GASGIANT, SNEAKY PETE'S, EDINBURGH, NOVEMBER 1 2026

 Back from the dead!

Line-up:

STUART HONEYMAN: A very nice young man with a guitar. Songs about relationships, good and bad. Nice to see a singer/songwriter who's not entirely miserable. I'm intrigued by the long song about an old lady that he didn't play, though...

No video this time, because the Sneaky Pete's air-con ruined my audio recording.

https://www.instagram.com/stuarthoneymanguitar/

LUCID LIARS: Rather fine robust indie from Inverness. Influences include, apparently, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, which I get, and JOY DIVIDSION, which I don't. Thanks to singer JO for handing me a CD after the set.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/n6T8vdtAv4w   https://www.facebook.com/LucidLiars

GASGIANT: I first discovered these post-rock/slo-core lads many, maybe 12, years ago, after they had ceased to be. Which made me sad, as I quite reasonably thought that I'd never get to see them play. And now they're back! And they're MUCH louder than I expected. Strangely, though, my audio recordings needed absolutely no tweaking, which pleased me immensely. Hard to photograph though, in the fog and murky lighting.

VIDEO HERE:   https://youtu.be/x6Cmd1vtgaI   https://www.instagram.com/gasgiant.band/

So. Worth the long wait? Absolutely.

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR, GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART, OCTOBER 17 2026

A post-post. And the reason I couldn't go to the second night of that black metal thing in Edinburgh, as mentioned in the previous post.

Line-up:

OTAY:ONII: Solo performance project of Chinese artist LANE MINGYU SHI. Visceral, electro/industrial/cabaret/jazz/metal. Amongst other things. She plays what looks like the biggest keytar ever, or maybe it's a regular one and she's just very small. She also makes electronic noises by twisting a thing that looks like a flower on a coil of metal tubing. As you do.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/UFiYcCXAJHE   https://www.facebook.com/Laneshiotayonii

CASPIAN: Taking nothing away from the other artists on the bill, this is the real reason I am here tonight. It has been far too long since CASPIAN were here, and I was NOT going to miss them. And they are glorious. Post-rock of the highest order - delicate, beautiful and crushingly hefty. Thick smoke and hostile lighting only enhance the show, even whilst making it very hard to take photographs.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/GcKK3yk8bsw   https://www.facebook.com/CaspianTheBand

AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR: Did I say CASPIAN were hard to photograph? ASIWYFA take it one step further. Smoke, lights, AND hyperactive musicians. Now can legitimately be called 'veteran' post/math rockers, they've been kicking the shit out of stages over the world for bloody ages. They rip through a set culled from the whole of their career. They've got nothing new to promote, so there are no great surprises. Until...

They come out for an encore and leave us with 'The Voiceless', a song from their very first record, one of my absolute favourites, and one that I believed I would never see played again. 

Somewhat unfortunately, I managed to fuck up the audio recording to some degree so the video below is not without its issues, but it is what it is and I'm happy that I got to get a record of that song.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/TuU6eAUjQrY   https://www.facebook.com/andsoiwatchyoufromafar

RIPCORD 2, NICE'N'SLEAZY, GLASGOW, OCTOBER 10 2026

 Back for another round of heaviness in Glasgow, It's RIPCORD FEST #2!

Line-up:

DUTCH ELM: Superior post-rock from Newcastle. A gentle start to the day. Except when they get LOUD.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/6S8sKamEK7k   https://www.facebook.com/dutchelmne

KOBA: Atmospheric post-metal all the way from Norwich, nice mash-up of gentle and crunchy. Mostly, to be fair, crunchy.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/_qvqIpY2qNw   https://www.facebook.com/KOBA.fb

KAKIHARA: Edinburgh's kings of big stupit beatdoons. Joined for a bit by Andy from THE GREY on guest vocals. Pure madness.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/0ozLSqTFqrs   https://www.facebook.com/kakihara.life

KUSANAGI: Post-rock again, from Liverpool. Pure, sweet loveliness.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/iP4xw0Qa9Oo    https://www.facebook.com/KusanagiMusic

VOID OF LIGHT: Majestic post-metal. One, in my opinion, of the finest Post-metal bands in the country right now. Right up there with HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN and CODESPEAKER. All of whom, coincidentally, are fond of hostile lighting and thick smoke.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/KlA_DZb9als   https://www.facebook.com/voidoflightband

PLEIADES:  Post-screamo from Manchester. Heftier than I remember them...

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/k6yirbHpn38   https://www.facebook.com/pleiadesuk

THE GREY: Hefty post-metal trio from Cambridge. Guest spots for the singers of KAKIHARA and MASTIFF. Unusually, Andy stays on the stage for -nearly- the whole set. A new song - 'Bends' - is teased, promising great things in the future.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/ulNLpC1MvjM   https://www.facebook.com/TheGreyUK

HIDDEN MOTHERS: Post-hardcore/emotional post-black metal from Sheffield. Bass player Liam's second last gig with them. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here. Hopefully they'll be back.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/c7Uf_7Oe8qo   https://www.facebook.com/hiddenmothersukbm

MASTIFF: Angry sludgecore from Hull. Possibly the hardest band of the day. Definitely NOT post-rock.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/_IPjrjGjQjo   https://www.facebook.com/mastiffhchc