As we mentioned last week, The Phantom Band just played their first ever US shows at the CMJ Festival in New York and they’ll now head down to Atlanta to join Frightened Rabbit on tour. Those dates are below and Vic has more on Sparrow and the Workshop in Italy:
Sparrow and the Workshop in Italy
by Vic Galloway
Surely one of Scotland’s finest bands nowadays, Sparrow & the Workshop have delivered 2 excellent mini-LP’s followed by a full long-player ‘Crystals Fall’ leaving everyone awe-struck. If you’re not aware of them yet, they pull together disparate elements of Indie, Country, Punk and more freeform, almost Jazzy grooves that sounds more and more unique with every new release.
Lazily you could compare them to PJ Harvey, Throwing Muses or Violent Femmes in places, but the melodies are possibly even more direct than by those aforementioned artists. As the vocals cut through with staggering dynamics, this is a band that can break your heart and make you want to scream and holler… sometimes in the very same song.
Their songs are becoming more complex and yet more accesible as time goes on too, and I for one can’t wait for LP number 2 soon. Jill, Nick and Gregor have a synergy and telepathic tightness to their live shows these days after near constant touring and recording. As they continually improve on their already hugely adept songwriting skills and vocal harmonies, the interplay between musicians in great. If you’re lucky enough to be in Italy this week, go and see them. And have a listen to the new single ‘Black to Red’ on Distiller Records for proof on how good this band is!
Also on tour this week: Average White Band, Hostage, Isobel Campbell, Frightened Rabbit, The Phantom Band, Biffy Clyro, and The Vaselines.
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Download Sparrow and the Workshop in the Dear Scotland Shop:
Sparrow and the Workshop – ‘Black to Red’
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GgNBkJROKc
Scotland on Tour this week
[scotlandontour_thisweek startdate=”20101025″ enddate=”20101031″]
Photo Credit: Sparrowpromo