goNORTH Review

Share This Post

 

A review of Thursday night, the sixth of June, at goNORTH 2013, featuring Black International, The Broken Ravens,Algernon Doll, The Whiskys, The Enemies and Willie Campbell.

My first band of the evening was the Edinburgh two piece Black International in Black Friars. Comprising of Stewart Allan on guitar/vocals and Craig Peebles on drums their biog says that their aim is to create ‘stripped down raw pop songs’ and they achieve that goal in spades. ‘Sky is Falling In’ is available as a free download and cleverly marketed with a code available attached to a lollipop. Conversely they had a tape available, a neat juxtaposition of analogue and digital marketing!

Across the road in the Phoenix, The Broken Ravens gave Academy Street a rude awakening. The best band this side of Arnish Point ripped through a half hour set of loud rude tunes that soon attracted a curious and eventually very enthusiastic audience. BBC Scotland’s Vic Galloway was in attendance and they also seemed to attract a keen interest from a couple of roving record execs.

Lead singer and guitarist Bugsy had said to me earlier that he was blown away by the amount of attention they’d received in such a short time and they were appreciating the chance to show wider audiences what they’re made of. Newest song ‘White Gold’ is dedicated to a friend who got arrested in Ullapool for having a substantial amount of cocaine in his car and continues in their vein of uncompromising rock tunes.

Sticking to this end of Academy St it was another foray across the road to see Algernon Doll from Glasgow, the harsh critic in me felt that they left something to be desired, the singer was frequently off key and the guitar was out of tune for most of the set. However when he mentioned that this was their first ever live gig then they could most definitely be forgiven for the nerves getting the better of them. Strip away the tuning issues and there are the bones of some good indie rock tunes with decent hooks to boot.

Whiskeys thumb - goNORTH Review

The Whiskys thumb - goNORTH Review

The Whiskys were a last minute call up in the Phoenix after Ice Cream Cathedral from Denmark had to pull out. Kris was in ebullient form introducing the band members as Bjorne, Burgen, Jurgen and something else vaguely Scandinavian sounding in honour of the and they’d replaced, before spending the next thirty minutes having an absolute ball. I’ve reviewed this lot a few times now and so far they have yet to disappoint. ‘Dark Clouds’ was introduced as being a song about ‘a moody fucker I used to work with’ and set closer ‘Stay Lucid’ , their newest song in their latest incarnation, was perhaps an indication of intent towards a rockier harder edge?

I’d been an advised to check out The Enemies, an Irish pop rock outfit and another act touted as being the next big thing. Annoyingly the Auctioneers had decided to hem the band in with a group of tables, but left the rest of the dance floor free, a strange set up, but that didn’t prevent the band from putting on an energetic show. Pop rock in the vein of the likes of fellow Irishmen The Script, they play unashamedly bright and chirpy tunes and the fact that they are young and good looking means that chances are your kids (and your mum!) are going love them. ’14 Missed Calls’ proved they have a cheeky side to them, whilst the chorus ‘you know she’s crazy, she’s a crazy bitch’ won’t win any Ivor Novello awards, it raised a few cheers in the bar. Latest single ‘Smile’ was given an airing and a nice touch is that any proceeds from the sale of the single are going towards the charity Down Syndrome Ireland.

Willie Campbell thumb - goNORTH Review

Willie Campbell from Lewis has previously played with Astrid and has also collaborated with Kevin MacNeil on the album Kevin MacNeil and Willie Campbell are from Outer Space. Not to mention being the lead songwriter for The Open Day Rotation. He’s another artist that puts loops to good use (see also: Duncan Overmeer) and sings songs with real passion and verve. He went down well in the Mercure and had strong support from fellow Lewis artists The Broken Ravens and Colin Macleod .

You can see our other goNORTH 2013 coverage and please if you like what we do be kind enough to sign up to our Inverness Gigs mailing list.

A notefrom the editor

Support live music in Inverness by supporting IGigs! For over 10 years, IGigs has been showcasing the best of the local music scene through previews, reviews, photographs, and more. But maintaining the website incurs costs, and your support can help keep this invaluable resource alive.

Toby Stainton
Toby Stainton
I've always loved music and spent my late teens and early twenties playing guitar in various bands on Lewis and Aberdeen. Other than playing in some truly terrifying pubs in Aberdeen not much came of it and life became focused on family and having a 'proper' job. Inverness Gigs is an outlet for me to quell my inner frustrated musician and the caliber of local acts has even inspired me to take my own music more seriously again. Who knows, one day I might venture back on stage under the fierce scrutiny of an Inverness Gigs reviewer! You can contact Toby direct at Toby@Igi.gs

What's new?