It’s late, very late, but I’m determined to write something before I sleep as tomorrow will be another full-on day here in Yorkshireland. Yes, I’m down again, long-time followers will be aware mid to late June is one of my annual trips. It’s ridiculously hot here, Saturday is promising to be 29Β°C, I’m melting!
I’ll be pooch-sitting for a few days next week, always happy to help out, just as long as I get away by Friday morning at the latest. Well, Jed & Nicole are at Whistlebinkies at 7pm, sooo, well, you know; Saturday afternoon sees the Scat Rats in there too, sweet, but it gets even better!
On Sunday 29th June Carl Marah kicks off another tour for the release of his second single Roll the Dice, this time in the Voodoo Rooms. After Edinburgh there’s London and Glasgow, then three nights on the trot, Ullapool, Inverness and Aberdeen, a fair bit of mileage there. I was kinda tempted by the Ullapool gig, but early July? The midgies will be out in full force, erm, it needs more mulling.
Then, mid July it’s time for the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, sadly there’s no Mardi Gras in the Grassmarket on the Saturday but the Carnival is back on the Sunday in Princes Street Gardens. I’ve had a ganders through the programme, noticed the wonderful Nicole Smit has a show on Wednesday 16th July in the Famous Spiegeltent (this year at St Andrew Square), nice. Her regular music buddy Jed Potts is in there two evenings later, along with the Hillman Hunters.
I was scrolling through the daily schedule on my phone and paused on Those Dangerous Gentlemen, hmm, just something about the name, and then the fact it was at the LeithDockers, yes, I was right, another pie for Mr Potts! A few weeks later he’s back at this year’s Fringe, five shows with The Blueswater and five with Nicole Smit all scattered through August, so plenty of chances to catch them.
There’s even more chances to see Nicole at the Fringe; she has 1 Gig, 2 Drams, for six nights (I’m intrigued by the song choices to accompany two whiskies!?), and Coven – Major Arcana Energy where the set list is chosen by tarot cards (as its a coven, Nicole is one of three spell weavers). She will also be singing at the next SoundBite evening at Leith Arches, along with Rue Marie and Ailsa & The Seahorses on Thursday 31st July.
It’s really late now, I must away to sleep, just one last thought, Carl’s new single Roll the Dice is released next Friday (Friday 27th June), why not pre-save it now? It’s a great song with an intriguing jaunty rhythm. Honest, you’ll love it!
Yay! Normal service has resumed on my telly! Well, I got a man in. New aerial and cable, apparently it’s a great view from the roof of my tenement block (not sure that will ever tempt me up there). I stayed inside and watched for the cable reel when he dropped it down the front of the building (in case there was anyone passing below!), the bit when he was more outside my window than in the flat, trying to put the cable neatly by the downpipe was unnerving, honestly, I had a strong urge to grab hold of his legs, convinced that he was going to tip right out! He didn’t.
I celebrated with a Strawberry Shortbread snacking bar I bought at the Farmers Market last Saturday from the wonderful Co Co Co. Oh, my goodness, Rob has come up with another masterpiece, they are divine! White chocolate, strawberry mallow and blondie shortbread with a dash of strawberry white chocolate for decoration. All those flavours and textures in every bite!! He’s a chocolate alchemist.
I thought I could do some clever twist there, something about music alchemists turning the same old notes, instruments and voices into a magical, awesome sound. Would you have gone with that or is it only me?! I googled alchemy in music for some validation of my thoughts, hmmm, yeah, no. So anyhoo, Awkward Family Portraits played the Speakeasy at the Voodoo Rooms a couple of weeks ago.
