'Broken Records' Celtic Connections 2011

Broken Records Review - Old Fruitmarket 16th Jan 2011

Broken Records are a six-piece indie folk band from Edinburgh Scotland. The band are signed to 4AD and released their debut album, Until the Earth Begins to Part in 2009.  Their second album Let Me Come Home was released in October 2010. They played a well-received set at T in the Park's T Break stage in 2007.  The band attended SxSW Festival in Austin, Texas in 2010 and their music was featured in the TV dramas "Skins" and "Lost". They have supported The National on part of their European 'High Violet' LP tour.  In May the band completed their second album, Let Me Come Home in October, 2010 with producer Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Delgados, Belle & Sebastian)

They played at the Old Fruitmarket 16th January 2011 as part of 'Celtic Connections 2011', and as support for the Burns Unit ( an 8-piece Canadian and Scottish folk/rock band formed over a song writing week in a cottage up north for Burnsong).
Broken Records displayed a tight accomplished unit and blasted through their set. Not many bands command the stage - and Jamie, along with his brother, often appear lost in their rocky yet Celtic-tinged sounds as Rory's violin adds at times an eerie haunting air. Their music moves from intimate piano ( the Promise) to charged violin and drums rhythms (new single A darkness Rises Up). Jamie finished their set with the song 'Nearly Home' with simply his vocal alongside synth keys. Their songs are mystic, exploring many wide-open and spacious emotional themes.

The band were originally formed by brothers Jamie (Lead Vocals) and Rory (fiddle, accordion) Sutherland.  I have heard this band before - and noticed then their musicianship alongside memorable songs and energetic playing, and that Jamie used his vocals as a finely tuned instrument.  They have now shed the cello and worked on arrangements and their second album sounds so much more together and balanced.  I heard this band at several venues and the best was in the reverential setting of the Queens Hall Edinburgh - where they blasted through a set of strong songs in the packed converted church that left me enthralled and exhilarated. 
Aching and troubling yet uplifting sounds.  They tour America and Europe in 2011.  

Set List 

1. Leaving Song

2. Modern Worksong

3. Motorcyclce Boy

4. Wolves

5. A Darkness Rises Up

6. A Promise

7. You Know

8. Nearly Home

Viking Galaxy Nice n Sleazy's Glasgow 11th Dec 2010

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This is  a young band having fun with it all. Behind the scenes you sense that thought and care has gone into their music. The band say they are fans of Bach, Earth Wind and Fire, and metal band Mastodon and that they draw from classical, folk and metal for their music - which all makes me think genre matters not at all. 

Viking Galaxy Set list. The Shaft of Agony, The Hall of the Slain, Space Chariots, Galactic Plunder, The Sickle of Hate. 

Band members - Liam Hill (vocals) Matthew Brown (keys), Ross Keightley (bass), Mike Parkins (guitar) and  Andrew Scott (drums).  

The band appeared on stage in their helmets and wigs. Liam is a strikingly tall, engrossing and entertaining front man and he was cool in a leather waistcoat and fur top. They have been writing and rehearsing for several years and it was clear the boys were high about their first gig.

Clare Maguire

I took these images of Clare when she supported Hurts Oran Mor. She appeared in a dramatic scarlet red feathered outfit, with her rock band for one of her very first live shows. She certainly wooed the crowd with her theatrical performance and power vocals - and there are big things expected from Clare in 2011. The gig was started with the lovely local Glasgow girl Kelsey Hunter on guitar.

MUSIC 2010

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Music 2010 has taken some exciting new turns - subtle electronic to retro yet contemporary folk. The genres are blurring more and more and I see this as a positive.

The biggest band of 2010 was Arcade Fire who earned their place at the top end of stadium rock, and their sound reminds me of 70s rock tunes. Their gig Glasgow Barrowlands was one of the top live gigs of all time. 2010 was a year of many great gigs and albums - both large and small scale. Here are some of my thoughts on my own personal views on the biggest sounds of 2010. It is all hard to define now with the complexity of the media - is it about the ticket sales, the album sales, the downloads or the youtube hits...

My favourite new albums anyway, which I hope also represents a slice of the variety of sounds out there. *The biggest Albums - 'Suburbia' by Arcade Fire (indie rock); 'High Violet' The National (indie rock); 'Total Life Forever' the Foals ; ' The XX' won the Mercury with their album 'Crystallized' (Romy has an unforgettable vocal and look - new wave rock); 'I Speak Because I Can' Laura Marling (folk alternative); 'Hill of Thieves' Cara Dillon (folk, released 2009).