Stag and Dagger, Glasgow

So, ten quid gets you a bunch of bands and a lot of free rum these days.

Vice magazine's one-dayer returned to Glasgow for another year bringing with it a mixture of big (ish) names, up-and-comers and some local talent. First up for me were Erland and the Carnival. This bunch of young 'uns got things started at ABC2 with a mix of The Coral fronted by Neil Hannon - harmless enough, but tarnished slightly by a touch of the "funky drummers."

Upstairs in the main hall, much, much better was to follow. Having witnessed The Antlers parade their fragile beauty at the living room sized 13th Note a few months back, it was always going to be interesting to see how they'd cope in a bigger space. I needn't have worried. The songs that make up the Hospice album became stadium-rock (in a way that The National are, not say, for example, U2 or Keane) but still managed to move the audience. This is a band destined for greater things.

There are so many things about Wild Beasts that are intrinsically wrong - the denim waistcoats, the bad moustaches, the 80s suit jackets and the guitars and bass being held in that Level 42 too-far-up-the-body way. Having said this, they seem a band perfectly suited for the big stage. It was a terrific set from a genuinely unique indie band, with Hayden Thorpe's incredible falsetto stealing the show - as always.

A quick dash up an unnecessarily steep hill to The Art School allowed us to catch one brilliant song from Egyptian Hip Hop. Despite the name, this was Sonic Youth style art rock, played by what looked like a bunch of 14-year olds.

Another dash down the hill, and fifteen minutes of the usual Mary Chain/New Order played at ear bleeding volume from A Place to Bury Strangers. It can sometimes appear derivative, but the experience of guitars, dry ice and noise really is enjoyable.

Another band, another hill. I wish I had seen more of the set from Titus Andronicus, because what I saw was terrific. They're like what The Pogues would have sounded like if they were on Dischord records. Sloganeering, riffs, shouting and the sight of a band having a real good time.

Finally, Sleigh Bells. One word for this - loud. Jackhammer riffs and electro beats (think Steve Albini messing around with mid temp hip hop and dance records) married to the singing, chanting and screaming of the absolute star in the making and focal point, Alexis Krauss. It shouldn't work, but it does. It doesn't sound to me like anything else out there right now, and it's a visceral treat. How convenient then, that the duo's debut album is called Treats.

A fine way to end the evening. See you in 2011.

Album Review: The National - High Violet

Album of the year, surely.

I could just leave the review there, but that would be lazy. It's simply magnificent, a slow-burning epic that reveals another layer each time I listen. Padma Newsome's orchestration, with help from the Dessner boys, is sumptuous, Matt Berninger's voice is amazing as always, and once again the drumming from Bryan Devendorf is out of this world - not in a Bonham or Grohl way, but just inventive, clever, subtle, militaristic...think Bill Berry if he was raised in Brooklyn instead of Athens, GA.

'Anyone's Ghost', 'Conversation 16' and 'England' stand out for me in an epic, romantic, sad, hopeful album. Not quite as good for me as Alligator...yet.

Anyway, I'd let the music do the talking. Head over to Youtube to watch some of a gig recently recorded in Brooklyn, with backup from Sufjan Stevens and Richard Reed Parry:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNationalVEVO

what the album doesn't sound like, however, is "like Joy Division hanging out in the desert." Thanks The Daily Telegraph, I nearly died laughing.

Amazing. What a band.

Gig Review - Dinosaur Jr, Built to Spill - ABC Glasgow

First things first....Dinosaur Jr were really quite dull. Loud, but a bit dull. Even 'Freak Scene' was a bit stilted, and there were only about five kids who responded with a bit of a lame mosh pit when that moment finally arrived.

Dinosaur knew it as well. Upon being forced out for an encore following half-hearted clapping, Lou Barlow turned the clock back about 20 years and baited the crowd for the slightly lame applause. Good old Lou, nice to have you back. Must be hanging around with J Mascis that brings out the vitriol....

Thank heaven then for the preceeding hour of magnificence from Built to Spill. Having loved them since Keep it Like a Secret, I was hoping it would have been worth the 15 year wait...and it just about was. Eschewing any thoughts of promoting newest record There is No Enemy, Doug Martsch and his grizzled vets cranked out a, ahem, greatest hits set heavy on riffing and bluesy soloing. Highlights for me were hearing 'Car', 'Carry the Zero', 'Strange', 'Untrustable' and 'Distopian Dream Girl'. Sadly not enough time for a 20min version of 'Broken Chairs', but always nice to hear these lines:

"My stepfather looks just like David Bowie/ But he hates David Bowie/ I think Bowie's cool/ I think Lodger rules/and my stepdad's a fool."

Brilliant stuff. A band that pays no attention to modern trends but just play like they always have played. Heroes.

Album Review: John Grant - Queen of Denmark

Former frontman of The Czars, John Grant goes solo - while teaming up with Midlake - to make an album of heartbreaking, soft-focus beauty.

That's a sentence I never thought I'd write, given my dislike for both The Czars, and Midlake, officially the most boring band in the history of rock music. Coldplay, you are off the hook (not in the cool way)...for now.

Queen of Denmark appears to have been born out of frustration, drugs, drink, a broken heart and a difficult childhood - but there's hope in there too. The lyrics are incredibly open and honest, and the music accompanying is simply beautiful.

There's plenty of 1970s touchstones - I can hear The Carpenters, Bread, Elton John, Jacksone Browne and Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue - but the album manages to stay clear of soft-rock cheese.

If you only buy one heartbreak album this year, make it this one. If you only download one heartbreak song, make it It's Easier - all woozy synths and glorious harmonies.

Pavement - Barrowlands Ballroom, 5/5/10

This will be a short one.

Ten years on from the last time I saw them at the Barras - or 11 years as Spiral Stairs, my fact checkin' cuz, pointed out - I can safely say the following.....

Pavement are still frickin' awesome.

'Nuff said.