Pure gold, an enchanting, other world atmosphere! Their sound transports you on whims of fancy, a tour through a golden age Hollywood movie lot; there’s some soft shoe shuffle on one stage, a hoedown next door, a charleston, americano, every scene a gem with light and shade, wit and melancholy. The mixture of AFP‘s upright bass, violin and guitar along with Julen Santamaria’s very distinctive voice and the harmonies, all blended to perfection in the intimate setting of the Speakeasy. Oh, my heartses π
I floated out afterwards with a contented grin and a need to stroll in the Edinburgh night air. My meanderings took me by the Jolly Judge and through the Grassmarket, where bless my soul, if I wasn’t catching a faint strain of Babestation somewhere nearby! Ah yes, Mr Marah was in Maggie Dickson’s, I’ve never been in before, so obviously it was time I gave it the once over! Not really my style, but I liked it and the bar staff were great, and it’s always fun to hear Carl in pub singer mode. We had a wee chat in his break, then I headed home, er, via Whistlebinkies where The Full Kitkat were in full swing rocking the joint. Yes, one more for the road. Hey, as Friday nights go, it was up there.
The following afternoon I was back in Whistlebinkies to catch the Scat Rats but not until the around the start of the second set (it was a sunny day outside). Now I regularly turn up into the second or third song of the first Scat Rats set, which, by coincidence is often Babestation, a fact that had made Friday night’s encounter extra amusing to me; so imagine my complete surprise that I walked into Binkies and they were playing, yes, you’ve guessed it Babestation! They never play it in the second set, never. I was freaked, but not as much as them…
It being a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon, Binkies was dead, so the guys decided to have fun, mix things up, play whatever came to mind (wish I’d bloody turned up earlier now!) When I still hadn’t appeared by the second set, Carl jokingly suggested they play Babestation as it was a surefire way to conjure me up. Yes, they were more freaked than me when I sauntered in, hahaha!! I was treated to In The Morning (not played in ages), Give It To Me a Logan’s Close classic that I don’t think I’ve ever heard the Rats play before, and newby White Lies played at the last Logan’s Close gig ( I’ve put a reel on my Instagram with two very bad splices between the two versions).
I’ll leave you with one more picture taken on that Friday evening, the old Bank of Scotland building has never looked lovelier. Toodle pip!
And the world keeps turning – into what it’s difficult to say but it’s not looking very pretty right now, unlike Mr Marah who’s continuing to delight audiences across the UK with his Siren Song Single Tour. This week it’s been Birmingham on Tuesday, down to London town on Wednesday, tonight it’s Round The Corner in Liverpool, a circuitous route home! Next weekend he heads back up north to Inverness and then over to Ullapool on the west coast – if the weather’s good that will be a stunning drive! But for now, last week…
Last Wednesday evening Carl Marah took his solo show over to Glasgow, a venue called the Red Door Club. Put the name into Google and it takes you to a pub called The Old Toll Bar, a bit confusing initially (especially when you’re glancing through the details without your reading specs!) The pub itself is a real gem with the original Victorian decor and a good range of beers, while the club is down in the basement with a wee stage and walls covered with murals of famous Scots, though it’s a tad odd to have Billy Connelly constantly looking over a performer’s shoulder at you!
See what I mean? It’s a tad distracting
It was originally Julen Santamaria as the support, but he had to pull out (a shame as I’d been looking forward to seeing him playing solo), so instead it was one Adam Thom who I thoroughly enjoyed, a worthy replacement. A great voice, some cracking lyrics and a country sound, all nicely set up a warm vibe in the room; and after another drink up in the pub, it was back down for the man.
Really, I’m looking at this thinking, but what can I actually write about it? Yes, I know that sounds daft, but for me Carl’s music is so right, the sound grabs me, swamps me, defying me to describe it adequately. I can’t but here’s a few moose musings….. first off, his voice has such wonderful tone and timbre, occasionally reminiscent of Bobby Goldsboro. And when Carl performs You’re Always Right it’s like hearing an old Gilbert O’Sullivan song, sweet, quirkily honest with a teensy plaintiveness. Lost and Found would make a great second single, at least a studio recording (on an album?), it is rather scrumptious; Cat’s Eyes would be a fine edition to anyone’s driving playlist, especially in summer, hint, hint!
