + ANDY MCBRIDE)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00, TBC Music featuring influences from 1970s psychedelia to American rock’n’roll. THE BYSON FAMILY

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, £18 Gorgeous, atmospheric Americana by well-established group. KLEO (BABY TAYLAH + POCKET KNIFE + BOBBY KAKOURIS + RUNRUMMER + CHIZU NNAMDI)

THE HUG AND PINT, 18:00–22:00, £10 A bumper bill of the best of local talent. Part of The Hug and Pint’s Any Minute Now sessions.

Sun 26 Sep

MASSIVE WAGONS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £17.50 Unabashed fun from rock’n’roll-inspired indie band with an ardent following. POM POKO

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £12 Norway’s finest punkpop anti-conformists revisit their joyous debut album, Birthday. MCFLY

THE SSE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, £51.10 - £90.80 One for the noughties kids - beloved boy band McFly are back together and back on the road.

Mon 27 Sep

LANY

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £25 American pop band who have supported the likes of Halsey and Troye Sivan.

Edinburgh Music Thu 02 Sep

TIDE LINES THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £22 Scottish Highlands folk rock band Tide Lines guarantee a whirling, irresistibly energetic show. MAISIE PETERS THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £14 English singer-songwriter plays a special, intimate set to launch her debut album.

Sat 04 Sep

STEVIE R. PEARCE & THE HOOLIGANS BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00, £9 - £11 Rock’n’roll legends showcase their new album Major League Song of a Bitch. EDDI READER - 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £26 - £28 One of Scotland’s most legendary singers celebrates four decades of music.

Sun 05 Sep

THE GALLOWGATE MURDERS (SOUNDMIND + LANA WILD) BANNERMANS, 19:00–22:00, £6 - £8 Punk and grunge come together in this three-band set.

Mon 06 Sep

THE WANDERING HEARTS SUMMERHALL, 19:30–22:00, £15 - £18 Harmonies come together in this dreamy folk-Americana.

Tue 07 Sep

THE SNUTS THE CAVES, 19:30–22:00, £16 Emerging indie boy band The Snuts put on a highenergy show. THE SPECIALS USHER HALL, 18:30–22:00, £49.50 - £71.50 One of the UK’s most foundational ska-punk bands infuse their music with an incisive politics.

Wed 08 Sep

THE SNUTS THE CAVES, 19:30–22:00, £16 Emerging indie boy band The Snuts put on a highenergy show.

Thu 09 Sep

BLACKWATER CONSPIRACY BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00, £12.50 - £15 Northern Irish five-piece band brings a uniquely classic rock sensibility to the stage.

ELBOW USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £49.50 Now on their eighth studio album, this is rock at its most lyrical. ALL WORK TOGETHER: WITHERED HAND + CARLA J. EASTON SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:00, £14 Summerhall’s new series of songwriter circles, this set highlights some of Scotland’s most exciting up-and-coming and established talents.

Fri 10 Sep

SERTRALINE (DREAMEATER) BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00, £9 - £12 A mesmerising live show from underground metal band.

Sat 11 Sep

FISHERMAN’S FRIENDS THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £27 - £35.50 A classic band with a big sound and warm heart.

Tue 14 Sep

TEENAGE FANCLUB ASSEMBLY ROOMS, 19:00–22:00, £27.50 Scottish alternative rock band beloved in the 90s and still going strong. ARXX SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7 ARXX aren't taking any shit, putting on a invigorating show.

Wed 15 Sep

KYLE FALCONER

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £16 - £20 Album launch for Kyle Falconer’s new solo album Love Songs For Laura. PAN AMSTERDAM

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £10 A masterful genre-bender known as much for his accomplished jazz trumpeting as his wry lyrics. THE TOY DOLLS

LA BELLE ANGELE, 19:00–22:00, £22 Catchy songs and sensational stage presence make this one of The Toy Dolls one of the most recognisable punk bands in the UK.

Thu 16 Sep

SEETHING AKIRA

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00, £8 - £10 Up-and-coming electronic nu-core band take to Bannermans’ stage. CALLUM BEATTIE

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, TBC Incisive songwriting that gets to the messy heart of love and life.

