We talk to the Instagram account documenting

Stick To It

Everyone loves a good sticker – especially one with something to say. We talk to the Instagram account documenting the radical stickers of Glasgow’s Southside

Interview: Eilidh Akilade Illustrations: Lizzie Snow

Two hands love-heart around a trans flag with ‘Sisters not cis-ters’ written upon it. Another reads, ‘No borders. No nations. Just people.’ A little further down, a handwritten one predicts: ‘Coming to a green space near you… GREEDY DEVELOPERS.’ It looks like it’s on one of those green electrical boxes, outside Langside Halls and across from The Shed, maybe, but it’s a little unclear. Instagram account @stickers.of.southside has been active for about a year now, first posting in January 2022. It does exactly what it says: posts pictures of stickers around Glasgow’s Southside. There’s a strong focus on radical politics and grassroots organising, particularly – as the bio reads – from “the good folks flying their colours in and around Govanhill.” Strangely, the Instagram account began partially in response to the not so good folks. Guy* has lived in Govanhill for some time now. Over the years, they had formed a habit of keeping an eye out for stickers of the bigoted variety and then scraping them off. “One – because they don’t deserve the platform; and two – because I don’t want other people seeing them and then having a bad day or feeling scared in public,” they explain. One day, while running errands together, their friend noticed this habit. “She saw me scanning the lampposts and I explained and she asked me, ‘Do you ever look at the nice ones?’ And it was a very simple and obvious question.” With that, @stickers.of.southside was born. Guy was convinced that if they didn’t do it then and there, in the middle of the street, they maybe never would. On the account, there are ideas that come up again and again: queer solidarity, anti-racism, pro-immigration, workers’ and tenants’ rights, to name a few. In Glasgow’s Southside, such movements are alive and kicking and the stickers are testament to that. “It’s a way of signalling to other people that they are among friends,” says Guy. It’s a subtle, yet powerful, way of doing so. “They’re used in quite a covert way,” Guy continues. Ta ing or wheat pasting have long radical histories; but they’re time-consuming acts, leaving folk vulnerable to getting caught, or at least noticed. With stickers, it’s as simple as peeling one off and pressing it onto the nearest bench, bin, or lamppost. “Stickers, especially on the street, are very ephemeral. They’re very vulnerable to the elements,” Guy explains. Despite all their stickiness, they rarely last very long; the hope, however, is that the messages of these ones will. Digitally documenting them out and about, as they were intended to exist, helps move that hope towards a reality. And yet, unlike the easily moveable Instagram-made ‘stickers’ we may place upon a witty story, the ones on @stickers. of.southside feel a little more fixed, plastered upon a page created just for them. However, if 2022 taught us anything, it’s that no social media platform is forever. For all the angst this may cause us in the present, there’s also – when it comes to this account, at least – something a little poetic to it: Instagram will eventually peel away, just like the stickers themselves. For all it’s worth, Guy is pretty humble about the whole thing. “It’s just me putting [up] cool stuff that I saw – just like everyone else does with their lunches, or their weekend trip to Skye or something,” they say. In theory, yes, it’s not that deep. But knowing there are people out there who believe in the same things as you, who will welcome you and care for you, is sometimes enough to keep you going. Ultimately, for Guy, the important stuff is the “material stuff”: “where you actually meet people and work with them to actually make material changes – whether that’s feeding people or keeping people warm or organising for employment rights or tenant advocacy.” No matter how much vinyl coats it, a sticker’s impact is limited. “There’s all these different organisations around the neighbourhood who are focused on all these different aspects that have very tangible effects on people’s lives,” says Guy. Such groups are what allows the stickers to, well, stick with us. Amid all the gentrification Govanhill and its counterparts have endured, these stickers are a hopeful reminder: it’s not all oat flat whites and rising rents. Guy is keen to hear from any creators of the account’s stickers – they want to credit good people for their good work. Such collaboration also plays its part behind the scenes. “I have people messaging and submitting stickers that they’ve seen in the wild as well, which is also really gratifying,” they say. These stickers often preach a certain togetherness; it’s unsurprising that they further facilitate it. The world we want to live in will need more than a little adhesive to truly stick. But these stickers and @stickers.of.southside will continue to make their mark – even if it won’t last forever. “At this time, at this place, there were people who believed in this thing,” says Guy. “These are things worth documenting.”

