I'm happy to announce the launch of MBV , a new website bringing together Said the Gramophone, Fluxblog , Large Hearted Boy , Catbirdseat and Chromewaves - ie, five of the eldest, creakiest and most consistent musicblogs. All of our sites are syndicated there, but there will be additional content - including contributions from Matt LeMay. We're not entirely sure where MBV is headed, but we hope you'll head over there and help us turn it into a site for intelligent & passionate discussion. --- It was nice to visit Edinburgh [...]
Wha??? The new Mix / Podcast is up a day early ? How often does that happen? Never, that's how often. What's more, I also brought the Archive of Old Mixes Which You Can No Longer Listen To up-to-date. Anyway, here's the mix for those of you too lazy to click on the mix link over there: The Shedding Path - The Lord Dog Bird The Furnace - Meursault Strange Overtones [...]
Hello. I really don't have much time here since I shouldn't be away from my revision books with my impending exams but I thought I needed to tell you that Meursault 's excellent album Pissing On Bonfires / Kissing With Tongues gets an official release on Song, By Toad Records in a couple of weeks. I'm fairly certain this is the only decent release remaining this year, what with all the biggest pop acts and greatest hits coming along for Christmas and I know it will get lost and ignored which has happened to great artists before [...]
I was introduced to Meursault , by Matthew at Song, By Toad , who liked the band so much that he decided to release their debut album, Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues, on his own homespun record label . After a few days of listening, I can easily see why the Edinburgh, Scotland band inspires such passion. They certainly have one of the most distinctive and unique sounds that I've heard this year, mixing traditional Scottish folk sounds of banjo and ukelele with glistening electronica (I've heard it called "folktronica"). In addition to the band's [...]
You know it never occurred to me that Meursault's band name would prove so tricky to spell, but first the BBC and now Mojo magazine have managed to spell it incorrectly, and both in different ways. When they were played on Gideon Coe last week they were on the track listing as Meuersault, and now their brilliant review in this month's Mojo starts with them being referred to as Mersault. God knows how that's going to affect any of our potential sales, but I hope we don't have too many people give on looking for a band that [...]
I don't know if anyone else feels this, but it seems to me that really good records are few and far between. I don't even mean great records; just good ones. By good, in this context, I mean a record that can stand up to repeat listening and that delivers on all fronts - technical ability of the players, the quality of the songs, the production values, everything. Sure, a new album can impress on first listening, but does it still sound as engaging ten or twenty listens down the line? Sadly, the answer is often no. [...]
In advance of the official release dates for Song, by Toad Records things there has been a slow and steady trickle of good news from the media outlets to whom we have submitted our stuff. We just found out last night that both Stuart Maconie and Gideon Coe have played songs from the Meursault album which is, frankly, fucking brilliant. Is This Music? have given both Meursault and eaglowl records fantastic reviews, so massive thanks to both Ed and Brian for those. [...]
For those of you who missed it, Toad favourite Samantha Crain has been making telling us about the progress on her new album, over on this thread about Arizona . She has this excellent news to deliver: We've finished our full length album "songs in the night" and right now it's gettin' all nice and pretty (mastered, artwork, pressed, etc)…the official release date for it will be April 28th but i'm sure we'll be getting to a copy to review before then. Bloody marvellous is all I have [...]
Welcome to another week tending the fertile pastures of Edinburgh's gig scene for shuffling indie kids. I'm working flat out to get the Sparrow session done for this week's podcast so beyond tonight I will be hiding in the house for most of the week, I'm afraid, probably swearing at the computer and cursing analogue technology for being so fucking shit and chewing all my tape of the session. Frustrating. Really, very frustrating. Still, I think we have time for one last session this year, but I will be renting a digital camera this time, [...]
Meursault -'Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues.' (Song By Toad Records) Wow . Not content with writing a fine blog and having some of the Scottish Capital's finest bands round for sessions, Song By Toad has set up a record label. And damn it, everyone's favourite reptilian blogger has done it again. Not content with releasing the rather good Nightjar EP, SBTR have released one of the year's finest albums. Damn you! Meursault have been plying their trade around the capital for a while now, and as their lineup has taken a while to [...]
