My monthly Patreon subscription to the Creeping Bent Organisation has given me all sorts of joy this past year, offering up all sorts of goodies, including exclusive tracks, previously unreleased live recordings, video footage, press cuttings, photographs, prose, poetry, and the occasional nugget from the past which turns out to be completely new to me.
One such instance of the latter is Bricolage, a Glasgow based band who played, recorded and performed in the latter half of the first decade of this century but who completely passed me by, especially given the fact that I should have caught them live a few times given the calibre of acts they were supporting. In my defence, I was caught up with all sorts of things at work when the band first emerged, while I also spent a spell living in Toronto when I lost touch with the local scene. Here’s their story, lifted from the Patreon site:-
” BRICOLAGE : 2005 – 2009
Graham Wann : Vocals & Guitars
Wallace Meek : Vocals & Guitars
Darren Cameron : Bass & Backing Vocals
Colin Kearney : Drums
Bricolage existed in a time period where Glasgow was recalibrating to the feel and vibrations of the Postcard Records label aesthetic, particularly Orange Juice. The scene was alive with groups for whom the art school was a second skin, groups like The 1990s, The Royal We, and Bricolage. The 1990s signed to Rough Trade, The Royal We signed to Domino, and Bricolage signed to Glasgow label The Creeping Bent Organisation.
Bricolage started playing live in some of Glasgow’s seamier environs at the tail-end of 2005, perfecting their louche and stylish uplifting pop prior to releasing their debut single ‘Footsteps’ on Creeping Bent early in 2006 on white vinyl 7”. The world was introduced to Graham Wann’s quivering vocals with ‘Footsteps’ selling 1,000 copies on the day of release before being deleted by Creeping Bent.
By this time the group were fending off offers from major and independent labels, but decided to release a second single, ‘Looting Takes The Waiting Out Of Wanting’, in the summer of 2006 on the Fantastic Plastic label. This was swiftly followed by Creeping Bent signing an agreement with Memphis Industries for an album, largely down to being fans of the label’s artists The Go Team and Field Music. Bricolage chose ex Altered Images guitarist Stephen Lironi to produce the album from which a debut single, ‘The Waltzers’, was released.
The release of ‘The Waltzers’ is where the drama unfolded when Wallace Meek left the group the day the single was released, which resulted in a crisis of confidence within Memphis Industries regarding releasing the album. A decision was taken by the group to continue, and the album was released by Creeping Bent in 2009 to serious critical acclaim.
Bricolage supported an array of artists; Franz Ferdinand, Fire Engines, 1990s, Long Blondes, and even Sun Ra’s Arkestra. The group had a collage-oriented aesthetic, mixing an early Roxy Music / Eno approach mixed with pop art mixed with Iggy’s Berlin period mixed with Postcard Records, resulting in a heady potion. A final single was released in 2009 (‘Turn U Over’), another Graham Wann song, before the group came to natural full stop.
The eponymously titled album has just been re-released, on CD and in download form. by Creeping Bent. Here are a couple of its highlights:-
mp3: Bricolage – Bayonets
mp3: Bricolage – Turn U Over
If you like what you’re hearing, then feel free to click here, which will link you to the bandcamp page where you can have further listens and maybe spend some cash on a CD or the downloads.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 