My own laptop is unusable. The mains adaptor is not being recognised by the laptop and hence, I cannot even turn the damn thing on let alone type some rambling musical bollocks. Therefore, I have been forced into hijacking my dear flatmate's slab of technology whilst he is off out. Needs must. Oh hell! There he is, back. I'll just use it a little longer. Might have to shell out £19 on a new adaptor which is a tad gash but since I accidentally signed up to, and paid for, Amazon Prime at least it will be here swiftly.
This long overdue post is about the fabulous debut EP from Stonehaven's finest, Copy Haho. The lads have been floating about the Scottish music landscape for a few years now and following a couple of singles released through that old chestnut I Fly Spitfires records and Teenage Lust, BFSAM (Yes, I've abbreviated it, I'm sorry) is brought to us by Big Scary Monsters. I blogged a little while ago about seeing them live and their energy in this capacity is not lost in recorded form. Lead track Pulling Push Ups positively rockets out of the speakers coupling thrilling guitars hooks with a cutting critique of excessive ambition and record company sycophants. This Retro Decade however, is edging towards being my favourite track, the initial riff being a particular joy. Bad Blood would appear to be the lads' shot at oh! A ballad! A lacadaisical lo-fi treat, comparisons to Pavement are inevitable, the muttered lyrics and slowcoach solo are brilliant.
What I particularly love about Copy Haho is the snippets of silence, the guitar clicks and drum cracks where it feels like one instrument is just catching up with the other. The musicianship is relaxed and sounds totally unforced even if the riffs and chords are perfectly played. It's un-rigorous. If such a word exists. It does now. As finale The Last Dash fades into a sumptuously catchy outro, the promise of Copy Haho over these past few years has certainly been fulfilled. Someone once told me they thought they were possibly the best songwriters in Scotland, if only they dedicated more time to the band. Although that may appear at odds with Pulling Push Ups and the general ethos of Copy Haho, it seems they're coming round to the idea.
PS. The production quality is bloody well great too. And you can buy this fine release HERE, go go go. Or iTunes, I am led to believe.