On a more serious note, Carl’s song 39 is his tribute to the 39 Vietnamese nationals who were found dead in a refrigerated trailer in Grays, Essex in 2019. Such a beautiful song, Carl’s poignant lyrics will still you, and the ending, the room paused, before a warm applause. How to follow that and bring the mood back up? A harmonica, apparently sales have soared since a certain recent biopic in the cinemas! And Mr Marah couldn’t possibly not play some blues, come on, so there’s I Don’t Wanna Love You No More (potentially an LC song when it was first written some years back, when the boys were beatniks) with some juicy, snappy lyrics along with some shredding.
A big favourite of mine is Stags and Hens another fine example of Carl’s lyric-writing, it may be based on Edinburgh pubs but the pictures he paints will be familiar in many towns (I did find that particular song popping in my head a lot as I walked around Newcastle on Saturday). Siren Song is like the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake by the end. Yes, this show is too good not to be seen a third time – I went to Newcastle at the weekend.
I’ve only ever been to Newcastle once before (passed through plenty times on the train), that was many years ago to see Stevie Ray Vaughan at the City Hall. Time for another visit, cheapest trains there and back, a bunk in a hostel, breakfast, just about sixty quid; oh, and Nando’s before the gig, sweet. Had a great time wandering round, admiring the architecture, browsing in shops, chancing upon Newcastle’s vampire rabbit. Yup, a vampire rabbit!! How have I not heard of it before?! How is it not famous, or infamous? Neither was I particularly aware that there’s a castle in Newcastle, well, the keep and gatehouse are still there, worth a look round.
Behold, the Vampire Rabbit!
The gig was in the Head of Steam a fine boozer close by the train station. Again, like in Glasgow, the gig room was in the basement. Support was AJ Potter, a good northern lad complete with flat cap and a pocketful of great tunes, one of which I’ve found on Spotify One Night, loving the studio arrangement! Interestingly, two other bands, from London and Spain, who had been due to play at a sister pub to Head of Steam were shifted over and played after Carl, four bands in one evening! The London band were good, a tad eclectic for me, they didn’t seem to gel right to me, they seemed to be off in different directions at times, but it was fascinating to watch. Unfortunately the final band had the drums way, way too loud which was a shame as the female singers/guitarists were all very enthusiastic and bubbly, it would have been nice to hear them.
It was another fine performance from CarΔΊ. This time it was the catchy World Keeps Turning that really snuck into my head, snippets of it still keep popping out! I love the in-between patter of musicians, when some bits will be almost word for word the same every time and other stories may be expanded on or cut to barely more than the title; this is the mark of a relaxed, self-assured performer, this is the Carl Marah who’s worked hard to get to where he is. The lad’ll go far.
It’s already the last Tuesday in February, whaaat! Not a late one tonight, well, not too late, no midnight rats at Binkies, a rather more reasonable half past nine at Stramash for The Scat Rats. They played that slot last week, naturally I went along, always a pleasure, but oh my, an extra treat – first track as the lads went off for a break, Siren Song! Blimey Charlie! Hearing it like that, totally filling Stramash, just intoxicating! I do hope it gets another play tonight; headphones are fine but through a powerful system in a large room is even finer.
For those unaware, new to my musings (where have you been?!) Siren Song is the debut solo single by Carl Marah co-founder member of Logan’s Close (Scottish psychedelic pop) and one half of The Scat Rats (edgy and dynamic). This is it, Carl has hung up his apron, no more frothing coffees Up The Junction (his mum’s cafe in Leith), it’s music all the way from here on in (in case there’s a biopic in some future year, can I be the first to say, it was a pivotal moment towards his destiny). He’s decided it’s high time that something be done with all his other songs (the nonelsie material), oh yay, even more Marah music, sounds fine to me!
