Ever since around 2007, there’s been an increasing move in Scottish music towards music that blends indie with traditional folk. There’s a fair few bands out there who churn it to varying degrees of quality, looking for those magic moments that capture the imagination of the wider public. One of the things about these bands are that they tend to capture a certain kind of magic on stage – it’s partly to do with the racket they make getting a response from the audience (there’s usually at least six and up to a dozen members in your typical indie-folk band) and partly to do with some of the tunes tending to hit certain emotional buttons (happy/sad alike) when you’re pissed at a show.
The problem is however, it rarely translates all that well to the recording studio, no matter how talented the musicians or how much of a genius is occupying the producer’s chair.
Broken Records started out as a three-piece in Edinburgh in 2007 but soon had expanded to seven members. They gigged relentlessly, working up a reputation as a more than decent live act. They released a number of low-key singles on small labels before inking a deal with 4AD in 2009.
There’s been two albums in the intervening period which, to my ears, just haven’t captured the spirit and energy long associated with them on a hot and sweaty stage. But I do have the debut LP on the shelf and this is from it:-
mp3 : Broken Records – If The News Makes You Sad, Then Don’t Watch It
It’s a re-working of their very first single.
Enjoy.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 