Exasperated Inquisitors of Undiscriminating Gulls,

Vic Galloway conducted an all-Scottish special edition of his Monday night show on Radio Scotland; it was a delight to listen to and is definitely worth hearing via Lishen Again if possible. After hearing the show, my new favourite band is The Pendulums and I’ve ordered a copy of their album, Moon Mountain, on the basis of the infectious Brand New Song.

I’ve also ordered a copy of Jock Scot & Gareth Sager’s The Caledonian Blues. These two characters are legendary, unfortunately evidence of their status has so far eluded me, but I’m looking forward to the arrival of their album in the post after hearing Mod Poem and Barcelona on a few of Vic’s radio shows. Jock Scot is a poet and raconteur and is described as having been a confidant to The Clash, Ian Dury, The Libertines and Nick Cave. Backing Jock on the album is Gareth Sager, a musician formerly of post-punk outfit, The Pop Group.

I bought Midlake’s new album The Trials of Van Occupanther; at first, this disappointed me but I’ve come to accept it for what it is. I bought the new Midlake album on the strength of their new single Young Bride and previous album, Bamnan and Silvercork; Bamnan and Silvercork is an enchanting album that is full of whimsical and fantastical nonsense. The latest offering from the Texans shows a clear musical progression, featuring more conventional songs that are beautifully poignant and wistful, the sprinkling of violins throughout helps to set the mood. Young Bride resembles the style of Bamnan and Silvercork most, but songs such as the touching Roscoe are not to be missed.

The new Camera Obscura album Let’s Get Out of This Country seems to have awoken the media to the band’s existence, and given the quality of the single, Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken, this hype is justified. The album is a perhaps a little one-paced but it’s the kind of pretty orchestral indie-pop that I like. The single, the title track and Come Back Margaret have emerged as my favourite tracks.

On the basis of the airplay given to Psapp by Vic McGlynn and Rob da Bank, I purchased their album, The Only Thing I Ever Wanted (directly from Domino Records, thus it arrived with loads of promotional badges, posters and stickers). Listening to it is probably the equivalent to being trapped inside a hyper-fast grandfather clock with a deranged Newton’s Cradle ornament and a cat-obsessed breathy songstress overworking a xylophone. These plinkety-plonkety meanderings have a diverse quality that is entirely welcome in my CD collection.

I won El Perro Del Mar’s eponymous album on the Mark Radcliffe show (Candy, as performed live, can be heard on the adjacent Putfile link). The instrumentation is minimal, making way for Sarah Assbring’s heart-breaking and melancholic lyrics and her delicate voice that resonates chillingly through the air. The quote from Wurrd magazine, “The compulsion to run over with a bottle of claret and a tub of Haagen Dazs is over-whelming.” is quite understandable.

Other recent purchases of mine include Dawn of the Replicants’ Fangs (bizarre, left-field yet pleasing clatterings), My Latest Novel’s Wolves (agreeably somewhere between Mogwai and Belle & Sebastian) and Dungen Ta Det Tugnt (cleverly exploits the hankering for Swedish prog-rock in the Kingdom of Fife). Lastly, I must thank Peter, Bjorn and John for gifting their marvellous song, Young Folks, which features bounteous whistling, to the world.