Hello!

We're back after a month off, and the reason for that month off was a lack of planning. I went on holiday, and totally neglected to arrange the July version in advance, and then that post-holiday slump results in a "DO IT NEXT MONTH!" attitude. Motivated by that jaunt around Scotland, and the fact I'll be (perhaps permanently) leaving it soon, this edition is full of Scottish bands. 

As always, this isn't 100% math-rock but there's certainly a tinge of that beloved genre in each of the six bands listed below. A special mention goes to The Darien Venture of course, but they were included before, so putting them on this list would be overkill. Some of these bands are alive and kicking now for you to check out and see, whilst other (oh Danana) are no longer with us. 

Without further ado, and there has been a lengthy ado, off-kilter Scottish rock music for your eyes and ears... 

Biffy of the Month: 'Tilted (Christine and The Queens Cover)'

From 'Take Me Out' to 'Love Sex Magic', Biffy Clyro's cover versions are usually fun and charming, and I can't stop listening to their version of 'Tilted'. (Thank you Live Lounge for providing us with a steady stream of material.) From the harmonies to Simon Neil's gruff French rapping this is pop magic, and a great service to the track which is pretty subdued in its original form. 

1. Mogwai - 'Party In The Dark'

The fathers of post-rock in Scotland and possibly beyond, Mogwai's influence is undeniable and so to miss them from this list of Scottish bands would be criminal. 'Party In The Dark' comes from their upcoming record Every Country's Sun out on Rock Action next week. It's dynamic, beautiful and captivating as we've come to expect from these sonic behemoths. Their show at The Hydro in Glasgow later this year is bound to be as deafening as it is memorable. 

2. Donnie Willow - 'Blessed Company'

I believe I saw these guys in a support slot once, but I can't remember exactly where or when, but I do remember their notable energy and venom. Switching between gentle indie rock and violently distorted guitars makes Donnie Willow a jarring listen. However, if you're holding back any emotions, the passion in 'Blessed Company' and the rest of their Exhibition EP will prove wonderfully cathartic. 

3. Dananananaykroyd - 'Some Dresses'

WHY ARE THEY GONE?! More "fight pop" than "math-rock" Dananananaykroyd have one of the best names ever, and their debut record Hey Everyone! is simply amazing. 'Some Dresses' is one of more coherent cuts alongside single 'Black Wax', treading a simpler musical path although it's not clear what the whole tailoring metaphor is about. Double drummers and double vocalists and double guitarists means maximum fun from this sadly defunct band. 

4. Vasa - 'Burst'

Back on the post-rock train and we have Vasa who ebb and flows, holding your thoughts all the while. Instrumental music at its purest and strongest is the flavour and it's thoroughly enjoyable throughout. Debut album Vasa was released in 2015 and there have been a few teasers since then. The release of 'Burst Open' (including this track) is a taste of things to come as we await the symphonies of record two. 

5. Cutty's Gym - 'Dudeman'

Having had the privilege of hosting these fine gents at a Love Music Hate Racism show in Glasgow, their music is powerful and at times simply unrelenting as a mere two men generate a wall of ferocious yet infectious sound that you can dance too. Royal Blood might have the Top Ten quota of duos covered, but when in flow there's no doubt that Cutty's Gym could win that rock-off. 

6. Skies Fell - 'Bear No Malice'

Another band I've watched in a support slot and some ambient rock music with fancy guitar lines to close things off. Skies Fell seem like a criminally underrated band as their dynamic and emotive music is enthralling both in the live and recorded setting, with drums and guitars and pianos and all the rest combining to create charming soundscapes. 'Bear No Malice' is a quick taste of this style, and their debut album Skies Fell is the delicious buffet. 

That's all for August, thank you for reading this month's Algohythms column and I hope you enjoyed the music therein. Barring any major issues, we'll be back next month with some more "quirky" music suggestions. The kind of music that I couldn't make friends over in high school, but there you go, that doesn't mean it isn't wonderful. As always, hit me up @kj_mccormick with any suggestions you may have. 

Goodbye!

Welcome to HeartSongs, our regularly scheduled (probably) look at songs and the people who write them. We spoke to Kees and James from Cork band The Shruggs about their recent single ‘Sunny Afternoon’.

“I was travelling around South America with my girlfriend and while in Bolivia I heard these stories of people holding street races at night. In Bolivia you have these small quiet towns in the middle of the desert with wide sandy streets and, even though the races were being held at night, I could just picture them speeding down and leaving a dust trail in the sun. There is a strange chaotic feel to Bolivia so the ‘through the hustle bustle’ line comes from the craziness that seems to happen in that country; a real contrast to the friendliness of the people and the beautiful landscape there.

Bolivia is a very Catholic country so the line “What about the Father” kind of has a double meaning. I thought this worked really well, you can either think of it as - is he worried about what his father is going to say or what the local priest is going to say about him racing in the streets. Most of all I wanted the song to have a summer feel to it and get people moving with that driving beat.

Although I wasn’t trying to replicate a ‘60s feel I am heavily influenced by Brian Wilson and his production style. His use of harmonies and his arrangements are always so unique so I always try to add some of that to my songs. I wanted it to be a poppy upbeat song with the beat driving it along the whole way through.

I also love Randy Newman and the way he adds humour to his songs and how he uses simple language to give you a feel for the character and story. It’s always been a big influence on my writing. Wilco was definitely another influence on the arrangement of the song, I love their songs and the way they can change up verses and choruses to keep a song interesting.

