A NIGHT of top-class slacker pop comes to Glasgow’s Old Hairdresser’s next month when two of the best names in the resurgent genre play together.
Borne from Glasgow’s ever-fertile DIY scene, The Bellybuttons will use the gig to launch their long-awaited debut album Practice Maps, which was recorded by Chris McGrory of Catholic Action at his Shady Lane Recording Studios.
That name is a reference to a track by 1990s slacker heroes Pavement, a notable influence on both The Bellybuttons and Savage Mansion aka Craig Angus (left), who also performs at the gig.
Angus, who started making music under the name Poor Things, is a key figure on Glasgow’s under-ground pop scene, helping various bands and hosting gigs in the city. He formed Savage Mansion as an outlet for his wry songs, which are delivered in a lax speak-sing style not unlike Pavement’s frontman Stephen Malkmus or late Fall legend Mark E Smith.
Live, Angus is backed by a revolving cast of musicians, including members of Catholic Action. Just last month he released Savage Mansion’s debut album Revision Ballads on the respected Eigg label Lost Map. The record also features the vocal talents of Martha Ffion aka Claire Martha Ffion McKay, a rising Glasgow-based songwriter just signed to Turnstile – home to the likes of Gruff Rhys and Cate Le Bon.
Angus says the self-funded record, which was recorded at Chem19 with Jamie Savage, was mostly recorded live.
“I’m a big Neil Young fan and really wanted it to have the energy and honesty of his work – so the emphasis was on capturing the best live performance, ropey vocals and mistakes included,” he says, noting how former drummer Taylor Stewart came up with the title of Revision Ballads, a joke based on a Spotify playlist.
“If you sit with something for a few weeks and don’t hate it, that’s a good sign,” Angus says. “The whole time we were tracking there was a whiteboard full of astonishingly terrible album titles. Gracias Por La Musica was the working title for a long time.”
In January, Angus launched Underachievers Club with his musician pal Siobhain Ma of lo-fi popsters Happy Spendy.
Though he and Ma are “playing it by ear for the moment”, club nights, collaborations with charities and even a record label may result from the new project, he says. Underachievers Club, which hosts a night at The Old Hairdresser’s on May 10, is influenced by the inclusive ethos of Lost Map.
“One thing I’ve always really liked about Lost Map is that it’s a broad church. The events attract all sorts of people, from all age groups,” Angus says. “We also want to provide more opportunities for people who’re under-represented in the community.”
Opening the show will be The Lawnmower, “two bad boys on their best behaviour” who make dreamy, sun-glinting electro.
April 13, The Old Hairdresser’s, Glasgow, 8pm, price TBC. www.facebook.com/savagemansionband www.facebook.com/zebellybuttons www.facebook.com/underachieversclubglasgow
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