News Scotland: It’s Not All Bleak

As I type in my bitterly cold flat in Aberdeen, rubbing my hands like Frank McAvennie at a Miss Scotland pageant, I feel urged to respond to Hugh Morris’ article on our music “scene”.

You see, he’s right: a lot of the main writing on our sounds focuses on the harshness, the cold antipathy and growly Highland tones of the likes of The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit and the excellent Aidan Moffat but there’s much more to it.

An inferiority complex? Post-emo solipsist weariness? Okay, aye, there’s elements of that in some of our music. Of course it’s easy to say that as a nation, we’re canny in every sense, be it spiritually, emotionally, or however you like, and that may come across in some of our country’s lyricism. However there’s so much more going on in Scotland that makes it more exciting than that. Not to discredit the aforementioned bands (god knows the disapproval of Aidan Moffat would genuinely upset me), but there’s a brightened optimism in our music now that seems to have been missed by the London press.

Look, for example, at the mighty PAWS; a chaotic, grunge-y three piece, signed to Fat Cat and fresh from the release of their debut LP “Cokefloat”. Touring with Japandroids at the time of press, they’re a go-to example of the kind of noise Scotland’s making at this point in time, listen to “Jellyfish” for an example of their melodic brand of punk-tinged noise-pop. See also Dolfinz, a raucous, fuzzy two-piece from Stonehaven in the North-East, who are making serious waves (pardon the pun, please, please pardon the pun) across Britain with a touring schedule that would make Fugazi blush.

Then there are the consistently brilliant Errors, who should be enormous: an electronic trio combining wandering synth melodies with stabs of guitar and unfathomably tight drumming. The sad demise of Dananananaykroyd spawned Her Parents and Alarm Bells, two hugely promising bands who, if are anything like their brilliantly titled former project, will be fascinating live. If you’re club-inclined, check out the booming Scottish bass scene, with Tuff Wax (Aberdeen) and Numbers (Glasgow) leading the way in new UK electronic music; the success of Hudson Mohawke, Rustie, Lockah and countless burgeoning acts can attest to this. All of these musicians share a raw enthusiasm and honed talent that create a much more up-tempo landscape that belies our image as a nation only capable of flash-in-the-pan indie fads (Franz Ferdinand, and we hope you can forgive us for The View, but we aren’t holding our breath) or morose, bleak tapestries of folk-infused rock music. I’m a fan of The Twilight Sad but to use them as the clearest indication of what’s happening up here is, and I’m sure they’ll agree, a tad short-sighted.

These are just a handful. Every night in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, wherever, there are new and exciting acts perfecting their craft, be it in dingy cellars or the myriad of decent venues around the central belt and up north. To list every single band or producer I thought would put Scottish music in a happier light would be a cringe-worthy list of names and superlatives, a croaking Yellow Pages entry of talent. I would imagine the point is enforced by now.

We gave you Camera Obscura, for Christ’s sake. Belle and Sebastian. Mogwai. The Eurythmics. A long way down the road since that lot came out, Scottish musicians are bringing out some of the promising British music in decades and you want to call us introspective and sad? Eh, naw.