@stickers.of.southside

Released 17 January by Milan Records rrrrr

Listen to: 20220302 - sarabande

Album of the Month Ryuichi Sakamoto — 12

It would be easy to approach legendary Japanese composer and performer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s musical “diary” with the feeling that it was crafted out of a moribund sense of duty. Recorded during rounds of treatment for cancer, his second such diagnosis within the span of a decade, its release was preceded by a livestreamed concert Sakamoto described as perhaps his last. But 12 is more concerned with the present it sought to document. Convalescing after major surgery, Sakamoto took to his instruments, recording as and when he could. The collection instead deals in the turbulent and unpredictable period that comes before the unknown. The first seven tracks place Sakamoto at the peak of a mountain, sometimes in calm and in others in a great gale. We hear what could be assisting medical apparatus, and rhythmic breathing, amidst other natural background noise. The first “day” contains cavernous synths – there’s a desolate quality to these, bassy notes bottoming out as the composition progresses, and devoid of Sakamoto’s distinctive piano playing. It seems that it’s not until months later that those familiar keys are allowed to enter. On this front half though, they are easily displaced – 20220202 lacks them, dark Badalamenti-esque drones winning over. Sakamoto’s last album async – which was recorded after a previous cancer treatment – is seismic and intricately thematically mapped, using samples and a colourful palette of techniques and equipment. The diaristic, stripped back process it was necessary to use to assemble 12 makes it a much looser, more instinctive listen. On 20220207, there is feedback sounding not dissimilar to a flatlining ECG machine. From here, the album begins to change. Minor key synths, which draw out across up to nine-minute stretches, make way for shorter, more delicate pieces. The achingly beautiful 20220302 is the only track denoting its style: “sarabande”. It’s a dance – here, for no one in particular. Strangely, the chronology of the tracklist is broken only in the brief final moments. We step a month into the past, left only with chimes and the wind that plays them, perhaps signalling a grasping back. We cannot be certain of Sakamoto’s physical ableness, or his depth of emotion, on each of the days documented, as much as the timbre of the music urges us to. What we are left with is a record of endurance, stru le and the lingering ability to create something new. 12 shows a path can be made, even into that unknown. [Tony Inglis]

Find reviews for the below albums online at theskinny.co.uk/music

Little Simz NO THANK YOU Giant Swan Fantasy Food

Ladytron Time’s Arrow

Låpsley Cautionary Tales of Youth Bass Drum of Death Say I Won’t

Fucked Up One Day Merge, 27 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Found, Falling Right Under, Cicada

James Yorkston, Nina Persson and The Second Hand Orchestra The Great White Sea Eagle Domino, 13 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: A Sweetness In You, Hold Out For Love In 2019, Fucked Up guitarist Mike Haliechuk began pondering what he could write and record in just one day. The resulting answer to that question – in the form of the Canadian hardcore veterans’ aptlytitled sixth album One Day – is sta ering, and arguably the purest and fullest expression of the band in its current form. It’s also utterly joyous. Opening track Found sets the album’s maximalist tone in a cavalcade of ripping classic rock guitar harmonies, stadium-sized hooks and an absolutely savage vocal performance from Damian Abraham, whose gravel-throated bark is hungry and positively dripping with raw energy here.

It’s a level of (mostly) upbeat intensity which rarely lets up throughout, providing some of the album’s most enjoyable moments in Huge New Her, Roar, Broken Little Boys and propulsive title track One Day. Then there’s Cicada, a bittersweet Haliechuk-sung nu et of vintage alt-rock, the hardcore-meetsglam-pop of I Think I Might Be Weird and soaring album highlight Falling Right Under. For those already converted, this is sure to tattoo a permanent smile on your face, but it will no doubt satisfy even the most casual appreciator of punk, hardcore or classic rock too. [Ryan Drever] Joesef Permanent Damage AWAL, 13 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: It’s Been a Little Heavy Lately, Didn’t Know How (To Love You), Joe

