Ampersand


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Ampersand
King Tut’s Glasgow
Glasgow has its new found fame as the city that gave birth to Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol among others, but has this fair city found a new band to add to the ever-growing maternity of rock?
Ampersand play some ball-burstingly great 70’s-retro-rock-come-emo-come-nu-metal-come-Glamorous-indie-rock-and-roll songs - with the brilliant ‘Devil & I’, an anthem in waiting.
This 5-piece are fronted by probably the tallest front man in music since the Green Giant‰‘s disastrous attempts to start a band with the Poddington Peas. Incidentally, singer Paul may well be aware of his monstrous height when openly singing “I am not a monster” on the aptly named ‘Monster’.
Although, just because he may be a “monster” it doesn’t mean that he has no feeling or soul. As the saying goes “Lyrics are skin deep” (ok I know it’s beauty that’s skin deep but you know what I mean).
‘Devil & I’ is littered with great lyrics like “sold my soul to the devil at the crossroads” – a song about growing up in Glasgow – which builds to the roof raisingly, uplifting chorus – “ Son, what you getting yourself into”.
However, ‘State of the Nation’ – a song about the U.S political race – failed to impress this Glasgow crowd with poor adolescent lyrics, which fail to deliver on every level – “ Look at the state of this nation, let’s sharpen those knives”. Leave the bush-whacking to Green Day please.
But with a lead guitarist, who is quite frankly Slash with ginger hair, it’s easy to forgive.

(Jamie Crossan)