Not Unloved presents: 30/07/2023 - Barbara Manning & Gerard Love @ The Glad Cafe (Glasgow)

Exciting news: Not Unloved is putting on a show at The Glad Cafe (Glasgow) featuring two of our favourite artists!

Barbara Manning 

Barbara has released music on some of the greatest labels of the indie-rock era (Matador, K, Siltbreeze etc.) both solo and with an array of fabulous groups (San Francisco Seals, 28th Day, World of Pooh, Glands of External Secretion etc.) and collaborated with some of New Zealand's finest. She also had the ultimate honour of gracing the cover of an  issue of esteemed indie zine/lifestyle guide, Chickfactor. I've written before about my love for her sublime "Optimism Is Its Own Reward" but there is so much to love across her stellar back catalogue including this sonically inventive ode to The Fall's 80s power pair, Mark E Smith and Brix, from her crucial debut lp "Lately I Keep Scissors":

This song is so great!

It's been many years since Barbara played shows in the UK so this is an incredibly rare opportunity to catch her in Glasgow. If you still need convincing, check out this cool Chickfactor interview from a few years ago. Anyone who dreams of writing a song for Kendra Smith is fine by me!

Gerard Love

Gerard Love needs no introduction having written and played on some of the most era-defining music of the last three decades with Teenage Fanclub, The Pastels and, most recently, with his group Lightships. I penned a few words that didn't quite do justice to the sheer loveliness of Lightships' "Electric Cables" upon its initial release in 2012 (wisely, it was restored to print on vinyl late last year). When Gerard returned to the stage in July, 2022 Not Unloved waited expectantly in the queue outside Glasgow's Stereo. Of course, his set was nothing short of beautiful. A subtly stunning return!

This is a thrilling version of one of the most brilliant songs to be released in my lifetime:

While I'm at it, how gorgeous is this Moondog cover?

Keep an eye out for the all the usual stuff like posters, Facebook events, ticket links etc. in the next wee while.

When: 30th July 2023 (N.B. That's the Sunday night after Glas-Goes Pop!, POP fans!)

Where: The Glad Cafe

Tickets: TBA

Soursob

In late 2019 Soursob were one of the most exciting groups in Glasgow. Their tape on Fuzzkill was a blast which showcased a group with a real spark and just the right blend of cockiness ("Gizmo"), irreverence (the take-down of a pompous music obsessive on "Shoegaze" will never not be funny) and catchy tunes. Around that time Not Unloved saw them play some great sets at Mono and Nice'n'Sleazy etc. and was all set to ask them to do a 7" for our wee label - I'd even started dropping hints to radio shows like Dynamite Hemorrage - but learning that one of the band members had to return to Australia meant that it didn't happen. The prospect of trying to sell out the pressing with no gigs to help spread the word and a general decline in enthusiasm from music buyers for the 7" format just seemed too difficult. Shortly afterwards, the pandemic-related postal system issues and the well documented vinyl pressing woes experienced by labels made the idea of continuing to release 45s seem like an even worse idea. It was with great delight and more than a little jealousy, therefore, that Not Unloved learned via a Facebook posting last March that HoZac would be be releasing a Soursob 12". Now that it's out. however, it's just great that a wider audience has already or will in the future get to hear Soursob and fall for their cheek and charm. Here's hoping that 2022 brings a buncha new songs and a slew of gigs!

NUSONIC002: Current Affairs 'Breeding Feeling' b/w 'Draw The Line'

Has it really been 2 years since Not Unloved Records released 'My Sentiments' by Vital Idles? Unbelievably, yes. It's high time, therefore, for a second release:

NUSONIC002 has been in the works for a while now so it's no secret that it's by Glasgow's mighty Current Affairs. Current Affairs sprang from the ashes of the wonderful Seconds (Soft Power Records) in summer 2016, playing their first show at Jim Lambie's Poetry Club when Night's School's CC Dust memorably swept through Glasgow. That first gig was a real blast. Since then they've developed into one of the most powerful live groups around. January 2017 saw the release of 'Object' (Comidillo Tapes) which showcased a group with a deep affection for the darker sounds from the turn of the 80s (think Magazine/The Cure/Siouxsie) but with the skill to take that music somewhere new. 'Breeding Feeling' will be the group's vinyl debut and will be released in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on the Not Unloved bandcamp page!

