Wednesday, October 19, 2011

New Sounds of Scotland-Part 29: The Hardy Boys; Beerjacket; Run Lucky Free


The Hardy Boys are a Scottish band enjoying a rebirth. Originally formed in the mid-80s and considered part of the jangly C86 scene. The band disbanded in 1990, but interest in the band remained strong. Newly reformed, the current lineup consists of Johnny White, Paul McArthur, Derek Mullen, David McArthur and Kat King. Their music is a brand of literate pop shared by their fellow Scots Wake the President and Camera Obscura. They have released an EP named Under the Piccadilly Clock, on October 24 the LP British Melancholy will be released by Bubblegum Records.

I wish I could tell you more about the songs that will be on the album, and perhaps embed of few so you could evaluate it. But the websites for both the band and the label are devoid of track listings, and there doesn't appear to be any videos that are attributed to album tracks yet. However, I won't let a little thing like the absence of concrete "facts" deter me. First, we'll examine the first incarnation of the band by listening to "Send Me A Sign":

You also could check out the '80s version of the band by listening to "Wake Up Sleepyhead" on Spotify. Next, we'll listen to "Seascape", which also is an older song but this performance is quite recent. I think it shows that the band can still deliver the goods:


"Fifteen" and "Wonderful Lie" are old songs as well. Several of their old songs, including "Fifteen", are available for an inexpensive download on the band's Bandcamp site, which is linked below.



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Artist page at Bubblegum Records website



Beerjacket is Glasgow musician Peter Kelly. He is an English teacher whose brand of alt/folk/pop has been compared to Elliott Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins, and has drawn praise from Kristen Hersh. When you are looking for something a bit less raucous, but genuine and thoughtful, our friend Beerjacket is your man. Earlier this month he released his fine debut studio album, White Feather Trail,

This is a live performance of "Blood Roses", the opening track of White Feather Trail, filmed for Lloyd Meredith's Peenko Sessions:


My favorite song on the album is "Fresh Legs". We have a live version filmed for the Rokbun Sessions in the overpass for the The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre


If you like that taste of Beerjacket, you can stream, and buy, the album at the Bandcamp site here:


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Run Lucky Free was formed in 2008 by musicians from four different areas of Scotland who met while attending college, the band now is based in Edinburgh. Consisting of Rachael Cormack on vocals, Daniel Crichton on guitar, Sam Dick on bass and Fergus Costello on drums, the band has a great rock-edged indie pop sound with great female vocals. They rightfully have been tipped as a band to watch.

The "Factory" single was released this month:


Denim Skyes" was released earlier this fall:


Here is a live performance from about a year ago of their song "Colours":


A set of their music from Soundcloud:
Denim Skyes - Electric & Acoustic EP's by Run Lucky Free

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