NEW MUSIC: Romance - Mast.

Summer may be almost over, but not before another killer song with catchy hooks makes an appearance. And this time it's in the shape of brand new one-man DIY pop band, Mast..

Mast. is the new project from Liam Rutherford, previously of The Darien Venture, whose demise this year saddened me greatly. It is most wonderful to see the members of the band beginning to take new routes in music and produce such quality anthems as this.

The track debuted on The Pop Cop's Music Alliance Pact for August, where you can still download it for free. As an opening salvo for a band, Mast. have started with a track that has incredible replayability, along with a brilliant video to go with it and a stunningly catchy tune that has all the elements of a summer hit.

It's been a brilliant summer, and year, for Scottish music and this yet another show of strength from Glasgow's music scene. I, for one, certainly cannot wait to hear more where this came from. Don't keep us waiting too long, Liam!

You can listen to Romance and watch the video below:

SINGLE REVIEW: Cheen - Dante

It is, or should be, a well-known fact around these parts that when Andy Monaghan (of Frightened Rabbit fame) is mentioned, my ears immediately perk up. Yes, sad but true. 

And to that end, I got an email recently for the fine folks of Dante, who have been working with Andy on their debut album due out in the autumn. As an album sampler the band have released the track 'Cheen', 3-minutes of alt-folk-rock fusion that is ear candy for all.

The track builds on the band's debut EP, featuring a sound that is more grand and a sign of things to come. As an out-and-out fan of folk in all forms, I was bopping along from the first listen and can report that the track has brilliant replay-ability. It's been on repeat a few times in the last few weeks whilst I have neglected this poor blog. If you're looking for a song that you can bop along to, as well as connect with on an emotional level then you'll find it right here. Certainly for a choice as an album sampler, the band know what they're doing.

I certainly cannot wait to hear more from these guys, and if Brazil Exists is anything to go by then Andy sure knows how to pick bands with bright futures ahead of them.

You can listen to, and download at your price, Cheen below.

SINGLE REVIEW: Deadpool - Shambles Miller

With a release announcement for the new generation by Vine, the new single by Shambles Miller immediately caught my attention. And it doesn't let down either.

The 2-track single features title track 'Deadpool' and spoken word track 'My Common Sense is Tingling', both which show Shambles' typical genius but in massively different ways. 'Deadpool' is the musically comic fare that we all expect from Miller but it's got a lot of heart too. If you ever need a song about comic book characters that manages to tread the line of being typically miserable Scottish music but can make you smile at the same time then 'Deadpool' does all this in a spectacular way. 

The b-side spoken word track is a stand against the fat cats, and a much more eloquent speech than many politicians can manage. It's a strong statement, but with the Shambles brand of humour too. A very worthy b-side that makes you respect the man behind the music even more than you did before.

You can buy 'Deadpool', in physical form complete with a comic by Neil Slorance (or just plain digital form), via Bandcamp. And you can follow Shambles on Twitter and Tumblr.