Current Affairs are:

Joan - Vox & Keys
Josh - Bass
Sebastian - Guitar
Andrew - Drums

You'll love them!

Listen to samples of both songs here:

Calling all fans of the musical output of Glasgow!

Richard Youngs in the rain at

Glasgow Welcomes Refugees in Queens Park

A few weeks ago I spent a few enjoyable hours in The Glad Cafe in the company of Laurence Estanove, a French researcher in English and Social Sciences at Paris-Descartes University.  She is currently conducting some fascinating research that should be of interest to readers of Not Unloved:

"My objective is to look at the way people perceive Glasgow, at what image or representations of the city they may have (whether they've actually been to Glasgow or not) through following its independent music scene since the early 1980s. 

Please note that your answers will be used exclusively for research purposes and entirely anonymised."

To be part of it all you have to do is fill in the questionnaire here.  Go on, be part of something academic and cool!

Spinning Coin "Albany"

Sometimes you go to a show and there's an unfamiliar new local band on the bill and you're not really expecting too much of them so you're chitting and chatting but then they play a song and it stops you mid-witter.  That song then plays in your head on and off for days so you get fired-up with evangelical zeal, hellbent on telling the world, only to remember that it's 2015 and that unless you can let people hear the song in question, it'll be forgotten in the time it takes to read 'View 4 new Tweets'.  The last time that happened?  When I heard 'Albany'" by Spinning Coin at Audio last December.  Helpfully for evangelists, it has now been posted to Winning Sperm Party's  - they're releasing the group's tape - Soundcloud page:



What an endearing slice of weed-dazed, vulnerability! A friend astutely mentioned the name Further on hearing them. To that I'd add Tomorrow's Tulips. I suspect that the Burger Records' collective hearts will pogo when they hear it. If the rest of the tape is as affecting it'll be a must purchase.  From the two times I've seen them live, however,  I know there are at least two or three more stunners, one of which is in the vein of Teenage Fanclub's unageing, untouchable "Everything Flows".

UPDATE:

Sean Armstrong, one of the singers in Spinning Coin, has just made available his solo version of "Albany" and it's a dreamy, Alex Chilton-like affair.  Plain lovely.

"Paints"

"I just take my time
 I don't need to rush
 I feel good about
 Being good to you"

One of the most elegantly languid tunes to appear in my life of late has been "Paints" by Glasgow's  horrendously named Le Thug.  'Appear' because I didn't seek it out - it was on a free cd-r given to those who attended The Green Door Studio's 7th anniversary wingding at The Poetry Club last weekend.  If "Paints" is any guide, Le Thug aren't the pistol-toting, gold toothed gangsta rap crew their name would suggest but a gauzier, dronier version of the divine One Dove.  Clio Alexandra MacLellan has the most heavenly voice.  It carries the melody of the chorus like cherry blossom on a warm breeze.

From the looks of things, "Paints" used to be on the group's bandcamp page but isn't anymore so I can't share it here.  Hopefully, however, if this picture on Song By Toad Records' tumblr site is any guide, it'll be released on vinyl at some point soon (see track 4):

  

Right now I'm regretting the fact that I wasn't aware of Le Thug sooner as they played The Old Hairdressers on December the 2nd.  It would've been great to swoon and sway to "Paints" particularly as I was on holiday that week.  A missed opportunity.  Fortunately, the Christmas holidays will afford the time to become familiar with the songs posted on Le Thug's Soundcloud page.  Here's hoping that there's something possessing even a tiny fraction of the finesse of "Paints".

