scottST

thanks camie, glad you enjoyed it.

im quite peeved to travel to aberdeen from buckie, just to play 25mins! but well, gotta take the rough with the smooth i suppose.

wait till you see us when theres a full crowd!!

who was the dude in the oh-so-cool donnie darko bunny thing?

my guitarist has that amp.

check the fan bit at the back. there are small black plastic caps over the screws holding it in place. his one was making an awful noise, it just turned out to be one of these small pieces of plastic which had dislodged and was being hit by the fan.

del, if you mean Franciso Ramirez (i think thats his name) from DB Records, you wont be seeing him, he got the sack last year sometime. He's currently unemployed.

i'd say matts better

not yet....keep an eye on the website, it'll go up when we get it sorted out.

www.noisepollutiononline.co.uk

i think its gonna be around 7/8, doors open at 7...hope to see you there!

we're on first, i know that much....i'll check the AUBL and get back toyou

thats a good idea, swapping reviews.

it means many good things for the local scene: -

1) Cd sales, which ultimately are the rise and fall of any band.

2) i would bet if i hadnt spoke to you on here Ian, you wouldnt know who Noise Pollution were - its always good for more people to discover your music, something i feel is lacking in Aberdeen, where everyone supports bands like Hot Mangu and Alyssas Wish. Its good to get some coverage.

3) other people can join in aswell, see what the fuss is about a cd, or rediscover them - ie Frosty saying my review made him want to listen to your music again.

its all good!

if you're interested Ian, we're playin KEF on friday next week, come along if you want, see the live spectacle? lol.......live reviews are also another thing worth posting for the reasons above.

i'm glad you liked the review, man...i wasnt sure how you would take it! i might put that review up on HUBL aswell, if thats alright?

you'll probably have to ask where our cd is too, i couldnt find it! if its sold out (for some reason i dont think it will be) get in touch and i'll have one sent to you....

thanks for putting it on Lofi, man. i appreciate it.

bring on our review!

Zakk Wylde, when hes doin Black Label Society. awesome.

And Matt Bellamy from Muse aswell, he does some kinda crazy shit while singing

that remix isnt bad!! i quite like that...

just take the review of the original and turn it sideways, slow it down, and itl fit the remix, lol.

but your version didnt scare me as much as the original, lol

thanks man, thats the first proper full review i've wrote.

feel free to use it on Lofi, Ian....

Ian Simpson Citizen Awake

-----------------------------------

To be honest, before I had read this thread a week or so ago, I had never heard a single song by Ian Simpson. I had seen his profiles on the AUBL and HUBL, and didnt know he was even on Aberdeen-music.com.

When I heard the song Soup, I had become a lot more curious to hear a little more by this man. I took it upon myself to go out and get me a copy of an LP of his, and so I got Citizen Awake from One-Up (after having to ask where the hell it was in the store, I couldnt find it in the local artists bit!), to add my bit to this feedback thread, the first review of a whole CD by a local artist.

The cd's cover is nothing spectacular - neither are most bands in Aberdeen. All it is is a photo of someones garden, and his own logo/album title.

The cd opens with the familiar and assuring chime of bells, A Bottle of red wine in the Park. The bells cease as suddenly as they had started, and were thrown into a very The Bends-esque melodic rock ditty. The varied mixture of guitar riffs, along with Ians distinctive voice, takes the listener into a slightly edgy world this opening song, despite its relatively cheerful sounding opening bells, brought me through several senses while listening first a feeling of optimism, the opening part is really rather optimistic sounding, a song about friendship possibly? (Im not good at picking up lyrics really, you could shed some light on this yourself Ian?) When he sings And then the phone rang. at the opening of the chorus, the song comes to life. Backing vocals come out of nowhere, it sounds like Thom Yorke himself is singing, no mean feat, amazing vocal work. The low-end keyboard/vocals (?) at the.never saw each other again. refrain give the feeling that this song is building up, and is about to explode but alas, Ian sticks to his guns, and a poignant and surprising finale ensues. (is that an xylophone at the end of that song?)

The second track, "April in Amsterdam" reminds me a lot of 2+2=5 by Radiohead at the start, looped drums, and a simple yet effective guitar arpeggio making for a strangely calm, level headed intro but then the arpeggios stop, and the chords are being strummed. It keeps going like this, then I was really taken aback here a guitar solo!! And an effective one at that. Just as suddenly were greeted with an airport announcement, and the sound of a fairground being looped backwards. Abrupt ending! He knows how to keep the listener interested. Predictably unpredictable indeed!

The third track, "Change from 3 Points of View" opens with a very Bono-esque vocal. Keeping low key, long lines and the strangest of strange synth noises in the background, its an unusual opening to a song. It then calms down and fluctuates into a good chilling rock song. He has a knack of creating good vocal refrains that stick in your head, well, mine anyway.

Track four is Ians answer to Fitter Happier by Radiohead, a collection of totally random things, a childish synth hook, and looped drums, along with his own ramblings over the top. "Spot the difference".his vocals remind me of Ewan McGregor's bit at the end of Trainspotting, he isnt singing here. Very weird...

"Wintersong" is possibly the most accessible song on the CD. The distorted drums, and simple yet emotional single riff being twisted by some wicked effect makes me think of things I miss, its a real emotional song. Its basically an instrumental, with Ian muttering warnings of someone who has gone missing in the snow. It halts abruptly in the middle of its build, its a Winter song, its Meant to be cold! as Ian, well, coldly puts it. When it restarts it sounds like a different song Queen-style keyboard in the background, building itself up to a distorted, messy grave. Much like the coolest effect in the world used at the end of Karma Police.

