[let's pretend I posted this last weekend, instead of spending Christmas buried in snow and frigid temps]The Reindeer Section - The Son of Evil ReindeerBackground: The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002. Lightbody describes the band's sound as "pretty much all very slow, quiet, folky-type stuff. Stuff that I really love listening to, like Low, for example, and Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and all that end of things. It's sort of inspired by those records rather than by the American rock music that inspired me to start a band in the first place." The Reindeer Section arose – according to Lightbody – out of a chance get-together of musicians at a Lou Barlow gig in Glasgow in 2001, at which Lightbody drunkenly laid down the challenge to others to "make an album together", to which everyone said "yeah yeah". There are over 30 listed band members, including Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton of Arab Strap, Roddy Woomble of Idlewild, John Cummings of Mogwai, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub, Eugene Kelly of the Vaselines, and three members of Belle & Sebastian and Snow Patrol respectively.
The group met over three days of rehearsal and ten days of recording to produce the first album,
Y'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! Son of Evil Reindeer was released ten months later, with a slightly different line-up. The single, "You Are My Joy" appeared on the US TV show,
Grey's Anatomy, and on the fourth series of
Queer as Folk. The song "Cartwheels" appeared on "The Second Chance", an episode of
The O.C.
Existing Prejudices: Aside from my disdain for Snow Patrol, none really. I like some of the bands listed above and I'm indifferent to others.
Track by Track Impressions
1. Grand Parade - Why do the verses remind me of "Like A Prayer"? Maybe it's the horns, but I'm hearing Broken Social Scene, only more earnest and Scottish.
2. Budapest - Downtempo and moody. I never have much to say about these tracks, which seem custom-built to soundtrack TV dramas.
3. Strike Me Down - Cute and jaunty, in the Belle & Sebastian vein. I could do with more of this to lighten the mood.
4. Your Sweet Voice - This is some Snow Patrol boringness. Everything about this says "Grey's Anatomy".
5. I'll Be Here - The woodwinds tell me that B&S are all over this one. That and the well-developed chorus and bridge.
6. Where I Fall - I like how straightforward and stripped-down this is. Songs like this are far more affecting than treacle like "Chasing Cars". Is this Aidan Moffat's touch? If so, I'm glad it's not buried under a haze like his Arab Strap lyrics.
7. Cartwheels - I have this on my ipod for some reason. I think, back in the freewheeling days of file-sharing, I downloaded that OC soundtrack - or more likely, a friend downloaded it and then I ripped it from him along with a bunch of other stuff. It's okay - reminds me of BSS again, with the slow build and expansion.
8. Last Song on Blue Tape - Finally a different vocalist. I like it on that basis alone. Plus this one has a beat. If you're going to have a 30-piece band, might as well make some big lovely chamber pop.
9. Cold Water - Seems like kind of a throwaway.
10. You Are My Joy - It appears someone has seen fit to employ a drummer on this track. As a result, we've got another BSS-style big, collective stadium number. This is actually more of what I was expecting from a 'supergroup'.
11. Who Told You - This is unusual. I'm hearing a combo of Mogwai or the Vaseline's off-kilter instrumentation with...something else. Some ingredient is throwing off this dish. For one thing, it's too wordy and doesn't have a chorus.
12. Whodunnit - I think this is Aidan Moffat singing - his shambolic fingerprints are all over this one. And here, the lo-fi production is a breath of fresh air compared to the over-produced ballads that opened this album. Kind of a weird track to close on, but I ain't mad at it.
General Impressions: The idea of a Scottish Broken Social Scene or New Pornographers is actually pretty appealing; I just wish Snow Patrol wasn't involved. If the scene is really that tight (we know Franz Ferdinand & Travis collaborate, along with all those Postcard bands) perhaps some future combo will take another crack at it. I hope so.
How Good is it? Middling.
How Scottish is it? Not discernibly so. But it is sort of traditional, conventional, and predictable. An old chestnut, like Alastair Sim's Scrooge.