So yeah, Siren Song was released on the usual music streams on Valentine’s Day and there’s also a cd of it available from Carl’s website – yes, of course I bought one. Besides the full studio version, the cd also has an acoustic version, an instrumental version and a wee chat about the song from the maestro himself. His inspiration came from a Roald Dahl short story The Landlady, a tale that spirals down from slight unease to sinister; the sort of thing Edgar Wright could re-visit with style, Siren Song would be the perfect motif through it.
Siren Song has a beautiful haunted quality to it, starting out sparse and eerie, it slowly builds and builds to a glorious, full-on mosh, then ends as it began leaving a feeling of melancholic despair. The production is excellent, such an atmosphere and Carl’s vocals will send a few shivers down your spine. Oh, and there’s a creepy video too, with a great narrative, do check it out.
And besides the single, the lad has a tour to promote it, already two dates in. Naturally, the first gig was in Edinburgh and where else could it be but Sneaky Pete’s, last Wednesday night. You could feel the love in the room! Carl regaled the crowd with the songs’ background stories; he really is a lovely guy, a gentle, unassuming soul with a quiet, easy confidence that’s quite charming. There’s vibes of country, some folksiness, and of course, plenty rhythm’n’blues throughout his songs, all bloody marvellous. The evening ended with Siren Song, and then the crowd called out for more, but what could possibly encore after that? Only getting Scotty out of the crowd to lend backing vocals to Babestation, hell yeah!
… And that was where I ducked out last night to see The Scat Rats, I ran out of time! Sadly no Siren Song in the break but it was a very eclectic mix from Ace of Base to AC/DC. This afternoon I’m off to Glasgow for Carl’s third show, it’s at the Red Door Club (thank heavens for Google maps). Yes, indeed, and why not? Possibly because I’ll see him again on Thursday night?! There’s a thing happening at Leith Arches with good sounds and good food; the sounds are definitely gonna be good as it’s Carl Marah, Jed Potts n Jon Mackenzie and TheMoanin’ Bones for a line-up! Yay!
Must dash, more later. Well, hopefully tomorrow. Toodle pip!
Errr, Happy New Year everyone! Yes, I know, it’s appalling, ten days into the new year, sorry! I’ve kept meaning to write something, but Gotham keeps getting in the way. I reclaimed my three season boxset from a sibling at Christmas; it’s actually impossible to only watch one episode I’ve decided. No matter how determined I am, it can’t be done. So I’ll at least start something now before I stop for tea and the Scat Rats at Stramash at seven.
It’s now only a week to go until the next full Logan’s Close outing at The Caves, yay. The last update this afternoon said there’s 20 tickets left so I doubt there’ll be any left on the night, just sayin’. On ticket sales, did I mention that the talented Mr Marah has announced a small solo tour, tickets now available? Well, more like quick darts around Scotland and England, so far; if anyone has a sweet local space where he could do his thang, just let him know, help him spread the gospel according to Carlos!
It’s a solo single tour – his first single Siren Song is coming out on St Valentine’s Day, five days before the first show at Sneaky Pete’s (where else!?). You could pop along to Carl Marah on social media and pre-save it, why not? And it turns out, my Instragram reel of Carl playing in the Auld Hundred in December is the Siren Song! See, I just know a great song when I hear it.
More music news, the band previously known as Ol’Times will be back over in Edinburgh next week. Now known as Amos Moses they’ll be supporting Edinburgh band High Fade on their UK tour, but before that starts Amos Moses will be playing in Whistlebinkies on Tuesday night before the Scat Rats at midnight, sweet!! Well, at least that’s what Binkies are saying, for now, you know why I’m a little dubious.
Why the change of name? A slight change in line-up, sadly Gabriele (singer) has moved on, it looks like Colm, guitarist and occasional singer has taken over on lead vocals. But will the new sound move me like the Ol’Times did? Gabriele was charismatic with a raffish charm, exciting to watch; Amos Moses will be a very different band. AC/DC after Bon, Van Halen after Dave, Marillion after Fish; for me, once amazing bands that then barely registered in my ears. But kudos to the band for the name change, it’s a good way to underline the fresh start. Yeah, I’m quite keen to see this new band!