Far Off Cry is first song on this cd with a definite bassline, a double bass slowly plucking impending doom out of the equally doomed sound of the guitar/vocals. Its fantastic usage of his instruments. The thing I notice about all of Ians songs is the sudden changes in the middle of them this one has some kind of news report in the middle of it, followed by a short chant of Quick!! (tribute to a favoured local band possibly?) and the most unsettling bout of guitar playing Ive ever heard, its extreme and original use of an instrument not suited to noise like this. It sounds like a part in a horror movie soundtrack when the monster is chasing you

.This theme carries into the intro of the next song, "Snowfall", which makes me feel the same way. Very unsettling, then it calms down, becoming a song the Foo Fighters would be proud of although I must say the guitar playing here reminds me of Everlong a little .it doesnt detract from the song. "Snowfall" is another very accessible song on the cd; its a typical rock song, with drums and all. Theres not much thats out of the ordinary here. An accordion solo adds to the song, along with some distorted humming, possibly a kazoo, and the best vocal part in the album, reverb-ed to oblivion, a distant soul singing a poignant chorus. The keyboard and bass combo at the songs tail end give the song its possibly theme - like the passage from pain to peace.

This next song, Why I Ran in Fear of My Life initially scared the shit out of me; its a very very VERY potent mix of Spanish-style guitar, a cello, and random drum noises in the background. Its fucking scary. Its got a very international feel to it, the accordion riff swings us from Spain to Italy, and then back to home with some Coral-style old fashioned playing, the first time it appears on the cd. The accordion reappears; this song definitely has some kind of European inspiration. Brilliantly written. Id say this is actually the best song on the album.

Still two more to go I wasnt sure at this point if I wanted it to end. Track 9, "Tall Oak", isnt a song. Its a lecture on the fears of the death of trees, and how Ian wants to prove to scientists a point, involving a big tree which he intends to drop on them.

Time for the finale I was expecting nothing less than a big ending to such an epic cd. With a name like Its a Beautiful World, I would imagine something inspiring. I wasnt wrong. It is a perfect mix of a huge number of influences, while keeping Ians distinctive vocal and instrumental style. The song finished too quickly for my liking, unfortunately.

Id imagine Ian knows as well as anyone hes a very talented artist in a genre which essentially died a long time ago, and hes trying to breathe new life into such an exhausted area of music. The solo acoustic ballad is nothing original but what Ian has done to it, mixed it with elements of dance, rock, blues, and capping it with his own trademark random predictably unpredictable moments, has made it more original, made this style of music his own. It has moved me to compare his songs to such great pieces of work by artists like Radiohead, U2, and more dance related bands like UNKLE, etc, and his vocal talents to masters like Thom Yorke, Chris Martin, and Bono. He has a great singing voice which easily outdoes any other local vocalist (sorry guys, but he does) and an instrumental style, which he keeps to his own strengths and plays whatever instrument he wants in a song, and however he wants to play. This is a trait I respect.

All together, a job well done Ian

Best tracks Snowfall, Why I Ran in Fear of My Life, A Bottle of Red Wine in The Park.

Sorry if you think the review is shit! Im not great on huge reviews

Yeah not a problem, Ian, i'll download one of them tonight, possibly go get the cd tomorrow and write a speil about that.

Would you write a review of our EP for our website, or for Lofi, ours is on sale in OneUp for 2.

i'll go get your cd tomorrow, should have some kind of writeup within a couple of days, i reckon. i'll try me best, anyways.

cheers dude

scott

what the fuck?!!?

il have to hear some of this devin townsend nonsense, any recommended tracks?

where'dya reckon Dimebag fits in with the "League of extraordinary Metal Guitarists" over the page?

Originally posted by tv tanned:

There must be a hot chick with a good voice out there who plays the keyboards.

How hard can it be?

our singer....

she belongs to us. so there.

Zeppelin beat the lot easily.

nobody can compare to Queen though.

u able to download from the HUBL now ian? we've got another song on there, would you mind passing judgement on it? Its named Something...

i'll download a random other song of yours from soundclick, or perhaps buy a copy of your cd, it looks quite good, and do a write up on that? i'll see what i can do...

this thread is ace, you should try to become the AUBL's official reviewer type thing Ian....

y'all know we be still available...

you listened to the cd yet bri?'

if i bought a huge mirror and cut it, u reckon that wud work? lol

wait, found a place

www.customchrome.co.uk.....if anyone else is interested...

thats fucking cool....

well, second question....

what about scratchplates? if you've ever seen a live Thin Lizzy track on the TV or anything, Phil Lynott uses a Fender bass, with a mirror/chrome scratchplate on it.....you know of anywhere that could supply/make one of these for my Epiphone V bass? or a future purchase of a Fender....?

thanks a lot....

im gonna put ma bass into Bruce Millers or somethin to get ma machine heads sorted out anyway, somethings not right....i dont know enough about guitars to do it myself...

thanks for the advice, tav...appreciated.

I posted this in the All Music thing, not sure if thats the right place....

im looking for information on places that do custom finishes for guitars?

i want to make my bass a sort of shiney chrome finish....any information on places that do this sort of thing would be much appreciated...

thanks

scott