EMPTY SPACES, MASH HOUSE, EDINBURGH, APRIL 24 2026

Irish rockers on tour. Poster running order not entirely correct. Still, a wildly assorted range of stuff on the bill.

LINE-UP:

PAEIZI: Something a bit unusual to start us off - a fusion of western metal and Iranian classical sounds. Plus an ALTER BRIDGE cover. Things were running a bit late and the sound man tried to cut them off after only 3 songs. They were having none of it. Crowd unreasonably chatty.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/JomiMqpONcY   https://www.instagram.com/paeiziproject/

RETROSKEPTIC: Local youths playing a kind of indie/alt rock. There isn't a video for them, as my sound recording was terrible. Very popular with a certain section of the crowd, one of whom attempted to 'break dance', with only small success. Not, to be entirely fair, my cup of tea, but good luck to them anyway.

https://www.instagram.com/retroskeptic.band/

EMPTY SPACES: Technically, this was their gig. From Northern Ireland, playing Edinburgh for the first time. Sturdy old-school twin-guitar rock. Pretentious rating : 0/10.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/7O6nrIdGaB4  https://www.facebook.com/emptyspacesuk

SCARRED LIP: Local alt-rock 'veterans', topping the bill despite the running order on the poster. Featuring, for the very first time, their new drummer and bass player, and a guest appearance from former drummer Edwin, now on guitar.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/D3yCV0HgCNU   https://www.instagram.com/scarredlipband/

STRANGEFORMS FESTIVAL, DAY 2, BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS, APRIL 19 2026

 Something to do in Leeds on a Sunday...

Line-up:

THE SOUND OF MODESTY: Something gentle to ease us into Sunday? Not a bit of it! TSoM's perky J-rock/indie-pop blend cuts nicely through the hangovers.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/VugNSclu50U   https://www.facebook.com/thesoundofmodesty

PEACH: Excellent post-punk from, I think, Bristol, featuring Ellie Godwin of IN VIOLET on vocals. I would've bought a CD from them, but they don't seem to deal in such out-dated technology.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/0LCL81STBhw  https://www.facebook.com/wearepeachbanduk

TAYNE: Bumped up the bill because COWBOYY got held up in traffic. London industrialists, any resemblance to HEALTH is totally co-incidental. They're really good, but hard to photograph, bathed in red lights as they are.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/n9QEcxdStn8  https://www.facebook.com/tayneband

COWBOYY: Here at last. Worth the wait, though. Ridiculously talented super-widdly math-rock, pedal boards the size of Belgium. Huge fun.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/Hl2LiM0Z7y0   https://www.instagram.com/cowboyyband/

SHAKING HAND: More math, but math of a completely different colour. This is progressive, chin-strokey math. It's equally excellent, but in  a very different way to COWBOYY. Less dance, more think.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/oGF9BolFHZw   https://www.instagram.com/shaking__hand/

SUGAR HORSE: And now we step away from math-rock. Far, far away from Math-rock. Sugar Horse are explosive, devastating sludgy post-metal. Their guitars sound absolutely feral. They are colossally loud. One of my very favourite bands. I wish they could play for longer.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/9B6kom0xcHA   https://www.facebook.com/sugarhorseruinedmybirthday
 

KOWLOON WALLED CITY: My microphone has barely recovered from the battering by Sugar Horse, and now the poor thing has to endure KOWLOON WALLED CITY's brutal sludge assault. Californians stopping by after a Euro tour, they are phenomenal. I knew nothing of them before this, but I shall proceed to correct that forthwith.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/ngK0QTCi244  https://www.facebook.com/kowloonwalledcity
 

DARKHER: So happy to see DARKHER here, as her show in Edinburgh not long ago was cancelled when the tax-man shut down the venue (BOOO!). Haunting, delicate and doomy, utterly beguiling. A special way to close the fest. Also, not that it's particularly relevant, but she has SPECTACULAR hair!

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/Nr1Kb8JCX3Y   https://www.facebook.com/DARKHERMUSIC

Thanks to Stewart, Kerry and the StrangeForms crew for everything. See you again next year.

RIFFS'N'SPLIFFS, BANNERMAN'S, EDINBURGH, APRIL 20 2026

I will have just returned from StrangeForms in Leeds, only to head out again for this. I think that my wife will be questioning my sanity but It needs to be done.

Interesting choice of date, by the way. 4:20... Heh!

Line-up:

TELEOST: Glasgow based doom duo. Very, very loud. Guitarist driving 3 amps with one instrument. Showing off, really.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/oXcmWa05Lvc   https://www.facebook.com/teleostband

SKRAP: Thrash/punk combo from Falkirk, wherever THAT is. First broken string of the evening.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/Eg4DExsL49w  https://www.instagram.com/pureskrap

HIGH NOON: Cowboy doom. Yes, really. Yee-haw. Also, the second string break of the evening. Same side of the stage, too.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/Hh8Cas0zX1s  https://www.facebook.com/highnoondoom

ROBOT DEATH MONKEY: There's nothing I can say about RDM that you don't know already.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/noBVso9rrKk  https://www.facebook.com/RobotDeathMonkey

FROGLORD:  Swampy amphibious doom. With masks.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/hc43rNlUPOQ   https://www.facebook.com/Froglordband