When James Yorkston started writing these songs on piano, he didn’t know where he was going. But he knew where he’d been. The acclaimed songwriter and author stands behind a beautiful body of work and is carrying a tailwind from records with Yorkston/Thorne/Khan and The Second Hand Orchestra, alongside recent recognition for his second novel The Book of Gaels. But it’s these 12 weary waltzes and bright ballads, written gazing upon the sea from the window of his Cellardyke studio, that will find their way into your heart forever. Recording again with The Second Hand Orchestra’s Karl-Jonas Winqvist, Yorkston is joined at the mic here by Cardigans singer Nina Persson. It’s a match made in heaven when the light in Persson’s voice gets into the cracks of Yorkston’s baritone. But the heart of this record resides in the solitary darkness of songs such as the devastating A Sweetness In You, written for Frightened Rabbit’s late Scott Hutchison. ‘I think of him often as I look out to the sea / And I live by the coast’ is a noble line to write about someone lost in such tragic circumstances. But that’s Yorkston for you: a noble artist. [Alan O’Hare] Måneskin Rush! Epic Records / Sony Music Entertainment, 20 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Bla Bla Bla, Gasoline, Mark Chapman After two excellent EPs, Permanent Damage elegantly sticks to the formula of sad-boy soul that has seen Glasgow singer Joesef get lauded by everyone from Sam Smith and Mark Ronson to Elton John. The powerful Just Come Home With Me platforms the quiet desperation of wanting one last night with a lover you’ll probably never see again; a last-minute pine for a relationship that ‘has no future in sight’. The theme of self-abnegation continues in the following song Borderline, where Joesef asks a lover to ‘remember what you loved me for, even when I’m on the floor’. Searing introspection is abundant on this record and the depressive lyrics could almost veer towards being overwhelming if the hooks (and his voice) weren’t so captivating. It’s not a faultless album; the energy dips towards the end and never quite recovers. But there are some truly spectacular moments. Joesef is at his very best on the bouncy funk of It’s Been a Little Heavy Lately, the smooth soul of Didn’t Know How (To Love You), and the anthemic pop single Joe. Permanent Damage is an impressive and self-aware debut from an artist unafraid to wrestle with feelings of loneliness, alienation, and self-destructive tendencies out in the open. [Marco Marcelline]

After winning the Eurovision Song Contest for Italy in 2021, Måneskin have become an integral part of the resurgence of glam-rock among younger listeners. They aren’t shy about their mission to provoke – they are steadfast in their depiction of rock as inextricable from queerness, fluidity, and rebellion. Their third studio album, Rush!, features plenty of uptempo punk-rock tracks, with short but sweet guitar solos by Thomas Ra i and polished vocals by Damiano David. The album alternates between these upbeat rock tracks and calmer, more deliberate ballads, which tell a heartfelt story of fame, loneliness, and yearning. In the latter half of the album, Måneskin gives us more Italian language tracks, which expand into a heavier, more driving sound. The album spans multiple nostalgic sub-genres of rock, from the pop-rock of the 70s and 80s to the lyrical ballads of the early 2000s. Måneskin show themselves to be masters of their style – the album, like the band’s aesthetic, is tightly executed and high-octane. Rush! perfectly captures the sense of spontaneous authenticity that makes for a one-of-a-kind show. Måneskin continuously prove that outcasts deserve a good time, and they are here to give it to us. [Rho Chung]

I y Pop Every Loser Atlantic Records x Gold Tooth Records, 6 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: New Atlantis, The Regency

Billy Nomates CACTI Invada Records, 13 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: blue bones (deathwish), roundabout sadness, spite I y Pop’s albums are one or the other; an upper or a downer. For example, the iconically energetic Lust for Life followed more melancholic experiments in The Idiot. Recent releases like Post Pop Depression and Free have seen the ageing rock god delve into darker themes alongside sombre instrumentals. Now, Every Loser sees I y on the up. Intro Frenzy matches the speed and strength of The Stooges’ hits, with subsequent tracks suggesting a busy studio, alive with sliding bass, echoing synths, even cowbells, but the composition comes together under Pop’s dynamic vocals. Every Loser is not without its bluesy side – Morning Show invites conversations about self image and the public eye, and Comments is a rumination on social media, complete with a Zuckerberg call-out. The Regency builds a lo-fi, static sound, only to shift into full-force and close the album in a protest of punk-rock and profanity.

