Castaway / The Cheviot Hoods

King Tuts, Glasgow on Tue 10th Apr 2007

A furore of talent is currently dominating the Glasgow music scene, and it’s pretty difficult to stroll into Scotland’s astute musical centre without being graced with just one of the many acts responsible for infecting the city with this insatiable drive for great music.

Tonight’s homegrown talent are relevant newcomers to the scene. Headliners Castaway have only been around in their current guise for just over a year, and The Cheviot Hoods are practically a baby, not that you’d know it.

This gig, having been rescheduled from 31st March and slotted onto the King Tuts bill when Lady Sovereign cancelled, was bound to suffer from a lack of support. But despite the circumstances surrounding the late confirmation, there was still a reasonable turnout.

The Cheviot Hoods

Vintage guitar riffs built around hazy post 90’s melodies brings together the best of Britpop and classic indie for The Cheviot Hoods. There’s the obvious nod in the direction of The Stone Roses, and the sublime influence of the Madchester scene underlines the best of their material.

Attitude and confidence is a marriage destined to succeed in the music industry, and The Hood’s (or should we be calling them The Cheviots?) have a nice balance of both, neither cocky nor overconfident, but as assure of their abilities as you ever can be without crossing into the world of self-indulgence and egotistical immodesty.

The Cheviot Hoods

The Twang have already been given the leg up onto the early bird echelon of musical prowess just by reinventing The Stone Rose’s drug fuelled dance/indie crossover. Arguably this movement is just the same substance that The Rainband, Kasabian, and countless others have been peddling ever since The Libertines and Franz Ferdinand pointed indie in another direction, but The Cheviot Hood’s have a timeless likeability to them.

Nobody ever remembers who came in second place, and I think that analogy is one that’s going to be the burden of Castaway in years to come. They have the perfect name for a terminally dull mum-rock band, and although their music is at times diverse and thought provoking, their live performances aren’t gripping in the slightest.

Comparatively speaking, it makes for a rather uninteresting affair, bolstered by a ambient electro feel but never enough to really to captivate the audience. They produce a slightly more upbeat sound to Captain, and there are touches of brilliance in their music.

Castaway

The King Tuts stage looks a little cramped, as all six members of the band fight for their own piece of stage. The singing duties are duly swapped between the two front men, and it provides an interesting variation, but you can’t get away from the average feel of tonight’s gig.

Perhaps not the best sample of new music coming from bonnie Scotland, but then again some cities would long for the chance to have bands of this calibre at the top of their scene.

article by: Scott Johnson

photos by: Scott Johnson

published: 16/04/2007 17:36



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