Post-Teenage Fanclub gig shindig at The Poetry Club

(ace flyer by Carrie from The Voidoid Archive)

On August 15th Teenage Fanclub play at the beautifully renovated Kelvingrove Bandstand in Glasgow.  If it's anywhere near as good as Belle & Sebastian's celebratory show there a few weeks ago, it'll be a real highlight of summer 2014.  After the show there's a free shindig at The Poetry Club where filmmaker and former The Jesus & Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart will be playing some tunes.  It'll be fascinating to hear his selections.  I'll also be making an appearance behind the decks under the wee train.  There's every chance I'll play the Go Ahead reissue - no 'original vinyl only' snobbery from me; I'm no Daddy Warbucks, y'know - of Jackie Wilson's mighty "Because of You":

Come along and dance like a loon.  It'll be better if you're there!

Facebook event page here

Palms "Wolf" (Watts of Goodwill/Re:peater)

Palms have long been one of my favourite Glasgow groups. Whenever they play, I try to be there as their PJ Harvey by way of Babes In Toyland brand of creeping ferocity is always exhilarating, always welcome. Until now, their recorded output has been modest: a split cassette with Aggi Doom and some wonderful tracks on the lush Some Songs Side-By-Side box. Thankfully, the astute Watts of Goodwill Records and RE:PEATER Records - both of whom do sterling work in documenting Glasgow's current vibrant music scene - just added to that slim list by releasing their debut 7”, “Wolf”. As expected, it’s another catchy but ominous smash.  It’s not quite as wild as, say, “Blood” from the box but it still has considerable bite.  There's an unmixed demo of it here. "Ghosts I've Known" on the flip is a menacing creeper (there's a live version here) with a great rusty guitar sound that churns you up inside.  Fabulous!

At present, I don't believe"Wolf" has distribution so your options for getting a copy are:

1. In person from Monorail Records in Glasgow

2. In person or via mailorder from Rough Trade (London)

3. Direct from Watts of Goodwill (6 pounds post paid in the UK) 

The recent launch gig at Mono for "Wolf" was a tremendous affair.  The sound was clear and trebly and the group played with a triumphant glint in their eyes.  It was on a Friday night and it felt like everyone was in a good mood and willing Palms to do well so it was so great that they did.  It was a timely reminder that Sinead is a wonderfully versatile singer who can go from sweet to snarling in an instant.  It was a reminder, too, that their outrageously good drummer, Julia, has the most animated, charismatic hairdo in the whole of Glasgow!

Los Cripis (Argentina) in Glasgow

Everett True's at times cranky, at times over-ecstatic Collapse Board site is always worth a visit; it always sparks a discussion at they very least.  Last November his 'Song of the Day' was by Los Cripis.  In many ways they're the archetypal Everett True group: predominantly female, musically ragged but sweet-voiced and with an irreverent spark.  Excitingly, their European tour is rolling through Glasgow this Wednesday when they play Stereo with Seconds.  By all accounts Seconds are well worth seeing, too, with Joan Sweeney from Aggi Doom/The Royal We etc. whipping the songs into shape like some Scottish Siouxsie Sioux.  Unfortunately, I don't have any Los Cripis vinyl - hopefully they'll have some for sale (they have a tour 7"!) at their show - so I'll probably set the right mood by blasting those precociously peppy Emily's Sassy Lime records from the mid-90s.  Which, of course, means this MASTERPIECE of high school pop will be played on repeat.  Heady days!

(Los Cripis on bandcamp)

Glasgow's a-go-go!

Excitingly, it's only a week now till new pop upstarts Golden Grrrls launch their debut lp at Stereo.  It feels like it's been a long time coming but on the evidence of their fizzing singles and the two tracks on the lp's bandcamp page, it's going to be an essential purchase that'll take some shifting from my turntable.  Support comes from Joan Sweeney's (of Aggi Doom) new group Seconds and Manchester's saucily named (blush!) but brilliant Sex Hands.  Unmissable!

Follow Golden Grrrls on Twitter here!

The following weekend, a new pop night, All The Rage at Blackfriars, will fill the void left by National Pop League's departure a few years back.  With such a fine list of groups listed on its flyer, attendance for all pop minded Glaswegians is mandatory.  Best buff up yr dancing shoes, then!

Follow All The Rage on Twitter here!