Dundee Ecossemo scene crew STONETHROWER have joined their forces with one of IDIOTEQ’s favorite Scottish DIY labels Make-That-A-Take Records to unveil a full stream of their impressive debut EP called “Swells/Repels”! Thankfully, IDIOTEQ has been anointed the official host of this respectable work and is first to report that there’s a clearly genuine sonic chemistry at work here. “Swells/Repels” is harsh, emotive, gritty and loud and it shines brightly in the Scottish quadrant of emo indie punk heaven. Listen to the full record below, read the official word, share with your friends and use the comments below to tell us what you think.
STONETHROWER is a relatively new indie-prog-punk band, formed out of the ashes of Cal and Ross’s previous band, PENSIONER, back in 2012. Originally called ENEMY AIRSHIPS, a name change was prompted by the arrival of bassist Avril Smart in April 2014, and all the better for it. ‘Swells/Repels’ is our debut record, and we’re launching it at Dundee DIY punk festival BOOK YER ANE FEST on November 29th. The band’s frienzied, emotional, fresh and jazzy rhythms will please fans of CAP’N JAZZ, FUGAZI, FARAQUET and CHARLOTTEFIELD.
STONETHROWER will perform live at Book Yer Ane Fest IX at the end of the month.
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Commentary on record from Ross:
‘The majority of these songs have been gestating since Cal and I found ourselves without a band back in 2012. We both had this desire to write something a lot more immediate and personally aggrieved than what we’d done previously, so we wrote what we considered to be a bunch of straight-up punk tunes. The songs were pushed all the way through several lineup changes until Ken and Avril joined us and cemented the lineup we have now. They’ve really brought their own unique traits and quirks to the songs, and we’ve began to write the next record as a band; as unremarkable as that sounds for a band, it’s nice to finally be able to say that. ‘Glass’ is the first song we wrote together, and it’s included as part of this document of the first couple of years.
The version we have here is actually our second attempt to record the EP. We have a little practice space/studio in Dundee, and we first tried to record it last year, but by the time it came to mixing it we felt it was lacklustre in terms of both the individual performances and the intensity of the sonics. So we decided to track it again live (adding ‘Glass’ this time round) with the amps blaring in the space with us. Acoustically, it was quite challenging (with some creative DIY baffling go on), but it’s definitely added something to these songs that we felt was lost in the track-by-track process. It’s a bit of a ‘warts and all’ sound, but it works. Whether we do it again or not in the future will ultimately depend on the songs, but it’s a template we’ll probably work from. Being able to record twice is a luxury most bands aren’t afforded, so we recognise that we’re very lucky that we are able to do it ourselves.
It’s nice to have these songs finally out there, and we’re excited about touring and recording the next record next year.’
Credits:
Kenneth Babarinsa – Drums
Avril Smart – Bass/Vocals
Ross Middlemiss – Guitar/Vocals
Callum Sutherland – Guitar/Vocals
Recorded and mixed by Stonethrower
Mastered by Ross Middlemiss
