Broken Chanter is David MacGregor, on his lonesome, or accompanied by an array of very talented musicians. MacGregor spent 2007-2017 as the principal songwriter of Scottish Alt-Pop darlings Kid Canaveral - a band that could get you to dance, laugh, and weep all in the space of a set. Their Debut LP Shouting at Wildlife was described by The Herald as 'a Scottish pop classic that should be mandatory in every record collection in the country', with follow-up Now That You Are a Dancer being nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2014.
A light-hearted raconteur and heavy-hearted singer when accompanied by just a guitar, and a whirling dervish of noise and melody when fully electric, MacGregor released the eponymous Broken Chanter to critical acclaim in September 2019 (A stunning, stately debut - The Skinny). It is a record which paints an emotional and expansive soundscape with a distinct sense of place, that showcases MacGregor's ear for melody and dexterity at tugging heart-strings.
With touring cut short by - you guessed it - the COVID-19 pandemic, MacGregor sat in his home, freaked out for a bit, then dusted himself off and set about writing a new record. The resulting Catastrophe Hits was recorded and produced by Paul Savage at Chem 19 and is a bold, thrilling and hopeful kick-back against creeping fascism, disaster capitalism, and humanity's apparent death spiral. Featuring a stellar cast of musicians (Audrey Tait, Jill O'Sullivan, Graeme Smillie, Bart Owl, Man of the Minch, Gill Higgins, and Ali Hendry) and jam-packed with hooks and humour, Catastrophe Hits is an album filled to the brim with sharp pop sensibility and sublime gentler moments.
Both are available now on Olive Grove Records and Last Night From Glasgow.
Poster Paints are Carla J Easton and Simon Liddell. Two beloved Scottish musicians who orbited through the same thriving music scene, Carla as an award-winning solo artist and member of TeenCanteen and Simon as part of Frightened Rabbit and Olympic Swimmers, who were introduced by Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee of The Vaselines. The pair seemed destined to collaborate, yet the musical outfit they created happened purely by chance.
The band released their debut single 'Number 1’ last year, the track was described as 'reverb-splattered, riotous guitar melodies and supercharged vocals with jangle-pop primacy' (The Line of Best Fit) and received extensive play from Marc Riley via BBC 6Music, BBC Introducing and BBC Radio Scotland. It was released on vinyl postcard for Record Store Day, with both tracks supported by Creative Scotland. They followed with a surprise release EP ‘Blood Orange’, a brace of headline shows and support slots with Belle & Sebastian, Admiral Fallow and Teenage Fanclub. For a duo who found each other almost by accident, the immediate connection to their music from peers and fans alike more than suggests that Poster Paints were always meant to be here.
