An Old Pals’ Act
Your music expert Lisa-marie Ferla celebrates fresh material and dates from a host of familiar voices
AS the year prepares to turn, November blows in with the return of some old musical friends to the live and recorded arenas.
The month begins with a live show in Glasgow from none other than Ladytron. The electropop pioneers, fronted by Glaswegian Helen Marnie, whose mesmerising solo work has popped up in this column in the past, trailed their first new album in seven years with a couple of skittering, shimmering futuristic singles. The album will be out early next year – but you can catch them at Glasgow’s Queen Margaret Union (November 2) where they’ll be previewing the new material as part of a short run of UK dates.
Beloved Kilsyth melodic noise-rockers The Twilight Sad are also back with a new album – their fifth – in the new year, their first on Glasgow indie powerhouse label Rock Action. The four-piece, built around the core duo of James Graham and Andy Macfarlane, are touring the US and Europe this autumn, culminating in what is sure to be an unmissable homecoming of sorts at Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms on November 29.
We Were Promised Jetpacks also make their return to the Scottish live circuit this month, following in the footsteps of fourth album The More I Sleep The Less I Dream, released in September. Released as the band hit their second decade together, the album – recorded in the US with noted producer Jonathan Low – finds them rejoicing in growing up together as “a high school band that never stopped”. You can catch them at The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (14th); Saint Luke’s, Glasgow (15th); and The Old Dr Bells Bath, Edinburgh (17th).
Peter “Beerjacket” Kelly, the Glasgow-based acoustic musician who counts the likes of Kristin Hersh and The National among his famous fans, is another artist making a long-awaited return this month. Silver Cords is Kelly’s first release in five years and his most ambitious to date, released in conjunction with a collection of short stories intended for consumption along with the music. He’ll be celebrating the album’s release with live shows at King Tut’s, Glasgow (23rd) and Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh (25th).
From something old, to something new: dreamy new synth-pop outfit OK Button release second single Beds and play their debut Glasgow show this month. An initially email-based collaboration between Aberdeen native Amber Wilson (Bombay Bicycle Club), drummer Adam Falkner (One Eskimo, Babyshambles) and multi-instrumentalist Nass Donald, the group is now based in London but has distinctly Scottish roots.
November is also a busy month for special events