Fri 17 Sep

MARK BURGESS (THE CHAMELEONS) (GOTHZILLA)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £17 Legendary frontman from The Chameleons Mark Burgess puts on an intimate acoustic set to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary.

Sat 18 Sep

BLACK STONE CHERRY

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £30.50 - £35.50 Hard rock Kentucky quartet head to Scotland. MR BEN AND THE BEN'S (WITH FAMILY SELECTION BOX AND DINOSAUR 94)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £9 Beautiful jangly lo-fi pop reminiscent of the best of Belle and Sebastian and Beach House.

Sun 19 Sep

LUCA STRICAGNOLI

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, TBC Using up to five guitars and modified capos, this is acoustic guitar playing like you’ve not seen before. PALOMA FAITH

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £43.50 - £108.90 Acclaimed singer-songwriter whose heartwrenching lyrics and unique depth of voice make her one of Britain’s most beloved artists.

Mon 20 Sep

FLYTE

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £15 Dynamic indie rock band with an irresistible funk edge.

Wed 22 Sep

THUNDERMOTHER (BETH BLADE & THE BEAUTIFUL DISASTER)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00, £12 - £15 Blending punk, metal, and blues rock, Thundermother’s new album is a distinct crowd-pleaser.

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00, £16 Songwriter and guitarist with introspective, razorsharp lyrics. AVERAGE SEX

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £8 Power-pop band whose show are well above average. ALL TIME LOW

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £33 American pop punk band with catchy riffs and anthemic melodies. JOHN SMITH

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £16 Songwriter John Smith plays from his emotionally rich and remarkably vulnerable new album. SCRITTI POLITTI

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, TBC Acclaimed British band celebrate their 1985 album Cupid & Psyche 85. THE PEOPLE VERSUS

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8 Folk stories blend with pop euphoria, creating music that is haunted and yearning.

Tue 28 Sep

SQUID

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £15 The hotly tipped post-punk, disco-funk phenomenon Squid is the brainchild of Ollie Judge, Louis Borlase, Arthur Leadbetter, Laurie Nankivell and Anton Pearson. HORSEY

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £9.20 South London group whose jazz and blues-inspired indie rock are making waves across the British music scene.

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £33 American pop punk band with catchy riffs and anthemic melodies. L DEVINE

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £9 Unabashed, witty electropop makes for an electric live show. RYAN MCMULLAN

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, £14.50 Fresh new talent hailing from Northern Ireland whose emotionally resonant lyrics and distinct voice mark him from the crowd. IZZIE WALSH

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8.50 Manchester musical artist blending Americana and folk to enchanting effect.

Wed 29 Sep

RED RUM CLUB

KING TUT’S, 19:00–22:00, TBC Wild-western vibes and catchy lyrics from Liverpool. THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS (PAULINE MURRAY)

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £28.50 1980s post-punk dance from music legends The Psychedelic Furs CENTRAL CEE

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, TBC Hardcore rap from a star of the British rap scene. VIRGINIA WING

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £9.20 Delicious pop from Manchester-based group exploring subersively dark themes of isolation and trauma. ALL THEM WITCHES

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, TBC Hard rock quartet hailing from Nashville.

Fri 24 Sep

ROBERT JON AND THE WRECK

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £15 Blues rock singer-songwriters known for putting on a great live show.

Sat 25 Sep

WENDY JAMES

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00, £17 - £20 The voice of Transvision Vamp brings an intimate yet high-energy show to celebrate her new album. DR HOOK STARRING DENNIS LOCORRIERE

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £44 - £66 Frontman of acclaimed rock band Dr Hook & the Medicine Show plays a memorable show.

Sun 26 Sep

SISTER JOHN (BROKEN CHANTER + ANNIE BOOTH)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £10 Folk-inspired harmonies come together in this multi-instrumentalist band featuring songwriting by acclaimed Amanda McKeown. AVERAGE SEX (WITH WHISPERING PINES COLLECTIVE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8 Power-pop band whose show are well above average.

Mon 27 Sep

RYAN MCMULLAN

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £16 Fresh new talent hailing from Northern Ireland whose emotionally resonant lyrics and distinct voice mark him from the crowd. BLACK FOXXES

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £11 Offering a fresh take on 90s grunge and noughties emo, English indie band Black Foxxes are at once nostalgic and cutting edge.

