S H A D E S

ENTER THE NEW: The Second Hand Marching Band
words: Jamie Milton
Glasvegas have many faults. I don’t actually mind Glasvegas as much as others but their problem is that they paint a black, murky picture of just one city in Scotland. Problem being, many people might just associate all the stabbings, all the leavings of Daddy’s with Scotland as a whole. The Second Hand Marching Band however, a 22-piece chirpy triumph, from a variety of locations in the country but from Scotland as a whole, bring to light a different side to the country.

Not only that but TSHMB will also find themselves amongst a whole host of Scottish bands who’ll be abolishing the nasty reputation Scotland has musically at the moment; with every Belle & Sebastian there’s ten of The Fratellis, with every Franz Ferdinand comes a dozen The Views. But with Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Broken Records and now these guys, there’s a bit of a musical renaissance happening up there.

You might not have guessed it but the big bunch consist of members of as well as others, Dananananaykroyd and Q Without U, two bands who sound like a complete sonic contrast to the friendly, light-hearted smooth hymns TSHMB create.

Despite their size, they might avoid all the Arcade Fire comparisons poor Broken Records consistently receive, but the similarity to Beirut that many other bloggers cite must be getting on their nerves a tad. But it’s true. Instrumentally at least, and especially on their debut EP’s title track, ‘A Dance to Half Death’, it’s difficult to draw a line between the two. But essentially all that means is this lot can muster up something as beautiful as Zach Condon’s creations. And to add to all of that, there is a variety, particularly in the dark, minimal (considering the band’s size) effort ‘Not Yet’. Every track can vary in overall sound but each and every one of them will get to the very core of your heart and warm you inside, from start to finish.

mp3: The Second Hand Marching Band – A Dance To Half Death (zshare)

buy ‘A Dance To Half Death’, out now
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The Second Hand Marching Band @ last.fm

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G R A N D E Z

G R A N D E Z/ /

EP: Beirut – March Of The Zapotec
words: Jamie Milton
Just for the record, in case you went straight to reading this thinking we’d be reviewing both EP’s at once, that’s not the case. Here we’re solely looking at the first half of the double EP release.
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An instant comparison: with ‘The Flying Club Cup’ we were slowly drawn in with ‘A Call To Arms’, an easeful, perhaps purposeless 20-second opener. ‘El Zócalo’ sort of performs the same job only this time we’re welcomed by a fade in, which suggests that we’re interrupting things. Furthermore, it suggests that Zach Condon and his latest recruits had been getting carried away with themselves and someone finally decided to press record. Of course that’s probably not what happened but it’s an authentic enough half a minute to lure you into the cultured world of Beirut.

“So long, my fate has changed” declares Condon during ‘The Akara’, speaking on behalf of an unidentified ‘mistress’. But ultimately these words could be coming from the deep waters in the head of the man himself. Being to some extent presumptious, ‘Beirut’ as a project has been much more vulnerable since the release of the act’s second album. Condon, frustratingly revealed the difficulties in managing a huge band and taking them on tour with him. But hang on, here he returns with 19 brass-equipped men from Mexico, all swimmingly following Condon’s lead. Somewhere along this seemingly tricky journey, Condon found the situation of recording music on such a large scale, addictive.

‘March of the Zapotec’ feels more like a warming up than anything. ‘La Llorona’ can suddenly kick off into a bold frenzy all it wants, ‘The Shrew’ can sound as dainty and as jolly as it pleases, the eventual feeling you get is that surely, there’s more the man can give. What can you expect but more from a man so young, so committed to creating fine music with such consistently impressive final results?

6.5

mp3: Beirut – The Shrew (zshare)
[Buy 'March Of The Zapotec']

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