It's a big day in Scotland, as you may have heard. Citizens will be voting on whether to split from the United Kingdom or remain. It's been a charged few years of arguments on both sides of the court and initial estimates suggest the race is too close to call until voting comes to a close. We should know Friday morning whether Scotland will be the world's newest independent nation.
We're a music site so we don't mess around with politics much, especially when it's going down on other continents. Still, we feel it's worthwhile to introduce you to acts who haven't quite broken through in America yet (and may be concerned with finding a new currency come Friday).
Behold, in strictly alphabetical order, some of our favorite rising acts out of olde Caledonia.
01) The Amazing Snakeheads
Glasgow's The Amazing Snakeheads were on point when it titled its 2014 album Amphetamine Ballads. A) We suppose ballads written while on amphetamines would be way more intense that what any ballad should sound like. The album sounds like a garage rock band recording in the world's largest garage, with Dale Barclay's yowls echoing deep into the dark corners of the room, lit only by the electronic FX snaking along in the background. Good to hear garage bands that won't be accused of appropriation by Jack White anytime soon.
02) Atom Tree
Shaun Canning of Atom Tree strikes as someone who could make it on his own, but wisely brought on Julie Knox as a full-time vocalist. His production packs emotion in a way that many EDM performers can't: There are shades of grey, of bittersweetness, in a genre that's usually all-out exuberance or coldness (for more underground acts). Knox normally follows along with his lead well but unfortunately the more recent Tide of Thorns release doesn't feature her vocals.
03) Call To Mind
Somewhat ironic that Call to Mind's 2014 album is titled The Winter Is White as it sounds like a soundtrack for the emergence of Spring. "Breathe" is more than just a human bodily function in this case: Saplings and flowers seem to sprout from the snow while bright, atmospheric instrumentals follow Martin Ross's vocals to the light. That was our impression from an eyes-closed listen when the Inverness group dropped the album during April, no amphetamines necessary.
04) Paws
Paws prefers to keep things rough-around-the-edges, based on its 2014 release Youth Culture Forever. Songs remain relatively short, guitars remain relatively distorted and vocals remain relatively emotive (versus, we dunno, overarching commentaries on whether independence is a good idea). It's an effective strategy, don't get us wrong, but you can hear the urge to go bigger with album closer "War Cry," which rages on for nearly 12 minutes, tripling the length of the next longest track on the record.
05) Young Fathers
This is an act that's caught eyes in the UK if not in the U.S. based strictly on its nomination for the Mercury Prize. Scotland doesn't seem like the place for hip-hop to come from but hell, why should London? Young Fathers proves that Edinburgh can be just as multicultural, featuring members of Scottish, Liberian and Nigerian backgrounds. Accordingly, each has his own flavor when it comes to the actual raps, while "G" Hastings keeps it all together with his beats.
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