Tue 28 Sep

MANIC STREET PREACHERS

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, £38.50 - £54.50 On their 14th studio album, acclaimed Welsh rock band show no signs of slowing down. VIRGINIA WING

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8 Delicious pop from Manchester-based group exploring subersively dark themes of isolation and trauma.

Wed 29 Sep

L DEVINE

THE CAVES, 19:00–22:00, £10 Unabashed, witty electropop makes for an electric live show. CHILDCARE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £11 Childcare’s smart, tightly produced tracks combines the drive of punk with the catchiness of the best of early noughties indie.

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7 Traditional music explores dark landscapes and strange stories.

Thu 30 Sep

KING NO-ONE (POLO + STOLEN YEARS)

KING TUT’S, 19:00–22:00, £12 Dynamic alt-pop rockers with blistering live shows. THE STAVES

SWG3, 19:00–22:00, £20 Known for their haunting, heart wrenching harmonies, sisters The Staves return to Scotland’s stage with their most recent album. TEAM PICTURE

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £8.10 Leeds-based six-piece offering nostalgia-infused pop. PETER BRODERICK

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £12 Multi-instrumentalist draws from folk, gospel and soul. JILL JACKSON

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00, £18.50 Gorgeous musical energy with hints of Joni Mitchell.

Thu 30 Sep

COACH PARTY

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £10 An Isle of Wight band with irresistable pop hooks and witty lyrics.

Dundee Music

Wed 22 Sep

PARIS STREET REBELS

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:30–22:30, £8 Classic rock’n’roll from Fife.

Thu 23 Sep

THE FRATELLIS

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:00–22:00, £11 The Glasgow indie-rockers, led by lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli.

Glasgow Theatre Edinburgh Theatre Glasgow Art

Oran Mor

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: CELESTIAL BODY

6 SEP, 1:00PM – 2:00PM, £12.50 - £15 Laura looks to the celestial body to change her life. Hamish moves on from a trauma he’d rather forget. Bruce joins a gym to win back his wife. A dark comedy about forgiveness and revenge. A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: ROSE

13 SEP, 1:00PM – 2:00PM, £12.50 - £15 The inspiring true story of a working-class Scottish teenager who refused to play by society's rules to become the greatest professional female footballer in the world. A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: JOKE

20 SEP, 1:00PM – 2:00PM, £12.50 - £15 A furloughed worker is accused of using offensive language, language he claims was meant as a joke; a joke that might threaten both his job and personal life. A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: A NEW LIFE

27 SEP, 1:00PM – 2:00PM, £12.50 - £15 A heartfelt, surreal and truthful musical comedy about pregnancy and parenthood.

The King’s Theatre

CHICAGO

11 SEP-2 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY Bringing the razzle dazzle to Scotland, this sexy Jazz age musical is a prohibitively good time. THE ADDAMS FAMILY

21-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, £13 - £64.50 Wednesday Addams is all grown up in this riotous musical about America’s favourite weird family.

Theatre Royal

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

6-11 SEP, TIMES VARY, £13 - £51 One of theatre’s most chilling plays, this classic Gothic horror has been terrifying audiences for decades. GRAYSON PERRY: A SHOW FOR NORMAL PEOPLE

5 SEP, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £27.90 - £32.90 Acclaimed artist and performer Grayson Perry takes a surreal, warm look at the human condition. THE CAT AND THE CANARY

13-18 SEP, TIMES VARY, £13 - £49 A classic mystery thriller filled with remote mansions, greedy heirs, and a haunted presence. SCOTTISH BALLET: STARSTRUCK

23-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, £13.40 - £37.90 The UK premiere of an original work created in 1960 for the Paris Opera Ballet by legendary actor and choreographer Gene Kelly.

Festival Theatre

GREASE

27 SEP-2 OCT, TIMES VARY, £26.50 - £49.50 Summer may be over but this rock’n’roll tale of young summer love is anything but. SOUTHERN LIGHT SINGS FOR THE KING’S

9-11 SEP, TIMES VARY, £23 A musical medlee of beloved numbers in support of the King's Theatre Redevelopment Campaign.

