Comments on: The Festive Fifty! Wherein Tart Is Caught Soliciting (again)… and Withered Hand’s Good News reviewed

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:03:33 +0000

Good grief! 2008! How time does fly. I could have sworn that it was out very early this year. I am getting older than I thought…

By: Tart

Tart — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:35:05 +0000

Alas, Matt, 2008!!!! Oh how I tried to justify sneaking it in tho xox

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:31:58 +0000

Wonderful to see the might CTA riding so high (not quite Top Ten yet though I notice!) but where on earth is Hymn #101 by Joe Pug?!?!

By: Tart

Tart — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:05:00 +0000

feeling very smug there, aren’t you, Mr. Tom!?!

By: Rampant Chutney Consumerism

Rampant Chutney Consumerism — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:25:56 +0000

By: Euan

Euan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:48:41 +0000

Stumble upon him Agnes. He’s the best thing happening inEdinburgh if you ask me.

By: Agnes

Agnes — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:05:49 +0000

Ok, so I’ve heard about Withered Hand over at the domain of Toad of course, but I’ve never gotten around the checking them out properly. This isn’t Toad’s fault, I’ve just always been busy listening to other stuff and whatnot. I had to listen though when you named them at the top of your Festive 50 and after listening to it 5 times on the way to work and 5 times on the way home again, I think I understand why! The man certainly has a way with words. Actually off to buy the album I think, there’s nothing like heading out to your mailbox at the end of a long hot day to find a CD waiting to be explored!

Thanks Tart!

Oh, and ‘creaky and trembling’ has to be the best and most apt vocal description I’ve read in a good while.

By: Euan

Euan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:12:33 +0000

Don’t be jealous. But if you want to be jealous, I am playing badminton with Matty Cancel the Astronaut tomorrow night. How rock n’roll is that!? I do love living in Scotland where the scene is so vibrant at the moment.

As for WH. It’s No Cigarettes all the way for me. Not for fucking reasons. But I love that’s your reason for Love in the Time of Ecstasy! Like I said on my site. Dirty Midden.

By: Tart

Tart — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:17:16 +0000

Well, fuck it all, why haven’t I heard this Shooby/Cammy version!!!!??? What kind of friends are you people? Honestly. And I really did have to puzzle over which WH song to pick because I love “No Cigarettes” too but there’s a certain private reason (to do with fucking of course, you knew I couldn’t keep anything private, right?) for “Love in the Time of Ecstasy” and then I had to weigh out the other two and oh…. so agonizing and could I really put three songs on the list, eeek? Oi!

But yeah, the drums when they come in on “Love in..” wow, so perfect, eh? And well, what can we say, Euan? We have excellent taste, ha! But I can’t tell you how FUCKINGJEALOUS I am that you hear this and Meursault and eagleowl and Cancel the Astronauts and all the others that I’m forgetting in Edinburgh on a regular basis, you jerk! So there, that makes up for the mushy mutual admiration society that we’ve started, xoxo

By: Euan

Euan — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:01:24 +0000

Did Neil, Dan and Cammy (Les Enfant Bastad) not write it together, hence the 3 different versions? Anyways, I don’t really love Dan’s version of it on the EP because of all the bleeps and clicks added. Hearing it the other night though with just guitar and cello it sounded excellent.

Not to get all mushy but I tend to think of you when I’m writing reviews, cause most of the time I know I’m writing about something you’re going to get well into, if you’re not already into it. Listening to Fieldhead (Paul from Glissando) right now and think you’ll dig it. Will post soon about it. Actually, as I was writing this, ‘Love In The Time Of Ecstasy’ came on your player and merged into Fieldhead’s electronic madness. If I was a DJ I’d be all over that doing the remix!

Anyways, what I’m not sure about is how somebody can be so honest and open lyrically yet retain credibility. I think Dan’s lyrics are about as honest as they get. What a fabulous lyricist he is though. And I do think that along with the quality of the songs, it’s the quality of his lyrics that shine above all else. ‘No Cigarettes’ is without doubt one of my favourite songs of the year if not ever. I absolutely adore that tune partiuclarly the words. And I love the intelligent use of instrumentation on the record, like when the drums come in on ‘Love in the time of Ecstasy’ or the drums on ‘New Dawn’. Ultimately I could go on and on and on about this record forever. It’s the humble nature of Dan and the open honesty and humour that underpins this record that I love. I said to him the other night that I still needed to buy the physical product (only got the download) he responded by saying “just buy the ringtones”…..and what I love, is that he probably wasn’t joking.