Popolo: The Great Northern Trendkill

Come on now, admit it: since the dawn of time there has existed an unspoken elitism which decrees that any act hailing from further north than Kilsyth can't possibly be worth the bus fare. But scores of stellar bands from those cities have pricked The Skinny's ears in years gone by, from the burgeoning Copy Haho through fly-by-night victory rockers Laeto to the sadly defunct Avast! and Alamos. While the Glasgow/Edinburgh unsigned music power dichotomy may still have the better access to labels and venues, it seems having a finger in the proverbial pie, regionally speaking, is not always necessary. See Exhibit A: Popolo.

The Dundee natives have commenced their ascent nicely, supporting Dananananaykroyd and 65 Days of Static, and playing with Frightened Rabbit at Lofi Studios’s Christmas party last year. Such bragging rights are usually reserved for those who've been around the block a few times, learning the ropes after years of soul-crushing toilet gigs. The interesting thing about Popolo is that they've only been in existence for a hair’s breadth over a year, with no former musical projects on the CV to boost the contact list. “The band was born out of a rekindled high school friendship between myself, Robbie and Glen when we were reunited for Glen's nineteenth birthday outing, having met no one at uni we felt we could make music with,” explains guitarist Thomas Ogden. Drummer Matthew was recruited via similar school day connections, recollecting the bedroom recording of comedy Eastenders themed anti-war songs in more impressionable years.

Since then, the tunes have taken a more artful turn, the four piece producing what they describe as 'instrumental rock with personality'. “I think the fact each one of our songs has its own individual, usually playful feeling is the most positive facet of the band, given that many instrumental bands are straight-faced, ten-minute, serious jams,” says Ogden, aiming instead to cut the gratuity back to an essence. “I don't know what that says about us as songwriters but it's an extremely satisfying way of working, economising every riff and not tiring them to the point of boredom.” Indeed, this concerted effort to move the gaze away from the naval pays off for the audience too: “To date, I haven't noticed a significant crowd depletion during our set,” the guitarist asserts.

Given the lack of vocal presence, the band accept the inevitable Battles comparisons, the instrumentation leaning towards Deerhoof or Foals, though Ogden is keen to stress that Popolo’s efforts are too early in their evolution to seriously accept such claims.

Now, it seems, Popolo are starting to find their feet, making plans for new releases and still finding time to light a fag for Tricky. “Friendship Injection is a demo we did with Nick Roan in February intended as a guide track for more recordings,” Ogden explains, adding that an EP is definitely in their imminent plans. “The aim is to write and record the new songs, above anything else. There are of course bands we'd love to support like Young Fathers or No Age, but at the moment playing live isn't a priority - if the songs aren't good enough I don't think any of us are keen on presenting them as a fair reflection of Popolo.”

So, guitars slung high, Popolo set to work to produce something worthy of themselves, which shouldn't be too hard if their progress thus far is an indicator. And they do hail from the City of Discovery, after all.