King’s Theatre Edinburgh

TELL ME ON A SUNDAY

14-18 SEP, TIMES VARY, £20.50 An under-the-radar Andrew Lloyd Webber musical charting the romantic misadventures of a young girl in 1980s New York. GROAN UPS

28 SEP-2 OCT, TIMES VARY, £16 - £36 From the creators of The Play That Goes Wrong comes this anarchic, side-splitting tale of coming-of-age.

The Edinburgh Playhouse

CHICAGO

27 SEP-2 OCT, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY Bringing the razzle dazzle to Scotland, this sexy Jazz age musical is a prohibitively good time. 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL

14-18 SEP, TIMES VARY, £13 - £90 Office sexism is given the boot in this classic Dolly Parton musical.

The Studio

ISLETS OF SILENCE

4 SEP, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £15 This delicate new drama explores the effects of a cancer diagnosis on a close-knit family.

Dundee Theatre

Dundee Rep

WINGS AROUND DUNDEE

7-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, £12 - £25 A new play by two-time Fringe First Award-winner John McCann, this magical realist urban tale is a sharply political look at the contemporary Dundee.

CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art

WINNIE HERBSTEIN: DAMPBUSTERS

1-4 SEP, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE The third in a triptych of films that explore the past, present and future of community organising in Glasgow, Dampbusters centres on the work of housing activist Cathy McCormack and the ways in which urban space can be claimed and reclaimed. SOOUN KIM + WEI ZHANG: THE AUTOBUZZ OF HYBRID KIM AND RABBIT

1-17 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE Glasgow-based experimental artists use video, music and installation to explore ideas of hybrid identity and the queer Asian experience through K-pop music and social space.

Compass Gallery

ANNA GEERDES: BORDERLINE

18 SEP-9 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE A compelling new exhibition exploring the liminal and symbolic power of border spaces.

David Dale Gallery and Studios

TENDER SPOTS IN HARD CODE… FRAUGHT WITH POTENTIAL, FRAGILE WITH INDECISION

17 SEP-23 OCT, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE This exhibition brings together six early career digital artists, whose practice explores how ethics, care, and power can be explored through digital and material mediums.

Glasgow Print Studio

MONO

1-25 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE MONO is a survey and celebration of one-off printmaking across the decades, exploring both the plurality and individuality that printmaking enables.

GoMA

NEP SIDHU: AN IMMEASURABLE MELODY, MEDICINE FOR A NIGHTMARE

1-5 SEP, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, TBC Canadian artist Nep Sidhu’s work is embedded in Sikh metaphysics and histories, exploring relationships between memory, memorial and the divine in his very first European show. DRINK IN THE BEAUTY

1 SEP-23 JAN 22, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE Inspired by Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking environmental treatise Silent Spring, this exhibition features artists engaging with our connection to the nonhuman, and thinking through the ethics and aesthetics of how we record nature.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

FRANCE-LISE MCGURN: ALOUD

1 SEP-1 JUN 22, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, TBC France-Lise McGurn’s newly commissioned installation draws on her personal experiences of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, creating bewitching, almost sculptural forms that fill the museum’s gallery.

RGI Kelly Gallery

SUMMER REFLECTIONS

1-11 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE This group exhibition by various current members of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts explores hopeful ideas of seasonal change and new beginnings.

Street Level Photoworks

MANDY BARKER: OUR PLASTIC OCEAN

1 SEP-10 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE A photography series that traces the legacy of plastic pollution in our oceans, Mandy Barker’s images of found debris are eerily alive and suffocating.

Studio Pavilion at House for an Art Lover

IRENE MCCANN: EARLY MORNING SONG

1 SEP-31 OCT, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE An exhibition of Glasgowbased artist Irene McCann’s dreamy, collage-like still lifes.

Tramway

PAUL PURGAS: WE FOUND OUR OWN REALITY

1 SEP-3 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE An expansive mixedmedia installation spanning architecture, textiles, and soundscapes, We Found Our Own Reality explores the rich musical and technological history of India’s very first electronic music studio. FLO BROOKS: ANGLETWICH

1 SEP-3 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE A narrative of queer and trans experience in the UK, this semi-autobiographical exhibition draws on the isolation and familiarity of rural environments to explore how marginalised communities can imagine themselves in public spaces.

