SCOTTISH rockers Twin Atlantic return to Belfast's Limelight this weekend and Ross McNae, the bass player, tells me that it's one tour date the band are particularly looking forward to.
“We had an amazing gig the least time we played in Northern Ireland so we're all really up for the show this time round. It's great when you have memories of a city and a venue that stay with you for a long time and even though Belfast is so close to Glasgow geographically we just don't get over as often as we'd like.
"We've made some very good friends with people from Northern Ireland over the years so I would say it is a real home-from-home gig for us. We loved doing Belsonic too and it was great to get out and about and actually take a stroll around the city. It's a really nice vibe over there.”
This time Twin Atlantic come armed with a killer new album, GLA, which in my opinion is far and away their best to date. I put it to Ross that the track You Are The Devil, with its Bowie/Iggy feel is not only a top song but a turning point for them – and promises to be larger than life in a stage setting.
“You Are The Devil is a really important song for us because I actually think it shaped the entire album. It was one of the first songs we wrote for the new material and something just clicked into place. As soon as we got into it we knew that the whole record was going to be a much more edgy and energetic piece of work than our previous ones."
Ross also feels that GLA is a much more true and representative record than the band have attempted to make before. If that's the case, truth works well for them as the record is filled with high-powered highlights.
“I think we were being honest with ourselves more on this album and made the record we wanted to make, you know? Perhaps in the past we felt the need to be slightly more commercial and maybe dilute what we were doing in order to try and gain mainstream appeal but now we're making the sounds we totally want to make.
:: Twin Atlantic play the Limelight on Sunday December 11.
BACK AND BLUE
THE new Rolling Stones album is finally here and finds the band strictly confining themselves to their classic Blues roots. The prospect of Blue and Lonesome had been teasing fans for over a year, with the official word from Team Stones heralding the record as a no-nonsense return to the bands earliest influences.
Perhaps it was going to be a blues-tinged rock 'n roll record (let's face it – almost every Stones' album has worn that T-shirt) or maybe just a less commercial outing compared to the likes of Bridges To Babylon or A Bigger Bang. However, Mick, Keith,Charlie and Ronnie have been true to their word as well as their roots.
Blue and Lonesome is a dirty, edgy, minimally produced album of bluesy and boozy songs that could have been recorded in the 60s. Even when digital streaming, this album sounds like you can hear the vinyl crackles. I love it.
