Hagana - One Year

Rock and fucking roll. It's Tuesday. Tuesday was named after the God of "Oh cock, is it not weekend yet?" and as such requires something pretty bloody awesome to help carry you along and stop you from tipping over the edge and running out into the street yelling about like, stuff, or something.

Anyway, so - we're almost at midweek and today I was most incredibly excited to get an e-mail from the delightful chaps from Edinburgh who make up the band Hagana. I liked the name so much I wanted to review them straight away. In fact I've been running round saying "Hagana" in a comedy Spanish accent for the last hour. I think I need to step away from the Smarties.

So, this is a bit previous, but their debut album "One Year" will be released on 3rd March and it's one that I really think is a cut above, just from the initial play through.

First impressions: Absolutely corking riffs, bone shaking and blood thickening. Intense and powerful vocals and brilliant harmonies.

But look a bit deeper. Yes, look a bit deeper. Come closer and listen again. There's so much more to it.

I was absolutely knocked out by the third track "Fuzzy Punch", this exemplifies a great mixture of all of the above mentioned qualities. In fact I listened to it three times before I moved onto the next song. It's really tightly woven and well produced and has a great 90s grunge feel to it. Most of the tracks here do, there are influences from bands like Weezer and the Foo Fighters in evidence, but the sounds still feel very fresh and unique.

I urge you to watch the video for the abovementioned track here:

HAGANA - FUZZY PUNCH

"Watch My Step" is another stand out track, the opening is really unusual - it sounds strange to say it and I hope the band don't mind me saying this, but the riff at the beginning feels like church bells, it has that kind of chimey progression to it. The chords feel really different and it opens out into another great vocal with tight harmonies.

The last track "Connect 4" is an absolutely awesome way to end. The guitars on it are so down and dirty and there's a nice kind of feeling of fuzz and distortion there compared to the other tracks. It fades out sweetly, which is quite an unusual way to end an album such as this and it works surprisingly well.

If you'd like to check the band out more thoroughly, look at their bandcamp page

hagana.bandcamp.com/

But more than anything, when 3rd March comes round you must go and buy this superb band's debut album. If you want filthy guitars, great vocals and uber cheekiness - Hagana are your guys. HAGANA. Yes.

The Winter Tradition - Departures

Saturday. A day of infinite possibilities and options. Hands up how many of you have spent the day cleaning up the mess in a rented flat that was apparently previously occupied by two rutting pigs..? Just me then. Always good to know I'm a trendsetter. Obviously music isn't the only place I break the mould...

It's a week since I last wrote and therefore I thought it was high time I updated to bring you something pretty fabulously special to listen to.

At the back end of last weekend, Edinburgh band The Winter Tradition kindly tweeted me the video for their latest single "Departures". Here is said link:

Have a little listen, dear readers. I think you'll really like it. I do - and you know I have good taste.

It's a song that is instantly catchy with a great hook to it, just enough to draw you in and keep you engaged without being too over the top and to me, it feels just the right side of rock without straying too far into leather trouser town.

It's a perfectly crafted bit of indie pop heaven - the chorus in particular is a little gem, where the hook of the song comes into its own and really embeds itself in your head. The keyboards are sweetly chirpy and really help to temper the song well. For me, what also stands out here are the vocal harmonies. They're beautifully and tightly constructed and give a real strength and dimension to the song as a whole

If you want to download it - and why wouldn't you? (it's released on 10th February) you can do so from the group's bandcamp page here:

thewintertradition.bandcamp.com/album/departures

Whilst you're there, take a look at their debut album "Gradients", although it was released in 2012, it actually backs up their status as purveyors of great, catchy indie tracks. There's something about The Winter Tradition's guitar sound that feels nicely warm and fuzzy. It's well in evidence in their new single, and is also there in gallon bucketfuls in the album too. They're one of those bands that you listen to and wonder why they're not much, much more well known than they are...they really ought to be.

So, if you haven't heard these guys before, you must have them in your lives. Start with their new single, work backwards if you have to - if you're a self respecting lover of new choons, then put this at the top of your end-of-winter-lets-get-the-chuff-into-spring collection.

The Douglas Firs

 



thedouglasfirs.bandcamp.com

Here's a post I'd been meaning to do for a while and for various reasons didn't get round to. The Douglas Firs are the brainchild of musician Neil Insh and a group of friends who hail from Aberdeen and Edinburgh variously. The music they produce is ethereal, very beautiful. Multi-layered compositions with breathy, whispering vocals that really draw you in. Each time you hear a track you find something new to focus on. Last year saw the release of the debut album "Happy As A Windless Flag" and this year the release of a new EP (in March). You can find all of the above on their Bandcamp site - link above. It's completely different to anything you'll ever have heard before and needs a few listens to full appreciate how fantastic it is. But fantastic it is, and hopefully a new album will be popping up later on this year. Definitely worth a few moments of your time.

The Machine Room

'Alo. It's Bank Holiday Monday, an extra treat this weekend in the shape of a band called The Machine Room. This group from Edinburgh have a new EP out called Love From A Distance, and it's really rather a lovely listen. They're a sort of 21st century shoegazing lot, sometimes a bit synth-y, sometimes a bit rocky-y-y-y. They have a good sound. Nice ethereal vocals and some solid guitar work. Well worth a quick run over to their bandcamp site to have a squint.


the-machine-room.bandcamp