Edinburgh Art

&Gallery

JAMES LUMSDEN: SLOW LIGHT

1 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE James Lumsden’s paintings are dense with colour, interrogating representations of landscape and the natural world through a play with abstraction and light. HANNA TEN DOORNKAAT: DISSONANCE + HARMONY

4-29 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE Playing with the boundaries between two and three dimension, Hanna ten Doornkaat’s graphite pieces make unexpected use of material.

Arusha Gallery

FREYA DOUGLASMORRIS: HILLS OF HONEY

1 SEP-3 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE Incorporating stark, mesmerising use of colour with Modigliani-like figures, Freya Douglas-Morris’s landscapes convey a tangible, intoxicating sense of beauty.

City Art Centre

CHARLES H. MACKIE: COLOUR AND LIGHT

1 SEP-10 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE This major retrospective of Scottish painter and printmaker Charles H. Mackie explores his dynamic experimentation with French Symbolism, Japanese art, and the Celtic Revival movement. DONALD SMITH: ISLANDER

1-26 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE Drawing on international artistic movements while remaining dedicated to Lewis’ local fishing communities, these intense, lyrical images celebrate the indomitable human spirit of Scottish island life. IAN HAMILTON FINLAY: MARINE

1 SEP-3 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE Exploring maritime themes in renowned Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay’s oeuvre, this exhibition pulls work across decades and media, from stone, wood and neon sculptures to tapestry and postcards.

Collective Gallery

ALISON SCOTT: DITTO DITTO DITTO

1-19 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE These integrated sound and print works explore the space and possibilities of ‘meteor-ontology’: an exploration of how climate and weather are entangled in the nature of our being.

Dovecot Studios

JOCK MCFADYEN: LOST BOAT PARTY

1-25 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC These enigmatic, almost print-like works explore the magnificence of Scotland’s landscape, juxtaposed and complemented by the artists’s signature urban dystopia.

MAKING NUNO: JAPANESE TEXTILE INNOVATION FROM SUDŌ REIKO

17 SEP-8 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.50 - £9.50 An innovative exhibition examining the life work of renowned Japanese textile artist Sudo Reiko, Making NUNO spotlights her unconventional practice and radical play with materiality.

Edinburgh Printmakers

SONIA MEHRA CHAWLA: ENTANGLEMENTS OF TIME & TIDE

1 SEP-21 NOV, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE A merging of visual arts and science, this exhibition explores the ecosystems of the North Sea, striving for an empathetic understanding of the oceans and the relationship between the human and nonhuman.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop

ANDREW GANNON: ECCENTRIC LIMBS

1-25 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Using plaster casts to create surreal, subversive prosthetics, this exhibition interrogates the ways in which disabilities are conceptualised in our society. ALAYA ANG + HUSSEIN MITHA: PLOTTING (AGAINST) THE GARDEN

1-29 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE An intimate poetic sound installation, Plotting (Against) the Garden) examines the politics of the garden and the intersection between rural and urban spaces through a series of atmospheric compositions.

Fruitmarket

KARLA BLACK: SCULPTURES (20012021)

1 SEP-21 NOV, 10:00AM – 7:00PM, FREE Combining traditional sculptural material with found objects such as cleaning products and cosmetics, Karla Black’s embodied sculptures fill the walls, ceilings, and floors of Fruitmarket. The exhibition, subtitled details for a retrospective, reopens Fruitmarket after a major refurb and expansion into the former Electric Circus space next door.

Ingleby Gallery

FRANK WALTER (19262009): MUSIC OF THE SPHERES

1-25 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC Overlooked in his lifetime but now considered one of the most important Caribbean artists of the 20th century, Frank Walter’s striking circular paintings are assembled in this longawaited exhibition.

Jupiter Artland

ALBERTA WHITTLE: RESET

1 SEP-31 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £10 A powerful response to the pandemic, climate emergency, and Black Lives Matter movement, RESET is a mesmerising challenge to our society’s various hostile environments. RESET (GROUP SHOW)

1 SEP-31 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £10 A group exhibition accompanying Alberta Whittle’s solo show, featuring Sekai Machache, Mele Broomes, Basharat Khan and more.