We are really happy with how it turned out. We went into the studio with Wayne Sheehy and recorded it over 2 days in his studio in Ocean Studios in Bantry, Co Cork. The studio is in a beautiful location right next to the sea, totally out of the way and a great place to get inspired. Wayne was great and we really dissected the song which is something I love to do. I had an idea of what I wanted the song and the harmonies to be and Wayne was really able to bring it to its full potential.” - Kees

“The accompanying music video was shot and directed by John Kennedy of The Young Offenders fame.  We recorded it in one full and sunny day along parts of the 'Wild Atlantic Way' (Bandon/Inishannon). We wanted to capture a mischievous 'day in the life' of two adventurous young lads, the lads worked really well and with their love of 'kick-flips' and 'tail whips’ really brought great charisma and personality to the screen. Everyone was top notch on the day of filming and it really surpassed all expectations. As a whole package we believe this is our best work yet and considering the small team that was involved we are very proud of the final product, one of the best aspects of it for us was being able to dedicate the video to the memory of our friend Dan.

It's really given us a great boost and the fact that it has over 6K views in the first week shows how much people love it. The airplay from local and national radio stations has really helped us along too, countless people have the track stuck in their heads; so that is fun for us to hear.” – James

Sunny Afternoon

Hey I’m a role model

Pull the wool over your eyes

I’m gonna get up onto my saddle

And race you to the light

And through the hustle bustle hustle bustle now

Right down through Calle Muerta

Where the ghosts fly right beside

And down to Santa Mor Boulevard

Oh you’re racing through the night

And through the hustle bustle hustle bustle now

Oh I don’t have a lot

Yo, we can go, we can stand here all alone

On a Sunny Afternoon

You can’t think too far ahead now

The same way we do in our lives

And oh if the tires burn out

We’ll be a mess by the end of the night

And through the hustle bustle hustle bustle now

But what about the Father,

What do you think he’s gonna say

What about the Father,

Oh it’s not gonna make his day

Yo, we can go, we can stand here all alone

On a Sunny Afternoon

But what about the Father,

What do you think he’s gonna say

What about the Father,

Oh its not gonna make his day

And through the hustle bustle hustle bustle now

Yo, we can go, we can stand here all alone

On a Sunny Afternoon

Welcome to HeartSongs, our regularly scheduled (probably) look at songs and the people who write them. We spoke to Nottingham rockers Babe Punch about their debut single ‘Control’.

“’Control’ was written in about 10 minutes in a sweaty practice room. Carys had thought of the chord progression at home and brought it to practice, where our previous guitarist, Miles, came up with a riff to go with it and Abbie and Adam followed with bass and drums.

Molly figured out a melody there and wrote the lyrics at home. The lyrics are about when you feel like you're not in control of what's happening after getting out of a relationship and trying to get that back through having power over the situation.

The guitar inspiration came partly from Deap Vally because of the power of their parts, and Adam's inspiration for drums came from a Germs album called GI. Molly's lyrics more just came out than having been inspired by anything.”

‘Control’ lyrics:

Haven't you heard

I'm a woman scorned

I've got nobody to keep me warm

Lets lie with our bodies only

Intertwined

I don't want anything from you

I just want control

My baby's lips they were

Laced with lies

Take away all of my demons

Underneath a lilac sky

I will not beg you to want me

Lets lie with our bodies only

Intertwined

Don't want anything from you

I just want control

Lets lie with our bodies only

Intertwined

I don't want anything from you

I just want control

Welcome to HeartSongs, our regularly scheduled (probably) look at songs and the people who write them. We spoke to Jeni Magana AKA Magana about her new single ‘Inches Apart’.

“I was definitely in a situation where I was trying to reconcile two different things that I really wanted. After I wrote it, several people came up to me and told me what it meant and how it comforted them. I don't really want to poison that by talking too much about myself and my silly problems.

I was sitting on the couch and feeling pretty melancholy and just sort of noodling around on guitar. I've done that a million times without ever keeping the guitar part; it's mostly a way to get out some stress.  But this one stuck around because I got a melody stuck in my head for it really quickly. I wasn't purposefully thinking of any influences or trying to write a song about a certain subject at the time.

I'm not really good at saying wise things, so instead I'm just going to talk about the cool people that did the music video. Lauren Finerman (who is the director) pulled together a crew of people that were super passionate about their work and it was very cool to watch them tackle their own jobs with the same type of excitement I had while recording the song. She and cinematographer Ben Lunden had this incredible energy throughout the entire day. They never sat down. They didn't even eat. They just paced around debating angles and time and other stuff I didn't understand. The two dancers Nick and Lindsey had the most positive attitude even through the last hours. And the choreographer Liz was there all day with them and brought such a good energy.  

All of the people that worked on this video were so incredibly kind and hard-working.  Are all video crews this chill? Or was it just because I was in California? I have no idea, but it was a really neat experience and I feel like I should be talking about them all the time. I did have a little bit of input into the storyline that was ultimately presented, but mostly I tried to stay out of the way. I already put my creation out there, and I wanted someone else to have a chance to play around with it and make something of their own. I suppose it's always a little bit of both. We rely a lot on other human beings and people can definitely trigger emotions, but I think it's ultimately just us dealing with how we feel and why we feel that way.”

‘Inches Apart’ lyrics

You were born with thicker skin

And I am only oxygen

Whispering, darling please don’t stay

Because you can leave but I won’t wait

When I’m cold

And I’m lonely

Hold me in your arms

We’ll grow old

We will only

Be inches apart

I have built my cell by hand

I was dreaming of the southern sand

And while every night you visit me

Darling you are friends with misery

When I’m cold

And I’m lonely

Hold me in your arms

We’ll grow old

We will only

Be inches apart

When I’m cold

And I’m lonely

Hold me in your arms

We’ll grow old

We will only

Be inches apart

Oceans won’t take you

Oceans won’t take you

Oceans won’t take you

Oceans won’t take you