Scottish Gig Highlights – September 2015

It’s a case of out with the old festival favourites and in with the new as a parade of mavericks show off recently released material this coming September. Kicking off our month at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus is LA native and classic pop revivalist Natalie Prass, whose self-titled debut thrilled earlier this year (2 Sep). Glasgow, meanwhile, sees in September with the colourful indie stylings of Here We Go Magic. It’s been three years since the Brooklyn trio’s last full-length release but with their latest single – the synthpop confection Falling – hopes are high for a preview of their forthcoming October release (titled Be Small) at this King Tut’s show (3 Sep).

Leading the local charge are they of soaring Scottish alt-rock, Halo Tora. The Glaswegian quintent have a debut album wrapped up and ready to go, which you can hear it in all its nascent glory at Glasgow’s Audio (4 Sep) and Edinburgh’s Electric Circus (5 Sep).

And now for the holy sonic trinity. First up, Canadian goofball Mac DeMarco will take a Monday evening at O2 ABC by the bollocks and transform a sedate school night into a slacker rock soiree. His new mini LP Another One builds on the success of the immensely likeable Salad Days, channeling more of his trademark languid, summery pop (7 Sep). Studio wunderkind Kevin Parker needs little introduction, especially in the wake of Tame Impala’s latest release, the insurmountable funk-and-synth-laden Currents. It will take a venue as formidable as the mighty Barrowlands to contain the collective shit-losing when this gig gets underway (8 Sep). And as for stellar September highlight number three? Skim down our Don’t Miss section and all will be revealed.

If that’s a trifecta that seems hard to come down from, a night at Edinburgh's Liquid Room (10 Sep) will set you right – Tim DeLaughter's kooky choral ensemble The Polyphonic Spree will be there, resplendent in robes and ready to soothe your troubles away (also playing SWG3 the following night). Once you're full of feelgood vibes thanks to the sanguine Texan collective, it’s time to dial the energy back up when Young Fathers treat hometown fans to their fierce live act, on the back of last year’s non-stop touring schedule. Their sophomore LP White Men Are Black Men Too scored a rare full house in these pages earlier this year, so what are you waiting for? Run, don’t walk, to Edinburgh Uni's Potterow venue (15 Sep).

Four days later and the capital is bringing the goods once again, this time with hazy shoegaze dream rock courtesy of cult favourites The Telescopes. Their just-released Hidden Fields is a rough gem that points to Stephen Lawrie's undiminished genius – they'll be lighting up Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms (as part of the resurrected Limbo, with Lawrie's new bandmates St Deluxe and Delta Mainline) on 19 Sep. That same day, London-based fuzz-rockers Wolf Alice take on the O2 ABC with a live outing for their recently released, ambitious and assured debut My Love Is Cool.

Cameron Stallones isn't a household name, but as Sun Araw the Texan will be dishing up neo-psychedelic vibes at Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete's (22 Sep) and Glasgow’s Flying Duck (23 Sep). Good luck trying to stick this guy in one of yr pigeonholes – with a sound that straddles reggae, Krautrock, electronica, funk and Afrobeat, you’re best heading along and tasting this glorious aural soup for yourself.

By now we’re approaching our meteorological autumn, but there’s tropic thunder afoot on 27 Sep. If your life is missing a sublime dose of psychedelic Cambodian pop rock, Dengue Fever are your band – formed in 2001, they’ve a hefty back catalogue behind them, plus new album The Deepest Lake to drink in. Make your way to Broadcast to witness their kitsch but oh so righteous oriental rock in the flesh.

Do Not Miss: Future Islands / Dope Body / Du Blonde @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 9 September

How do you make a gig featuring the world's most talked about indie synthpop group even hotter? Throw in two seriously scorching support acts and host the whole thing under the starry ceiling of one of the UK's most excellent gig venues, that's how. Singles has flung the door wide open for Future Islands, the humble Baltimore outfit who up until just last year had been quietly chipping away behind the scenes for the better part of a decade. Whichever side of the 'Cookie Monster vocal' debate you fall on, Seasons (Waiting On You) had that rare kind of zeitgiest-defining magic – so call this a victory lap for the grinding trio.

If this weren't enough, the aforementioned apertif is intoxicating. First up there's the swaggering rock of Du Blonde, who until recently was better known to audiences as the distinctly milder Beth Jeans Houghton. Having previously supported the likes of King Creosote and Bon Iver, Houghton/Du Blonde has turned her back on her folksy ways in favour of a compelling and abrasive new aesthetic. Welcome Back To Milk, her first album under the moniker, features none other than Future Islands' Samuel T. Herring in cameo mode on Mind Is On My Mind. Proving further that it's a bit of a family affair, fellow Baltimore natives Dope Body (Herring's housemate is frontman Andrew Laumann) lend their caustic post-punk maelstrom as stellar support act number two. Showing off rugged gems from last year's Lifer and the forthcoming Kunk, the confrontational, effects-heavy noise rockers will be tough listening for the pop kids, but rest assured this will be a night of exhilarating contrasts.