National Museum of Scotland

THE GALLOWAY HOARD: VIKING-AGE TREASURE

1-12 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE This treasure-filled exhibition brings together the richest collection of rare and unique Viking-age objects ever found in Britain or Ireland.

Open Eye Gallery

ALLUSION VI

4-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE A selection of work by fourteen elected members of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, whose works engage in diverse ways with the Narrative tradition.

Royal Botanic Garden

CHRISTINE BORLAND: IN RELATION TO LINUM

1 SEP-2 OCT, 10:00AM – 4:30PM, FREE This multidisciplinary project, featuring watercolours, prints and sculptural pieces, explores the lifecycle of flax, evolving RBGE’s 350-year relationship with the plant.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA

FRANCES WALKER: TRAVELLING ON

1-5 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE A retrospective in honour of prolific Scottish artist Frances Walker’s 90th birthday last year, Travelling On showcases a significant body of the artist’s evocative landscapes captured over her travels. BILL SCOTT

1-5 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE This major retrospective of the work of past RSA President Bill Scott reintroduces Scott’s work for contemporary audiences. ANDIAMO: FORTY YEARS OF THE RSA JOHN KINROSS SCHOLARSHIPS TO FLORENCE

11 SEP-17 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the John Kinross Scholarship, which has enabled over 400 emerging artists to travel to Florence, this exhibition pulls together works by 20 artists across the scholarship’s history.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

RAY HARRYHAUSEN: TITAN OF CINEMA

1 SEP-20 FEB 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £5 - £14 This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition brings together the life work of a giant of cinematic history and the grandfather of modern special effects, showcasing some of his most iconic designs and achievements. ISAAC JULIEN: LESSONS OF THE HOUR

1 SEP-10 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC This major ten-screen film installation from renowned British artist Isaac Julien offers a poetic mediation on the life and work of 19thcentury African-American writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

1 SEP-9 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Celebrating the life and work of the artist Joan Eardley, this exhibition focuses on her post-war works created in Catterline.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

RUINED: REINVENTING SCOTTISH HISTORY

2 SEP-13 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC Four young Scots reinvent the bloody complexity of Scottish history, drawing on and subverting works from the National Portrait Gallery to pull visitors into an immersive, disorienting, and radical reimagination of our collective past. ALISON WATT: A PORTRAIT WITHOUT LIKENESS

2 SEP-8 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC A body of new work created in response to celebrated eighteenth-century portraitist Allan Ramsay, Alison Watt’s paintings play with detail and ideas of femininity, exploring the art of portraiture beyond the subject. THOMAS JOSHUA COOPER: THE WORLD’S EDGE

2 SEP-22 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC The only artist to have ever taken photographs of the two poles, Thomas Joshua Cooper is known for working in the extremes, pushing the boundaries of both creative practice and human endurance.

Stills

SEKAI MACHACHE: PROJECTS 20

1-18 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, TBC Featuring work from Sekai Machache’s The Divine Sky, these porcelain-like photographs were created during the pandemic, exploring new ways of structuring artistic output.

Summerhall

BEVERLEY HOOD: WE BEGAN AS PART OF THE BODY

1-12 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:30PM, TBC This immersive series of video projections, 3D prints, and virtual reality explores existential and ethical questions on the relationship between bodies and technology. Presented as part of this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival. VICTORIA EVANS: OSCILLATIONS

1-12 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:30PM, TBC Using soundscapes and sonification of data in a unique, haunting way, Victoria Evans’ work engages with the way invisible forces in the universe tangibly affect our lives. Presented as part of this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival.

The Queen’s Gallery

VICTORIA & ALBERT: OUR LIVES IN WATERCOLOUR

2 SEP-3 OCT, 9:30AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £7.80 Featuring 80 watercolours collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, this exhibition celebrates Scottish watercolour painting in the post-Romantic, industrial age.