AND TO FINISH [cue bagpipes]
The Proclaimers - Sunshine on the LeithBackground: The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of the identical twin brothers Charlie and Craig Reid, raised in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty. After several punk rock bands in high school, they formed the Proclaimers in 1983. The pair came to public attention when an Inverness-based fan sent their demo to the English band the Housemartins, who were impressed enough to invite them on their 1986 UK tour. The exposure won them a January 1987 appearance on the Channel Four music program, The Tube, performing "Letter from America". That single peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart, while their first album
This Is the Story went gold. The follow-up album,
Sunshine on Leith featured the singles "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", which went to number one in Australia and New Zealand, and "I'm On My Way". "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" belatedly peaked at #3 in the US in 1993, after appearing in the film
Benny & Joon. In March 2007 they recorded a new version of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with television comedy characters Andy Pipkin (played by Matt Lucas) and Brian Potter (Peter Kay) for the Comic Relief charity. A long list of celebrities were featured in the music video for this new version, which reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart. A stage musical featuring their songs,
Sunshine on Leith, was created in 2007 for Dundee Rep and adapted as a feature film in 2013 bearing the same name. The title track is also played by Hibernian F.C. after victories in big fixtures. They are well-known supporters of Scottish independence and have, at various stages of their lives, been activists for the Scottish National Party.
Existing Prejudices: I never liked "500 Miles". I didn't hate it either; I was just indifferent to it. To me, it's the Scottish "Two Princes". I think I heard their follow up single and concluded that they were earnest and pastoral like peak XTC. Still, never bothered to seek them out.
Track by track impressions
1. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The opening of this song sounds kind of ripped off of "Senses Working Overtime". They also remind me of The Housemartins (who are underrated). Nice harmonizing.
2. Cap in Hand - I'm surprised this wasn't a huge it in Canada. This one name-checks Saskatchewan and has gratuitous Celtic touches that Mike Myers would eat up. It's very well-constructed and well-sung.
3. Then I Met You - Their punk roots are showing through, which is unexpected and cool. I'm impressed with how lean the production is - not overdone at all. I'm starting to think this album should have been an even bigger hit than it was - at least as big as Snow Patrol.
4. My Old Friend the Blues - Here's a perfectly well-constructed twangy ballad. These guys should have toured with Louden Wainwright III.
5. Sean - This reminds me of Big Country, with its Big sound. I imagine this one made it into the musical. Damn, these guys can sing.
6. Sunshine on Leith - Yes, I can see people singing along to this at a pub.
7. Come on Nature - Sounds like a countrified XTC, but this trotting 4/4 tempo (also used on "I'm Gonna Be") does nothing for me.
8. I'm on My Way - This has a bit of an early rock n' roll feel, which suits their 'dual Buddy Holly' image. I would have stuck this earlier on the album, perhaps to break up the ballads more.
9. What Do You Do? - Ballad. These are all starting to run together. Couldn't they have saved this for the next album? Wonder if they ever toured with Billy Bragg, given their political leanings. Perhaps their folkie-political tendencies are what kept them from going massive after this album's success (which is for the best, considering Mumford & Sons).
10. It's Saturday Night - This is a fine Randy Newman ragtime shuffle, but is it really necessary? The album is starting to drag.
11. Teardrops - This is more like it. Something with a bit of propulsion and dynamics. If they had put in a drumbeat and rhythm guitar, this could have been a single.
12. Oh Jean - I like the shagginess of this one. It seems a bit inspired by Rod Stewart and the Faces.
General Impressions: This album is far less commercial and far more sonically interesting than I expected. They had a lot of good ideas combined with good execution. I'm glad to hear that they parlayed this into a measure of success beyond 'one-hit-wonder' status.
How Good is it? Solid. Worth a listen.
How Scottish is it? Off the charts? I was going to make them Shrek, but really, this was not as commercially cartoonish as I thought it would be. The poet Burns would be proud.