Every Loser is lyrically and technically multidimensional – Pop has had the chance to recharge the gritty, psychic energy necessary for a more metal release. He’s free to stomp about the album like a Tyrannosaurus rex, a fearsome force of nature from a long-past, primaeval era. [Lewis Robertson] Rozi Plain PRIZE Memphis Industries, 13 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: Agreeing for Two, Help

If you’ve ever set a child loose in a sweetie shop then you’ll have some sense of the joy of production on CACTI. It’s a self-guided journey through genre, facilitated by old mixtapes and a dusty organ at Invada Studios. Self-sufficiency is a large part of Billy Nomates’ appeal, but it feels like this solitary approach to recording doesn’t really do her justice. CACTI is understandably more subdued than her self-titled debut, but the boisterous numbers it does contain might feel more dynamic played live – it feels like the energy that makes her such a captivating performer is being restricted by her drum machine.

CACTI portrays the road through depression, but not with any sort of neat path that resolves with a happy ending. If anything, it’s the opposite – the only track offering a sliver of hope is blue bones (deathwish), an account of becoming disillusioned with depression that comes third in the tracklisting. Instead CACTI ends with a distant belt into the abyss: ‘I can’t wait for the blackout signal / Yeah I dream of shutdowns now’. It’s a breath of fresh air, but we’re left wishing we’d got more of it sooner. [Laurie Presswood] Kali Malone Does Spring Hide Its Joy Ideologic Organ, 20 Jan rrrrr

Listen to: V2, V3 Rozi Plain thrives in a group setting, once more guiding a cast of DIY multi-instrumentalists from across the UK to bring her intricate ideas to life. The songs remain deceptively simple, but what could easily suffice with just vocals and strummed chords becomes much more when slathered in keys, synths and sax. At surface level these are breezy, easygoing alt-pop songs. Plain’s vocals are understated and the arrangements rarely overpower the direct lyrical entreaties. But there’s a gilt finish to this album, showing a keen curatorial eye and ability to polish without losing the beating heart. It’s almost like the sophisti-pop of the 80s and early 90s, but without the naff production. Alabaster dePlume brings his drawling sax on Agreeing for Two and Sore. The synths are another real standout, providing wobbly edges or pulsating otherworldliness, while harp from Serafina Steer (Help) or strings from Emma Smith (Sore) offset the otherwise serene atmosphere. PRIZE doesn’t shout for your attention, but it’s hard to ignore when you give it time. Rozi Plain is miles away from the sedate folk of her early career, though the subtle interpolation of additional elements is so masterfully done that she makes it look easy. [Lewis Wade]

Following 2022’s Living Torch Kali Malone releases Does Spring Hide Its Joy, a set of recordings of the titular piece, written during lockdown in a series of temporarily abandoned concert halls as an exploration of space and time. Enlisting Stephen O’Malley of Sunn O))) and the always fantastic cellist Lucy Railton into a group to interpret her compositions, the trio bring new textures to Malone’s harmonic brilliance. The album consists of three versions of the same piece and three hours of Malone’s composition at its most oblique and minimal, the piece in a state of constant but glacial shift. It’s often beautifully done, particularly the foregrounding of Railton’s cello towards the end of V3 that has a real growling beauty, as well as the moment two-thirds of the way through V2 in which O’Malley’s trademark waves of distortion pierce through the mix. However there are long stretches in which the pieces are impressive rather than affecting, where you can marvel at Malone’s skill with timbre without being particularly moved in any way. It leaves a sense that the album feels more like one for the most committed fans of all three artists, but one that given the chance has some astonishing moments. [Joe Creely]

Music Now

We take a look back at the December releases we missed first time around, and celebrate new records from CLR theory, L.T. Leif and more in our January round-up

