This is one of my favorite bands. Chances are, they are not one of yours. They are easily one of the 10 greatest Scottish rock bands of all time1. But for whatever reason, they didn’t stick around. Maybe they were too early. Their most popular album, Foxheads Stalk This Land, was released in ’87. While it has a lot of similarities to what the Smiths were doing at the time, it really didn’t fit in with the mainstream music until a good five or so years later. I suppose that means they were ahead of their time. Personally, I discovered them by accident. I knew the name somehow, and bought the vinyl copy of the aforementioned album on a whim from a record shop. It sat on my shelf for quite some time, and when I finally listened it was magic. The jangly guitar, the great vocal harmony, the cool timing changes. It’s all brilliant stuff.
Without further hyping, for those unfamiliar – here are some enjoyable clips.
And a random but brief inteview:
- In the list, in no particular order, Close Lobsters, Belle & Sebastian, Jesus & Mary Chain, Snow Patrol, Trashcan Sinatras, Mogwai, Travis, Beta Band, Nazareth, Franz Ferdinand ↩