This week Vic has more on Orkney’s Erland and his Carnival who will be playing in Barcelona and Madrid this weekend. Other Scottish gigs abroad this week include Hud-Mo in Berlin, Glasvegas in Sweden and Mogwai with Errors in the US of A. Full details below:
Erland and the Carnival in Spain
by Vic Galloway
Based in London but fronted by Orcadian Erland Cooper, the Carnival are a band that creep up on you. Initially I wasn’t totally blown away by their debut self-titled album, but as I listened closer I was hooked by the melodies, arrangements, lyrics and odd time signatures therein.
They’re a band that manage to bring together elements of 60’s psyche, prog, folk, country and indie with more sonic surprises than many other bands have in an entire career. Singalong choruses, slinky guitar lines, fairground organs and off-kilter grooves all throw up images of a bygone era that simultaneously seems so utterly fresh today. It’s a sound that’s out-of-step and proud… To me, that’s where most good music of any genre resides.
Having seen and interviewed them at SXSW, I was also bowled over by their charm and dedication. With 2 albums under their sleeves – the new ‘Nightingale’ LP is great – they could easily become the secret treasure in your collection. Check them out live in Barcelona and Madrid and marvel!
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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnyWsJwc7xg
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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y64uO9d8XmQ
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Scotland on Tour this week
We are in the process of reworking the ‘Scotland on Tour’ database at the moment, so for the moment head over to www.dearscotland.com/scotland-on-tour for the full schedule this week.
Photo Credit: sanneglasbergen