Words: Jamie Wilde

Have you just about pushed aside those bloated Christmas feels? If not, you better act quick as we have plenty of new music to whet your appetite for the start of the new year. But first, there are a few gems we missed last month that are most certainly worthy of your attention. Glaswegian noisemaker YULYSEUS released their sonically explorative, searchingly titled new album In the Dark Palaces of Both Our Hearts. Fellow Glaswegian outfit Dr. Veers also shared their debut album Deep Glue Sea, brimming with gritty guitars and tones reminiscent of The Hives and early 00s alternative rock. In the world of EPs, Scottish stalwarts The Twilight Sad released a new live EP featuring four tracks recorded from their European run of live shows while We Were Promised Jetpacks revealed A Complete One-Eighty, a series of reworks from their most recent album Enjoy the View. Alt duo prospects Midnight Ambulance, formed between Paris and North Berwick, unveiled Smoke & Mirrors, an electrically charged debut EP that shows shades of Royal Blood while also harnessing left-turning elements of dance and techno – definitely a duo worth keeping an eye on. Wine Moms also shared Flowerbrains. The Glasgow punks brim with politically charged tunes of anger and angst while showing a softer side on the minimal acoustic track Bollo. It won’t be long before they’re making their case as one of the frontrunners in the west coast’s burgeoning DIY punk scene. Elsewhere, Dundee’s Theo Bleak shared the beautifully sculpted For Seasons, and archie also revealed Our Little Secret EP. A plethora of scintillating singles were also released last month. Alt-folk artist Jodie Elizabeth King released her tender debut single Flesh and Bone, Bemz & Sean Focus combined superbly on new club-ready track Raging Bull, while Tayside’s Gossiper shared not one, but two singles titled Army Knife and Maude respectively. Rosie H Sullivan lit up our ears with Lights, Lewis Capaldi shared Pointless, Subject 13 & Conscious Route smothered our ears with Dripping Sauce, new wave legends Altered Images showcased their new single The Other Side and Carla J Easton delighted our musical tastebuds with Cherry Tree Out Front. Some Scottish albums grabbing the spotlight this month include Joesef’s glorious debut Permanent Damage (13 Jan) and James Yorkston’s The Great White Sea Eagle (13 Jan). Full insights of these records can be found on p40. But here, we focus our attention on other new releases that are simply sumptuous. WAVES, the debut album from CLR theory, is one of them.

Photo: Craig M. Stewart Released on 20 January, this self-recorded, self-produced body of work was born in a flat in Glasgow’s Southside and nurtured by Gill Hi ins and Hannah Jarrett-Scott. From the bothy ballad imbued a cappella opener I’d Love You for Less to the Celtic infused Breathe, this is an album with Scottish roots at its heart. The duo’s harmonies shine brightest; intertwining beautifully with plenty of reverb that heightens the atmospheric feel of both voices. CLR theory say that the initial idea for the album started as voicenote gifts to one another during lockdown. But now, they’ve transformed it into a gift for everyone, creating a warm sonic hug of an album that would perfectly soundtrack an evening by the fire with the chill of winter howling and wailing outside.

L.T. Leif releases their new album Come Back To Me, But Lightly on 23 January via Lost Map Records in collaboration with OK Pal Records. The Glasgow-based Canadian singer-songwriter creates sounds that are indebted to the woody, piney wilderness of their home country as well as the landscapes of Iceland and Finland where they’ve previously lived. The recording of their latest body of work shares a similarly intercontinental makeup with contributors based across the globe. Right from the offset (quite literally with the opening B major chord of Gentle Moon) it’s hard not to feel a smile etch upon your face. It’s a remarkably intimate album considering its spatial genesis, with Leif’s lyrical openness and vulnerability coming to the fore in fine style. Varying sonic textures from guitars to quirky rattles of pots and pans evoke images of late-night campfires and Leif succeeds in delivering what will surely be one of the highlights of their experienced musical career. That’s not all the new music worth stocking up on for January just yet. Eat the Friek share new music with the release of their double A-side single Drinks Cabinet / Arrow. Evoking a cool garage-psych feel alongside stabs of angular rhythms and hints of Black Country, New Road art-jazz tones, this outfit sound like they’d be a hoot at a live show. However, on top of all that, one single you simply cannot go without listening to this month is the debut release from Carsick Charlie titled Finn. The acoustic guitar melodies underpinning the song are sublime, but the delicate vocals, mature lyrics and heart-tu ing string parts sat atop them are sensational. It seems unjust to place artists like Phoebe Bridgers alongside this artist after just one single, but there’s no doubt there’s definitely a hint of sparkle about Carsick Charlie that’s bound to shine in the year ahead.

