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The musical capital of the world? It's not even close in my mind.
Glasvegas, who are Glasgow natives (see Camera Obscura, The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, Lloyd Cole, Teenage Fanclub, Belle and Sebastian, Paolo Nutini, Amy MacDonald, Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand and a host of others who have considerably brightened the musical landscape over the past ten years), have released a very, very fine self-titled debut album.
NME
has dubbed them "the best new band in Britain," which is usually a sure
sign of the Hype Machine in Overdrive. But this time they could be
right. This is a surprisingly bracing combination of Jesus and Mary
Chain guitar buzz, Proclaimers vocal bluster (complete with sometimes
almost impenetrable Scots brogue), and, incredibly, impossibly,
romantic '50s doo-wop. I like it a lot. The subject matter -- aimless
violence, ennui, football yobs, endless pints, chasing skirts -- might
be the best rock 'n roll portrait of disaffected youth since those
early Clash albums. Best of all is the unnerving "Stabbed," in which
lead singer James Alan matter-of-factly proclaims, "I'm gonna get
stabbed/The Baltic fleeto are up my arse/No cavalry could ever save me"
to the accompaniment of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Stunning.
Published at 11:14 AM on January 3, 2009
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Glasvegas are NOT Glasgow Natives as you put it. They infact are from a small town called Falkirk in the central belt of Scotland, which is pretty much half way between Edinburgh & Glasgow. I do wish journo's would actually research there stuff...it's really annoying when you cannot get simple facts right.
Glasvegas' official web site says they're from the east end of Glasgow. Their wikipedia page says they formed in Glasgow. Their MySpace page identifies them as being from Glasgow. Perhaps their PR people need to be enlightened. But thanks for the correction.
They come from Dalmarnock in the East End of Glasgow.
Nice review Andy ,however their downbeat lyrics about gritty Glasgow life and the thick Glasgow brogue may not appeal furth of UK, for that reason I don't think they'll "crack" America.
Frightened Rabbit are rightly receiving much better reviews and I suspect they will still be around long after the Glasvegas hype.
Trivia note : Of the Glasgow based bands mentioned only Camera obscura,Mogwai,MacDonald and Glasvegas are actually native Glaswegians.
Nutini - Paisley
Belle & Sebastian - Ayrshire,Highlands
Teenage Fanclub - Lanarkshire
Franz Ferdinand - England
Twilight Sad - Kilsyth
Frightened Rabbit - Selkirk, Saltcoats
Thanks. I'll never trust Wikipedia again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bands_from_Glasgow
I agree that the lyrics (when they can be deciphered) could be offputting to many people. Even with benefit of a lyric sheet, it's tough to completely deconstruct lines like "the baltic fleeto are up my arse" on this side of the pond, although it certainly sounds like a predicament.
But I'm a sucker for the theatrically grand gesture accompanied by heavily reverbed guitars, and Glasvegas deliver those goods. Certainly the British music press is guilty of hyperventilating, and then changing their minds/abandoning the latest fad two weeks later. That's why I was genuinely surprised when "the next big band" sounded like they might actually be the next big band. How well that big, bombastic sound and those inscrutable lyrics will translate in America remains to be seen.