Resound Scotland: Art Of Privilege EP Launch, Maggie's Chamber 23/10/10

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

The quickly up and coming Fresh, "Scotland's newest music promotion service" is already making something of a splash in Edinburgh- I went along to check out their third gig, an EP launch for local grunge act Art Of Privilege (following their ESRE fundraiser at HMV Picturehouse in September, featuring Stanley Odd, Dirty Modern Hero, Jakil, etc... not too shabby!) Their decision to embrace relatively new gig venue Maggie's Chamber is pretty forward-thinking- it's a surprisingly great sounding wee place with a 300-or-so capacity, and has already proved to be fair competition with nearby, similar-sized venues Cabaret Voltaire and GRV. The tickets were reasonably priced (with all the money from sales going to the bands, I'm told) and sure enough, an impressive wee crowd had already formed by the time I arrived.

First on the 6 band lineup were local slightly-prog wall of sound rockers Deco Arcade, and the groove metal-influenced Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. The relentlessly gigging Supercharger presented the most recent in a series of lineup changes, with the addition of synth player Ben Glasgow, aka Fragile Chaos (whose tidy photographs you're looking at, cheers Ben) to their powerpop sound, which has become more and more developed both musically and performance-wise with each time I've seen them live.

A Fight You Can't Win's Matthew Bakewell.
(Photo by Ben Glasgow)

Having never heard them before I wasn't sure what to expect, but A Fight You Can't Win turned out to be one of the night's highlights. Awesomely loud, energetic and spazzy, they take a relatively straightforward handful-of-chords style and let it ride out on sheer passion and energy in refreshingly short, violent bursts. Underneath it all however, there's a clear ear for hooks and melodies that made the overall experience far more absorbing- rather than being smacked in the face by a copy of Land Speed Record over and over again or something. Standout tracks included Dead Lights ("It's about murdering women"), Glue ("I like to sniff it") and A Thousand Tongues ("It's like watching flies fucking"), all of which are on their 12-track CD. Singer Matthew Bakewell's stage banter covered all the essential areas, from killing and fucking bassist Paul Diamond's dad, to anal beads and getting handjobs off pigeons. Apparently they're trying to play Hogmanay- please, God, let that happen.

Jack's Big Break, next up, were in a very different part of the same ball park as AFYCW. Their style of fast punk rock drew more from an American, commercial perspective rather than old hardcore. The tracks were simple and punky but without the danger. They had no lack of confidence, however- Jack's Big Break clearly put a lot of effort into putting their live show together. Their showmanship was pretty admirable- they even had a solo section for each member. But I have to say, without trying to be a dick about it, they could do with focussing on their songwriting a lot more than simply their showmanship. Whilst their energy and confidence were quite infectious and charismatic, at the end of the day it felt as if their songs were secondary to the actual performance- which made the experience fun but unfulfilling, at least for me. The rest of audience, however, seemed to enjoy them- and they did a Rock Lobster cover- so I suppose at the end of the day, mission accomplished.

Art Of Privilege's Martin Gray.
(Photo by Ben Glasgow)

The night's main attraction was Art Of Privilege themselves, with a sizable crowd of dedicated fans hanging on til well after 11 to see their set. They began their set with one of their best songs, epic too-tired-to-fuck anthem Conflict. Not only an awesome song, but a good representation of exactly what AOP are about: widescreen, Pearl Jam size rock, drawing generously from early American grunge. What distinguishes Art Of Privilege from other such bands is, ultimately, the songs themselves. Rather than allowing themselves to remain indebted to the sounds they are so inspired by, Art Of Privilege take their influences and use them to craft songs that are great in their own right. Their awesome hooks, solos and choruses made an impression on the entire audience- seeing a band confidently roaring through a set of songs clearly written with real passion and enthusiasm never fails to win me over, regardless of where the music came from. Another standout for me was the menacing, heavy Alice In Chains-esque From Her Point Of View. The set also featured the slightly shaky debut of the swooning Time Flies, to be included on the upcoming EP. With soaring fan favorite Like Aviation following some tuning difficulties, the band brought a fun, well put together night to a heroic ending. I'll be reviewing the record as soon as it's out, and damn I'm looking forward to it.

Fresh are putting on a load of gigs in the months to come: if you're interested in playing one, you can contact Roisin at freshedinburgh@gmail.com: as well as checking out the Fresh Facebook page. Scrap Brain