Anyhoo, it’s getting on (did you spot where I broke off for tea?). I could just fit in one episode of Gotham before I turn in. I’ll leave you with my customary New Year Arthur’s Seat pic, my meeting a snowbaby as I headed back down, and Carl Marah‘s tour dates.
My slightly delayed start to the New Year
Even a slight smattering of snow and they appear!!
Wednesday night in The Jazz Bar was a blast, the Blueswater were out to have fun and spread some joy; after a long, very wet journey it was exactly what this moose needed. Great music and fiery ginger beer, much to warm the soul!
Yes, I’d been back down in Yorkshireland for a week, dogsitting and sorting through more of mother’s things. It’s not the clearing out that’s hard, a tad sad at times, yeah; it’s the siblings later airing their views on everything I’ve done, why, where, who did I ask?! And then there’s particular items that none of us personally want to keep, but neither do we want them gone, so everyone wants another to say they’ll have it (disgruntled airs all round). Mind you, sometimes a couple of days of mulling can help, feelings assessed and resolved; all part of the process.
Whilst down, I was also under instruction to not let the garden birds go hungry! (this will also be pointed out to whoever buys the house) Mother had two bird feeders in a little tree postioned in sight of the kitchen window. The view takes away the drudgery of washing up, it can also slow the job right down as one stands enchanted by the birds. There’s house sparrows, tree sparrows, dunnocks, a robin, the occasional blackbird, blue tits, coal tits, great tits, a whole gang of goldfinches (six or seven always turn up together) and a pair of nuthatches. I was leaving all the evenings washing up to do in the mornings (okay, so I often do, but this time it really made sense!).
a nuthatch, a regular guest
I had thought I’d be playing Christmas tunes on my journey back up, with it being December now – where Christmas music belongs. The inclement weather demanded something more exhilarating and brash to keep me going, so I stuck with my downward choice of Live Forever by The Screaming Jets. I’d grabbed it as something a little different as I was leaving the moose cave. It’s a 2 cd set but I mainly stuck to Part 1, let’s just say, I had all the words down by the time I arrived in the Old Town. I would recommend it as great Aussie rock, but it may be difficult to find as the band released it themselves back in 2001, then again, as it’s from a concert all the songs can be found elsewhere.
A couple of years ago I did my own take on an advent calendar, for the 24 days running up to the Logan’s Close gigs at Sneaky Pete’s, I put up pictures of Close signposts around the Old Town on my Instagram stories. This time I thought I’d have a look back at live music I’ve enjoyed through 2024 (I may make an exception of clips from previous years’ Blue Christmas shows, I reckon that’s allowed). Oh, if you want to check them out it’s @bruceonthefringe and they’ll all be in the Advent 24 highlights for later viewings.
Today’s door is yet to be opened, it is rather late but hey, that’s musicians for you! Today’s clip will be Carl Marah playing one of his own at the Auld Hundred a few weeks back; he’s just announced that there’s solo stuff on the way, so it kinda fitting. This is such a great picture of him from his post (taken by John Mackie), you really have to see it…
Who’s Winfrey? And is a Winfrey feel something I’d like?! Does Winfrey ask permission before he goes feeling around? I guess that would be an improper Winfrey feel. Anyhoo, it’s late Monday evening, I’m debating whether to go see The Scat Rats later in Stramash, later as in after midnight. I am still up and for once spotted Stramash’s Facebook post for the week’s line-up before Monday ends. See, despite the line-up poster for the month and the website both saying it’s the Gorms playing tonight, it isn’t, yet again it’s The Scat Rats, they’ve played the slot for a wee while now but I’ve either been away or not seen the Facebook post til too late. Okay, so the poster has a time when it has to be printed, so the odd change afterwards will happen, but what’s the excuse for not correcting the website, huh?