CALUM MCCLURE: LE TIERS-PAYSAGE

2-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE Landscapes of Glasgow paint the edges of the urban landscape, engaging with the interplay between natural and built environments. JAMES MORRISON: DECADES OF STUDIO PRACTICE

2-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE This intimate exhibition celebrates the life and work of the late James Morrison, in the run up to a major retrospective arriving next year. OLIVER COOK: FORM & LIGHT

2-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, TBC Oliver Cook’s sculptural works carved from alabaster play with ideas of opaqueness and translucency, transforming stone into something ethereal. GRANT MCCAIG: OVALIS

2-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE A series of brooches by contemporary jeweller Grant McCaig exploring ideas of wholeness, clarity, and the relationship between function and aesthetics.

Torrance Gallery

FESTIVAL SHOW

1-11 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE Torrance Gallery’s annual festival show returns, bringing together regular favourite artists with exciting new names for a perfect snapshot of contemporary art.

1 SEP-2 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC This exhibition looks at the influence the Tay has had on the city of Dundee, and the ways in which its various faces, from early settlement to industrial giant, continue to reinvent its iconic waterfront.

V&A Dundee

NIGHT FEVER: DESIGNING CLUB CULTURE

2 SEP-9 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £5 - £10 The perfect exhibition in the light of the last year, Night Fever explores the relationship between vibrant global club culture and fashion, architecture, and graphic design, giving an intoxicating glimpse into the art that informs our nights out. WHAT IF…?/SCOTLAND

2 SEP-21 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC Designed to be staged at the Venice Biennale, this exhibition responds to the festival’s theme “How will we live together?” by collaborating with and involving local communities, highlighting and seeking to return to the civic responsibility of design.

Dundee Art

DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts

CHIKAKO YAMASHIRO: CHINBIN WESTERN

1 SEP-21 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE Drawing on influences as diverse as industrial landscapes and traditional Japanese theatre, Chikako Yamashiro’s filmmaking and photography practice explores themes of neocolonialism and collective memory. MARY MCINTYRE: PLACES WE THINK WE KNOW

1 SEP-21 NOV, TIMES VARY, FREE Engaging with ideas of spatiality and psychogeography, Mary McIntyre’s quiet interior photographs are presented in a uniquely sculptural way that pulls the gallery space into her work.

The McManus

A LOVE LETTER TO DUNDEE: JOSEPH MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHS 19641987

1 SEP-1 MAR 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC Turning to black and white photography from the 1960s-1980s, this exhibition charts the changing landscape of Dundee’s waterfront and the evolution of the City’s fortunes and its people.

Compiled by Jamie Wilde

Heather Street Food

1 RIVERSIDE ESPLANADE, DD1 4EZ With the V&A acting as a new cultural cornerstone in Dundee, it’s only right that other local businesses should also benefit from the museum’s widespread appeal. Heather Street Food is one such business who has thrived thanks to the V&A; perched directly under Kengo Kuma’s futuristic construction, locals and tourists alike have taken to their fun food and personality. It’s been voted one of the top 10 street food vans in Scotland and it’s easy to see why. Italian-style bagels and feel-good donuts have been its staples from day one, but with its additional van and beer garden taking flight over the summer, prosecco and ice cream has taken Heather Street Food to a whole new level.

EH9 Espresso

248 PERTH RD, DD1 4LL Dundee’s west end is the place to be for art lovers. Home to DJCAD (Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design) and a host of literary-themed pubs, the city’s cultural quarter brims with independent businesses, who thrive among a supportive local community. One of Perth Road’s newest additions comes in the form of independent coffee shop, EH9 Espresso. It’s run by Fraser Smith, a 25-year-old from Newport, and is his very first business venture after acquiring plentiful experience as a barista in Edinburgh. Having only been open three months, EH9 has already built a cult following. Its hot and iced coffees, sweet home bakes and friendly vibes are a perfect fit for the west end community. It’s no surprise that many locals have said “this is exactly what we’ve needed.” Coffee shops, restaurants, and paninotecas are just some of the newest and coolest businesses to have emerged in Dundee in the last few months

Photo: James Calderwood

Loco Rita’s EH9 Espresso

Loco Rita’s

OLD HAWKHILL, DD1 5EU Loco Rita’s is the new sister restaurant of Dundee’s hugely popular Mexican eatery, Más. Housed in the same Hawkhill locale as the former Underdog vegan restaurant, the pandemic caused the business owners to reflect upon their goals and ambitions, which led to its new transformation earlier this year. Before you step inside Loco Rita’s, the colourful snakeleopard mural surrounding the exterior provides a perfect, pre-meal photo opportunity. Inside, colour and character are even more abundant. Frozen margaritas and authentic Mexican beers bring the refreshing cool, while handmade empanadas and Taco Tuesday deals bring the sizzle and spice to the fully plant-based restaurant. Great for a quick bite or evening meal, this is a go-to for vegans and non-vegans alike.

