After enjoying another tasty meal from The Hug and Pint’s ever delightful kitchen we pop downstairs in time to catch a bit of Jargo, who delivers a bare set full of charming little acoustic songs which compliment their general misery with pleasant touches of humour; this set was billed as ‘intimate’ I’d be interested what a full band might offer.
Having caught a few of Hamish Hawk’s songs in passing I was totally not expecting what I got today, on record his songs are wonderfully written and his voice stands out in charming sort of way, but his live set is delivered with such driven energy and slanted humour that it’s hard not to love.
Hawk dressed in a full suit is a charismatic frontman, punctuating his songs with full on facial expressions and disjointed yet hugely comical chat, while his band, the New Outfit, bring it all together in a powerful performance that’ll see this guy do very well.
Earths step up to the challenge of the night too, delivering their intriguing shoegazy indie material with a real punch that elevates their sound from record.
The dynamic between the two vocalists is a real engager for their set as mellow indie, even folk touching ,vocals and shouts that meander towards emo without becoming cringe worthy merge that with their loud lo-fi instrumentation to give something that really works.
Mt. Doubt is an act we’ve had our eye on for a while and new single ‘Afterglow’ is another example of Leo Bargery’s warm infectious songwriting and almost goes as far as matching triumphant previous single ‘SOAK’, which essentially made many stand up and take notice.
Tonight Bargery and his band provide an indulgent set with a full on indie rock sound that calls to mind moments of The National’s huge live sound, Bargery’s commandingly gruff delivery harmonises wonderfully with Annie Booth’s softer vocals, and Booth’s addition to the seems to be something more permanent since she featured on ‘SOAK’.
There’s an album out very too, also released by tonight’s host Scottish Fiction, and if what we hear tonight is anything to go by in could be something special.
Words: Iain Dawson
Rave Child 