My Life As A Courgette (2017)

my-life-as-a-courgette
Meet the gang.

Childhood neglect and abuse are unlikely to be the topic of the next Disney animated smash. Even as Inside Out dives into the child psyche, they tend to avoid such unfriendly children’s fare. My Life As A Courgette has no such qualms. In the opening scenes, we are introduced to Icare (who prefers to be known as Courgette) leaving his alcoholic mother behind to live in an orphanage. There he and his new gang of friends, all of whom come from equally (if not worse) traumatic backgrounds, have to try and find a place in the world without the reassurance of family. It’s all presented in a delightful stop-motion style and Christ, it could have been a disaster.

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Gnarwolves – Outsiders

Us Brits do a hell of a lot of things right when it comes to music. Punk, metal and rock and roll, we have it all. However, if there’s one thing that America nails and we don’t, it’s skate punk bands who discover feelings and get all earnest on us. Which sounds like an insult but is intended as nothing of the sort. There’s something about America’s long roads and tiny towns that breed bands like The Wonder Years and The Menzingers that we just don’t have here. Or at least we didn’t.

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Colossal (2017)

Colossal-Day06_00462.dng
The joy of drunken ignorance.

If you took the hipster mumblecore of Noah Baumbach strapped it into a sports car and drove it at a 100 miles-per-hour into Godzilla, then the resultant debris would look a bit like Colossal. I mean it wouldn’t, Godzilla is massive so he probably wouldn’t even notice, but you can at least pretend to play along.

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Deftones w/ AFI

As AFI play to a fairly full SECC in Glasgow, you have to wonder whether they have been away for too long. Everything on stage sounds great. The Blood Album is their best album in a long time and songs like ‘So Beneath You’ manage to fill the cavernous room. Davey Havok’s voice is untouchable and as he roars through ’17 Burials’ it feels like they should be laying waste to the place. So, why does no one care? Most of the crowd are stood still, watching respectfully but with as much passion as an atheist who has been roped into Sunday service. It’s been eight years since AFI were in the UK and you worry that people have simply stopped caring. What you’re watching on stage suggests that this band can still be a big deal and ‘Miss Murder’ perks people up, but judging by Glasgow, they’ve got a way to go before the UK is back on side.

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Before I Wake (2016)

before-i-wake
Creepy butterflies, not moths, butterflies…

Sleep is a frequent collaborator with horror. From the long nights of Paranormal Activity to the boogeyman under the bed. The dark of the night when you are curled up in bed is often the moment when the spooks decide to play. Should you try to stay awake? Or would you rather not see what is coming?

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letlive

I’d love to know how many bands I’ve declared to be my favourite. From my early years when I couldn’t imagine not loving My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy to the fiery passion that Nirvana still raises in me. I fall in love with a different band on a near weekly basis, and the truth is I don’t have a favourite. I have a family of albums and songs that surround me and which make my life better. However, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I haven’t been introduced to a band in the last ten years that mean more to me than letlive.

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The Menzingers w/ The Flatliners & The Dirty Nil

Music to dream to would be a nice way to describe this particular tour. The Menzingers are on the road with bands that are perfect for long drives down American highways with the windows down. At least they feel like they are. As a resident of Scotland, it’s not a theory that I’ve been able to put the test. The closest I can come is seeing how they feel at the Oran Mor in Glasgow on a Saturday night. Spoiler, they feel pretty good.

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The Smith Street Band – More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me

The ability to tell a story through music is an incredible thing. There are millions of bands on the planet, but the number who can sit down, play a song and take you on a journey is much smaller. It’s a talent that turns good songs into masterpieces. It allows you, as the listener, to connect with them in a way that a good riff just can’t do by itself. And it’s a talent that The Smith Street Band have.

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