The Newport Bakery

54 WEST PORT, DD1 5ER The Newport Bakery has ventured over the Tay to bring its delicious baked products to the people of Dundee. Its owner, Jamie Scott, who won Masterchef: The Professionals in 2014, is also the owner of the awardwinning Newport Restaurant, and his team clearly have a flair for producing quality baked goods. Country sourdough and croissant rolls are two of their slickest savoury concoctions, but its sweet treats look too good to resist. Strawberry and elderflower Danish pastries, tablet custard doughnuts and triple chocolate brownies are just a handful of the delectable options available at the bakery that’s turning heads for all the right reasons.

Mezzaluna

19 WHITEHALL CRES, DD1 4BB Dundee’s newest paninoteca comes in the form of Mezzaluna. With a love for wholesome Italian cooking stretching back to family roots from the 50s, the business has been riding an upward trajectory of late. From catering and events to street food to sandwich shop owners, Mezzaluna has been a real success story in Tayside despite the challenges of the pandemic. Freshly made focaccia with a diverse range of fillings are a perfect lunch filler. Moreish arancini and bruschetta are also tasty tempters at any time of day. But a visit to Mezzaluna would not be complete without trying its cannoli. They’re a feast for the eyes as well as the belly and Dundonians can’t get enough of the stuff.

Mezzaluna

The Skinny On... Bemz

Jubemi Iyiku, the Glasgow-based Ayrshire rapper who performs under the moniker Bemz, takes on our Q&A this month ahead of his headline show at SWG3’s Poetry Club

What’s your favourite place to visit? Right now I enjoy Queen’s Park. I take my daughter there a lot and it just feels special now. We both love it.

What’s your favourite colour? Green, the colour of the flag of my motherland.

Who was your hero growing up? My older brothers. They always had the best things and I inspired to be like them.

Whose work inspires you now? Dave and Ghetts, simply because of how they put their emotions on a beat and make it work so well.

What’s your favourite meal to cook at home? Cooking? What’s that? If I had to say though, I make the meanest spag bol this side of the world.

What three people would you invite to a dinner party? This is a tough one. I’d invite Drake, Ange Postecoglou, and Tallah just so she can bring some sprinkle cake and custard.

Photo: Andy Xplore Apart from your upcoming EP, M4, which other releases are you most looking forward to coming out this year? Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J Hus.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? Sharknado. So bad but soooooooo good.

How have you stayed inspired during the multiple lockdowns and various restrictions that have been in place for the past 18 months? My main inspiration has been my daughter. Seeing her smile and all that has been the light in this dark time for me.

What book(s) would you read if you got the ping alert to your phone and found out you had to self-isolate for the next ten days? So this is my reality right now and I am reading Happy Sexy Millionaire [by Steven Bartlett]. Mainly just to work on my perspective in life.

Who’s the worst? People are the worst.

When did you last cry? Is it crying if you’re in a shower? Asking for a friend x

What are you most scared of? Not accomplishing what I’ve set out to in my life, because this means I failed.

When did you last vomit? This, I can’t really remember, but my guess would be that it was because of one too many pints.

Tell us a secret? Then it wouldn’t be a secret lol, but here’s one. Me and heights don’t mix.

Which celebrity could you take in a fight? Neil Francis Lennon, silly man.

If you could be reincarnated as an animal which animal would it be and why? A honey badger. Hard and mental wee things with no care of what anyone thinks of them.

Since the return of live music this year, you’ve played a handful of shows. What’s been your favourite moment so far? Playing the Edinburgh Fringe. That was special and I will always remember it.

Bemz plays The Poetry Club, SWG3, Glasgow, 23 Sep; his new EP, M4, is set for release on 24 Sep

Follow Bemz on Instagram and Twitter: @bigbemz1