Broken Records

Greetings people. It's been over a week since I wrote anything which is pretty damned shocking considering I only just started this thing and haven't yet time to become disillusioned with the whole blogging affair. But I have quite a few things I want to write about and I'll start with a cracking gig I went to last night, and a great little EP I picked up as a result of attending.

The band were Broken Records (who have been written about far more extensively and thoroughly by many other bloggers and publications so that it is hardly worth me giving a lenghty discourse about the lads, but..) and the show was at the Oran Mor. Another one of The Mill gigs which I spoke about in my first proper post. I attended this gig with my good pal Chris who was black affronted by the lack of any other beverage on offer at the bar. No Guinness! This is shite. The band were soon up on stage though, and this was quickly forgotten as they launched into the first tune to a sizable crowd (easily the biggest I've seen at a Mill gig) who were disappointingly lucklustre I felt.

As I had expected, the set was absolutely great, with a particular stand out being a song played, I believe, 4th which I did not recognise. I expect it is a track from the upcoming album, seeing as the lads have been recording their debut for 4AD records down in Wales. As a quick aside, their signing to 4AD is quite simply wonderful news, and such a boost for Edinburgh music and even Scottish independent music in general. I wish them all the luck in the world and am genuinely excited about hearing said LP. Back to the gig; rollicking versions of 'If The News Makes You Sad, Don't Watch It' and 'If Eilert Lovborg Wrote A Song' - which to me will always be 'The Russian Song', after I first heard it on the T Break 2007 CD - were dispatched to head-nodding, toe-tapping joy. Broken Records are a joy to behold live and the tones eminating from Rory and Arne's string parts are glorious, just glorious. Such a perfect mesh of instruments and styles. Concluding with a typically soaring rendition of 'Slow Parade', it left me looking forward to the future gigs where there will be enough tunes for hour long sets. And encores.

I purchased after a 5 track EP which Rory charmingly described as being a "collection of sea shanties". Or perhaps it's "Shantys". But it is so much more than a casually thrown together collection. And I'm sure it was never intended as such. For one thing, the production is absolutely excellent, and the instrumentation is truly rich sounding. 'Out On The Water' is a track I've heard before on the Toad Sessions, and its lovestruck beauty comes across fantastically on this version. My instant favourite though is 'The Crumbling Wall', a really striking gem of a song with the drums really grabbing my attention alongside anxious guitar and strings parts. All praise, I hope it sounds like it!

If I could work out how the hell to post songs for download I would probably put up a couple. But I don't have a clue so I can't. Maybe I need a proper server. I should really ask a more experienced blogger. Roll on Sunday however - Eagleowl and Rob St. John at the Captain's Rest.