Whilst I am not especially determined to spend my time on this blog shilling for other people's enterprises, this is pretty last minute so emergency measures are called for. It also involves two of my good friends, so I'm afraid you'll have to be tolerant. This very Monday, yes the 10th November, the excellent Samamidon will be playing at the Bowery , supported by an acoustic set from Meursault . So to my friend Campfires & Battlefields who introduced me to Samamidon I say thrprprprprbb! See you there, folks, with [...]
It's been a while since the last Toad Session, but this one is a bit good and thoroughly worth waiting for. Meursault's debut album is one of my favourite of the year, and their acoustic set is easily as good. This is the first session to be held in our house too, which brought its own challenges and then some. Mrs. Toad's preposterous cat makes an appearance at one point, and the videos look very, very, erm... green? Blue? Whatever fucking stupid colour it is we've painted our living room. Anyway, the recordings [...]
When you see a lot of bands who are unsigned, promising, vaguely decent, whatever you want to call it, then when you see a band who genuinely are the business it becomes really quite obvious. When you see two in one night, then you know you're on to something good. Basically, these two bands need to have much higher high points than being on these rather low-profile pages, and I am confident that they both will. Both bands are taking rather different approaches - Meursault had their fingers somewhat singed by the music industry quite early [...]
I am not leaving the house this week. Instead I am going to be locked in my sweaty little internet den (or the 'editing suite', if you want it to sound a bit less grotty) beavering away at session videos. I couldn't resist a little leak of one of the Meursault recordings here though, but that's because the whole thing is coming together really nicely and I am just plain excited. And the Festival ends this week as well. Would you believe I haven't done a single show this year, not one. I mean, [...]
I'm sending heartfelt thanks out to Jez today, for turning me on this morning to Edinburgh's Meursault , who are sort of like a slightly happier version of Xiu Xiu, and to whom I've been listening all day. ::: Meursault - The Furnace :::
Well it's August, it's the much-vaunted Edinburgh Festival and there's... well, frankly, fuck all on as far as I can tell. Honestly, if it wasn't for the Retreat Festival I would be officially christening this the Shittest August in History in terms of Edinburgh gigs. The tail end of last week, with Eagleowl, Broken Records, Johnny Flynn, Sparrow & the Workshop and Noah & the Whale, was pretty much the pinnacle of the Festival calendar as far as I can tell, and my stinking hangover is largely the result of enjoying it all just a [...]
[I was unfortunately too busy to attend this gig myself because I was at home compiling endless lists of bloggers to pester with promo copies of new Edinburgh releases, but Dylan was able to attend and has kindly written this review. Apart from making dubious comments about Rod Stewart's gentleman's equipment, Dylan is also the drummer in Uhersky Brod and the offical photographer of the Toad Sessions, and it's really nice of him to volunteer to write this review. Enjoy...] Regrettably, I missed Ross Clark. I blame Lothian Buses and [...]
It's a bit crowded with interesting things this week, with everything kind of happening at once, making it a little difficult to decide what to go to. Then there's always Mrs. Toad of course, who has the selfish habit of complaining when I spent every night of the week out doing musicky things, the unreasonable old bag. We're off on a big holiday shortly too, so there is a fair bit of organising to be done and so far I am not proving particularly adept. Ah well, organisation was never a strong suit, but I guess [...]
After the excitement of last week it is with just a little bit of relief that I announce that there is pretty much fuck all going on in Edinburgh this week. Phew. I might just stay in and finally catch a bit of the football on the telly for a change. Would you believe a [...]
This is just a brilliant, brilliant album. I don't know what it is about the Meursault sound that I love so much, but there's something in the combination of scratchy, back-of-the-cupboard-in-the-ne xt-room electronica and the reckless chimes of the banjo and ukulele that just makes me crazy. Then there's the pace; the music [...]
Said the Gramophone
The Catbirdseat
A Little Electricity
Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good
Song, by Toad
the Eaten by Monsters blog
17 seconds
Music Singles Chart #109
Family of the Year - "Diversity"
I’ll Just Leave This Here #161