The lads will be back at Stramash at a very respectable seven o’clock on Friday, oh, and at Whistlebinkies tomorrow midnight. Should I stay or should I go? Will it be all bangers tonight or might they stick in a new number? Oh yes, there’s plenty of new LC tunes coming in the near future and the lads told me back at the end of September that they’d be trying some out at Scat Rats gigs, so far I’ve caught one (with being away so much). And did I ever mention the Logan’s Close gig in January? No, I don’t think I did; originally it was to be in December at Summerhall, but with all the problems ongoing there, the show has been moved to The Caves on 17th January. If you’re gonna be in Edinburgh then, treat yourself to a ticket for Christmas!
Also out and about with new songs is Mr Marah! Yes, Carl Marah has decided to do something with all his other non-LC music, watch this space!! And if you’re very lucky, you may catch the odd one during his solo sets around town. I happened to catch him in the Auld Hundred on Rose Street some weeks ago; it wasn’t particularly busy so he played about four of his own, and boy, they were good! The Auld Hundred is a fine wee pub about halfway along Rose Street, there’s often live music on from nine o’clock and an Open Mic night on a Sunday.
You know what? I’m just going to pop out a while! G’ night!
My inner night owl loved that! It feels so long since I’ve been in Stramash for the late night band, but tonight was a wonderful return. If you’re quick there’s a story on my Instagram. So glad I chose to go. Just do it!!
When I woke up on the 1st it was raining, oh I was so tempted to go back to sleep but no, and sure enough by the time I was ready to head out the rain had stopped. The proof of the pudding is in the picture….
Yes, that is a traffic cone on top of the trig point!
Yay, my New Year tradition completed again, no thanks to the high winds – I was lucky not to get blown over to Fife! My concerted effort to be up there relatively early (about 10am) paid off, the hordes had not yet ascended, probably still their beds. After the annual pic, I found a slightly sheltered spot in the rocks for my brunch (chicken sandwich and christmas cake washed down with whisky), just taking time to admire the view and exchange new year greetings with passers-by.
I mentioned in my last post that The Scat Rats were playing Whistlebinkies at 3 in the morning on the 2nd (or technically the 3rd), I didn’t make it. The soul was willing but my flesh and bones decided otherwise, a shame. And I bet you’re wondering how the LC gig went on the 29th – totally and utterly bloody awesome!! Mind, I wouldn’t have expected it to be anything less.
It’s been many years since I was last in The Liquid Room, nothings changed; nice that the stage has enough height to allow plenty of the audience a decent view of the band. There is a balcony round the sides and back, tempting (I’ve never been up there) but I’d got myself a good spot close to the front, so was fine.
The lights dimmed to four scattered spotlights, SeanKeys started playing the opening bars of Dans Le Jardin over and over as the rest of the band came on stage and readied themselves (to rapturous applause, natch); Carl next joined in with a lush guitar sound, followed by Scotty’s velvet vocals (and a natty new top he got for Christmas). And they were off!
The set for the evening was Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi in reverse order, so next up was the magnificent Mock Marble Linoleum, yes! Back for the evening was original bassist Ollie Turbitt (he’s definitely acquired some italiano cool), slotting in fine, obviously enjoying himself, sharing plenty of laughs with SeanKeys.
In the absence of Stu, Gavin picked up some of the harmony vocals (there will be four part harmonies in the future, I hear). Great that he was actually visible, and he is a drummer worth watching.
After the chirpy cheeriness of Merry-Go-Round the rest of the band left the stage to Scott and Carl for Calculations + Guesses. It struck me that by the end Scott’s body language seemed to be trying to belie the emotion of the song, distancing himself from it, perhaps? Next, our two troubadours took us way back to an early tune they wrote, very Beatlesque!
The rest of the band returned with two Logan’s Close classics, Lost In You swirling straight through into Give It To Me, what a night!
