Let the Rain Come Down / Down, Down, Down

[box]Lucy Hansen[/box]

I came to Glasgow for rain. Rain gets me, covers me, I like how it drips down my neck and onto my chest. It’s the scourge of the vain; making every hairdo frizz and makeup bleed. Although, even rain-fashion appeals; the swish of un-natural fabrics, the clash of a rain jackets’ primary palette.

Glasgow is good at rain, it does every type: thin, hard, cold, torrential … everything apart from tropical. I even saw some kind of glistening swirling rain this morning; little sparkling tornados of moisture being blown upwards reflecting the single shaft of sunlight that broke through the clouds.

I guess everyone wants to be in some kinda club, from the one eyed zealot football fans to the red, yellow and gold of the rastafarian movement (notoriously passionate about sunshine). Well if I have to pick team colours, mine would be gray scale and Glasgow’s got every shade of grey.

So I hope you boil in Barcelona or wherever you’ve planned you wee trip this year. I’ve no tan and no summer plans. Give it to me grey and overcast Glasgow, I’m your biggest fan.

To celebrate this, I’ve put together a selection of tracks you can’t dance too, that don’t sound good in the park; songs to stay inside too and just watch it fall. Songs when you’ve nowhere to go.

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Magic Eye – Japan (Self Released)

soundcloud.com/magic-eye-1/magic-eye-demo-j

Edinburgh-based tumblr babes with some woozy, submerged guitar pop music. Just imagine that snare hit is a fat dollop of moisture and the eerie hollow vocal will do the rest. Its got something of the Bambi soundtrack about it too (i.e. April Showers).

The band were last seen in a karaoke bar after their last Glasgow show singing Shiny Happy People and Man in the Mirror, can we expect the same on the next tour with Nite Jewel? Lets hope so.

A. C. Marias – Drop (Dome Records)

youtube.com/watch?v=NVxcE5oF24A&feature=related

A moody bassline drenched in reverb pulsating for the first two minutes, this one takes patience, so ctfo. Sounds like the track was recorded in a big empty factory, everything soo far away and distant, just mounting echoes of what’s present. Recorded in 1980 and still giving. Aye, I suppose a pun could be made with the song title fucker.

The Downs – Swamp Song (Winning Sperm Party)

soundcloud.com/howtomakesushi-recording/goblins

Taken from their debut album Spare Ribbed, they’ve described it as “a dark crumbling mountain of gothic pop”. It serves as a reminder why pale skin should be preserved and has remained revered since that A.C. Marias track was made. The album is limited to 100 tapes, so you can pick it up with some extra hiss if you fancy.

Sagat – ESC (Wanda Group tourism removal version) (Vlek)

soundcloud.com/vlek/sagat-esc-wanda-group-tourism

Don’t be fooled by the Marimba, this is end music: cold, processed and unreproducible. A Terminator.

Stefan Blomeier – Eyes of Edinburgh (Self Released)

soundcloud.com/stefanblomeier/eyes-of-edinburgh

Compressed, wailing synth work from the imaginary Dane. Stefan, based in Dundee, certainly embraces the darkness of every synth he collects. No kick drum necessary.

Contre-Attaque – Ignorance Touching on the Future (Weltschmerz Industries)

soundcloud.com/necessaryoslo-1/sets/contre-attaque-ignorance/

Abandoned sci-fi/philosophy inspired ambient-techno project, created by former luminaries of Norway’s 80s dark-wave underground (which also spawned Bel Canto and by turn Biosphere). This demo cassette was recorded for R&S in 1991. Nothing like rejection circa grunge-era amiright tumblr!

Mogwai – How to be a Werewolf (Xander Harris remix) (Rock Action)

soundcloud.com/justin-sweatt/mogwai-how-to-be-a-werewolf

The bastards of misery themselves reworked by Texan synth commander Xander Harris, who’s garnered a rep for turning out some excellent remixes this past year (Soft Metals et al.) and this one doesn’t disappoint either. The usual format of a Mogwai tune, e.g. holding down more keys as the song progressing is subverted. Turning the track into a dark little disco number with some heady percussion, turning the guitar flourishes into something you could expect to hear on Cybotron’s first record.

Mogwai have announced they’re putting out a remix album, titled “A Wrenched Virile Lore” which will feature remixed versions of tracks from “‘Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will’. More contributions from Tim Hecker, Zombi, and Cylob to come.