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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) |