Image: courtesy of Nan Goldin

Film of the Month — All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Director: Laura Poitras Starring: Nan Goldin

RRRRR

Released 27 January by Altitude Certificate TBC

theskinny.co.uk/film Academy Award-winning director Laura Poitras has made a career out of documenting individuals who stand up to powerful forces. Her previous subjects include Edward Snowden (Citizenfour) and Julian Assange (Risk), so it’s perhaps no surprise that she was drawn to Nan Goldin, a photographer who has revolutionised the art world in more ways than one. An achingly personal tale of art, addiction and activism, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed represents a continuation of Poitras’s journalistic approach to documentary and, at the same time, a departure of sorts. Pushing her verité style into a more emotional terrain, the film explores Goldin’s life, from growing up in an abusive family and surviving foster care, to her rise to prominence in the art world. But there’s a political dimension to the film too, with Poitras focusing on Goldin’s crusade to take down the Sackler family, whose company Purdue Pharma transformed the prescription painkiller market with the invention of the highly addictive OxyContin. Rather than chart a linear path through Goldin’s life, Poitras begins the film by observing one of her staged ‘die-ins’ at the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Organised by Goldin and her advocacy group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), these demonstrations are designed to call attention to the Sacklers’ use of philanthropy to artwash their reputation and distance themselves from the opioid epidemic. Poitras has long been interested in how activism and the actions of individuals striving for justice can be channelled in service of change. In Goldin, she might just have found an answer. Poitras traces Goldin’s transformation from artist to activist by weaving together various stories from her past, with each new chapter illuminating the personal and political roots of her creative practice. Goldin has never been one to shy away from the camera, often including herself among her deeply intimate photographic projects, but here she seems more candid than ever, talking openly about her sister’s tragic suicide, her experience as a sex worker and even the abusive relationship that resulted in the iconic self-portraits of domestic abuse in her seminal work The Ballad of Sexual Dependency. Goldin initially founded PAIN after becoming addicted to OxyContin following an operation on her wrist in 2014, but her activism is also a response to witnessing the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s. Throughout the film Poitras uses excerpts from the various slideshows Goldin constructed over the course of her career, including photos from Witnesses: Against Our Vanishing in which she used her camera to immortalise the friends and loved ones she lost to AIDS. It’s here that we begin to realise that the film is ultimately about two epidemics, and a society that suffers from amnesia when it comes to protecting its most vulnerable. A profoundly moving tale of protest and a window into the brutality of American capitalism, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed not only celebrates Goldin’s work as an artist and activist, but speaks to the importance of community during times of loss. [Patrick Gamble]

Scotland on Screen: Leyla Coll-O’Reilly

We speak to poet and theatre-maker Leyla Coll-O’Reilly (aka Leyla Josephine) about Groom, her stunning new short about a taciturn teenage girl entering the intimidating world of a hypersexualised beauty salon

Interview: Jamie Dunn

Filmography: Groom (2022) Stage: Daddy Drag (2019), Hopeless (2017), HOWL[ing] (2014), What a Fanny! (2013) Collected poetry: In Public/In Private (2022)

