Glasvegas (Yet Again)

Let it be known that if there is any band that deserves to dominate 2007, it's Glasvegas. I've written gushingly about them before and hope you took my advice at the time. Now, fortunately, they have blessed us with a clutch of quality "Home Tapes" demos. Originally available on their Myspace page, you can download them here as well (lest they disappear there).

On an impersonal note (and to convince you of their greatness), here are the ingredients:
1 - Singer/Songwriter James Allan has the talent, looks, and swagger of Joe Strummer in his prime.
2 - They deliver the freshest take on Rockabilly and Doo Wop in 50 years while using the genre as medium only, not some desperate grab at an easy scene.
3 - Pile on top of that influences as menacing as Suicide (listen to that percussion in "Daddy's Gone" for instance and you will see that the stand-up drummer girl is about 1/10th Moe Tucker and 9/10th Martin Rev's primitive drum machine) while being as sweet as the most classic of ballads ("Flowers And Football Tops").
4 - Though the music may pull you back to the 50s, the words and vibe couldn't be more dialed into the realities of today ("what kind of way is that to treat your wife? / to see your son on saturdays, what way is that to live your life?").
5 - As I'm sure you realize, I could go on...

On a personal note (being convinced of their greatness), these tunes make me want to be a better person, to call the world on their crap more ("win, lose, or draw the fight / this bullying has got to stop tonight") and to be a better dad (2007 brought my first natural kid, but there are two under my roof that I consider mine). If these lyrics (to "Daddy's Gone") don't make you want to be there for your kids, I don't know what would:

how you are my hero / how you're never here though
remember times when you put me on your shoulders / how i wish it was forever you would hold us
right now i'm too young to know / how in the future it will affect me when you go
you could have had it all / you, me, and mum y`know / anything was possible

i won't be the lonely one, sitting on my own and sad
a fifty year old reminiscing what i had

forget your dad, he's gone

all i wanted was a kick-a-bout in the park / for you to race me home when it was nearly getting dark
how i could've been yours and you'd be mine / it could've been me and you until the end of time
do what you want, when you want / be as insincere as you can
what kind of way is that to treat your wife
to see your son on saturdays, what way is that to live your life?

i won't be the lonely one, sitting on my own and sad
a fifty year old reminiscing what i had

And then there is the beautiful and yet utterly sad "Flowers And Football Tops". To quote the band, "The title of the song reflects a tradition in Scotland (and arguably the rest of the UK) where if someone (young) dies before their time in a violent way or through a tragic accident...flowers and football tops are laid at the scene of where they met their end. Football (Soccer in the States) is a integral part of life here and this explains why football tops are left at the scene...a sort of reminder that whatever team you support...everyone is together at that moment showing their support for the person who has passed away. The song however is written more from the mothers perspective of hearing the news that her "son isn't coming home tonight"".

babe… why you not home yet?
baby it's getting late / i wish you would be home by now
door bell rings / who could it be at this time?
police on my left and right / my son’s not coming home tonight

baby, they don’t need to show, its over, i know, i know
baby, they don’t need to show, flowers and football tops, i know

Anyway, I've loved these guys since the first note I heard and I can't wait (hopefully) for a debut album this year. In the meantime, I highly recommend you check out their debut single now available for digital download here.

A belated Happy New Year to you. It's been a crazy and amazing one for us thus far. Be good.

Glasvegas - "Flowers And Football Tops" (Home Tapes Demo).
Glasvegas - "Whitey" (Home Tapes Demo).
Glasvegas - "I'm Gonna Get Stabbed" (Home Tapes Demo).
Glasvegas - "Daddy's Gone" (Home Tapes Demo).

Myspace | Website | Buy The Digital Single!!!