From there we plunged back into the new album and Curious Terrain, the other grand baroque opus (the studio version is powerful, live it loses none of the nuance and gains from a full-on performance from the band). From there on to the big guns, Babestation then Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi, gotta say this way round really works well live.
It was around this point I get fuzzy, I think it was after the title track that we were treated to a new song (called So Cold, possibly?), I remember a bottle of Buckfast appearing, Scotty saying something like “I’m changing it”, the band going into I Want You which seemed to throw Ollie and Sean a tad. Well, that all happened, though not necessarily in that order!
I do remember the evening ending with Hot Blondes In Your Area Tonight and the whole place going hyper. Oh lordy, what a grand evening! And what a way for LC to end the year! Can’t wait to see what happens next in 2024 β€οΈ
Oh, if you’re new to this blog, do yourself a favour and check out Logan’s Close on Spotify or wherever you listen to music, hear what I’m making such a fuss over (and see why on my Instagram reels).
“A polished studio album will surely be a wondrous thing” and how right I was! I wrote those words back in February last year in If you donβt ask β¦β¦(clicking on the title should take you to the post, should) just after getting my mitts on the Logan’s Close Live at LimbicTV CD. Checking back on that one, led to looking back at my other posts on the LimbicTV recording and on to playing the CD; then playing Babestation and Mock Marble Linoleum back-to-back with the new album versions (well, back and forth, forth and back, a few times – I was having fun).
Nine days and a trip down to Yorkshireland later, I wrote Driving with Elsie appraising the CD. Reading it again I noticed that Mock Marble Linoleum was now “pretty special” – back when I saw it performed on LimbicTV it was “fine but nothing special” (from my blog post So Close so fine). Well, I’d had a 400 mile return car trip to get into it! Now on Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi, it’s been buffed up, not quite so heavy, but richer; a perfect progression.
Babestation grabbed me from the very first – beautiful desolation, Carl’s lead vocals, then Scott’s velvet backing, blimey Charlie! Totally blown away! Much as I love the whole LimbicTV CD, this track stands apart (still), so how happy was I when I heard it would be on the new album (as Larry, Moe and Curly). Back in April 2021 I’d written “definitely put out this track, please, please, like this, nothing added nothing taken away”, well, in some ways they have. The soul and mood are the same, but OMG, the production takes it so much further (Dennis Rux really has the magic touch).
Lucky me, The Scat Rats regularly play an acoustic version of Babestation that sends me every time I hear it. Though mainly covers, the Rats always played a few LC songs, and now there’s the album to promote, oh yay, they spoil us! There’s clips in my Instagram reels, as much for my own keepsakes as sharing their brilliance with the world.
FYI, in case you’re brand new to my blog, The Scat Rats are Carl Marah and Scott Rough, the two founder members of Logan’s Close, and right now their album Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi has been out on sale for a week; it is on Spotify too, check it out do. The Logan’s Close Live at LimbicTV CD is not on Spotify but you can still watch the original on YouTube (it’s about two hours long – there’s plenty banter as well as music!) and the CD (just over an hour of music) is available on the band’s website.
Next post will be my attempt at reviewing Heart-Shaped Jacuzzi haha, it’s chuffing brilliant! Toodle pip!
Okay, so this isn’t a post, more a quick post-it note. By the time I press the Publish button the debut album by Logan’s Close will be released; that’s Heart-shaped Jacuzzi for those who haven’t been paying attention.
It truly is a thing of beauty, everything about it, I’m in love!! Oh, I’ve had the album since Tuesday late night at Binkies, I’ve had a few listens to it, well, maybe more than a few. I will wax lyrical later about it, I just wanted to say, I’ve got it and it’s extraordinarily fine, exceptionally fine, damn fine.
Yes, I have the vinyl and CD versions.
It’s a gatefold cover with all the song lyrics set out inside around a couple of smart photos of Scott Rough and Carl Marah. Oh, and the lads wrote messages to me in mine, almost brought tears to my eyes, no, I’m not sharing.
Bruce on the Fringe 