Instagram: @leylajosephine Twitter: @LeylaJosephine1 Leyla Josephine is an artist who’s so multi-hyphenated and so multi-talented that one name isn’t quite enough to cover her practice. Under that title, you probably know her as an award-winning poet and theatre-maker, but you might be less familiar with her work as filmmaker Leyla Coll-O’Reilly. “Originally, I wanted to go by Leyla Coll-O’Reilly in film and Leyla Josephine in poetry,” she explains when I bring up my uncertainty about her preferred moniker during our chat. “But actually now they’re kind of merging, so I can see your confusion.” We’re speaking to her by phone while she’s currently in Leyla Josephine mode, touring Ireland with her first poetry collection, In Public/In Private, although the bulk of our conversation revolves around her brilliant short film Groom, which was recently nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award. It’s a startling debut, ja ed, tangy and visceral. It follows a 15-year-old school leaver called Hannah (Mollie Milne) during her trial shift at a beauty salon where she encounters a toxic work environment and, in Skye (Michelle Donnelly), a boss who wants to groom her naive new protege in more ways than one. Coll-O’Reilly had already written a few scripts and film treatments before she struck on the idea for Groom, which sprung up around the beginnings of the #MeToo movement. “There were a lot of conversations going on back then about the abuse of power,” she recalls, “and they were all coming from the perspective of a man abusing their power. But for me and my producer Laura McBride, we were talking about how women abused their power, but in quite different, often more manipulative ways. We were interested in telling the story of that. But it’s also a story about bisexuality and puberty and not quite knowing, not being able to read the relationship. I was interested in that period when you’re a teenager and inexperienced and trying to read signs but not being able to.” The beauty salon setting, with its mix of heightened femininity and Cronenbergian sense of body manipulation and transfiguration, proves a potent arena in which to stage this story of a young woman being moulded and reformed before our eyes. “I always try to think really holistically when I’m writing,” says Coll-O’Reilly. Photo: Tiu Makkonen “What environments will fit the story the best? What sounds will suit it best? What textures will work best?” The beauty salon would give her the perfect location. “It’s a self-contained single location that’s hypersexual and it’s visually beautiful, but there’s also just a feeling there of mutilation, and of bodies changing so they’re unrecognisable,” Leyla Coll-O'Reilly on the set of Groom Photo: Tiu Makkonen she says. “That all ran parallel to the way that Hannah was changing as a character due to her interactions with the other characters. So it was a fun cortex to play within.” Scotland has a fine tradition of filmmaking poets, from Margaret Tait, the GOAT, to Coll-O’Reilly’s peer Sean Lìonadh, director of Too Rough. Despite this, CollO’Reilly says she’s been met by surprise in some quarters for her pivot to directing. “People always ask me, ‘Oh, poetry to films, it must have been such a hard Groom jump,’ but actually poetry is not that far away from filmmaking.” On the contrary, she reckons there are loads of similarities: “In both, you’re constantly trying to edit things down to go back to your core questions, your core themes. And like filmmaking, poetry requires you to choose images through your writing because you are actually painting in the reader’s mind. You choose very carefully what the reader sees.” There’s certainly poetry in Groom. This might be partly down to the influence of the poetic Scottish filmmaking of Lynne Ramsay, who acted as a mentor for Coll-O’Reilly on the project, which was made through Lothian Films. “Lynne is one of my favourite filmmakers,” explains Coll-O’Reilly, “and what I love about Lynne’s work is that she never gives her audience all the answers. She really leaves spaces for questioning.” Coll-O’Reilly does something similar in Groom, particularly when it comes to the central relationship between Hannah and her glamorous new boss, Skye. “I didn’t want to make it black and white,” she says. “I didn’t want to be like, ‘Skye is an abuser and she’s a bad person’.” The focus instead is the inscrutable Hannah. “The whole time I wanted the audience to be wondering, is Hannah comfortable in this situation? Is she safe in this situation? And are there sexual undertones? Within the whole thing, I don’t think I’m ever like: yes, she’s being abused? I think that’s what we were really pushing for, because sometimes when you are in situations that are unsafe, they don’t always feel unsafe or you’re not always sure. And sometimes when you feel unsafe, you actually are safe. I wanted to put the audience in that viewpoint of not knowing either, I suppose. That’s perfect for the short film form, right? Because you don’t have to go into all the psychology of it and the backgrounds. You’re just making an offering and letting the audience decide for themselves.”

In Public/In Private is out now, published by Burning Eye Books and available at leylajosephine.co.uk

Alcarràs

Director: Carla Simón Starring: Jordi Pujol Dolcet rrrrr

With only two feature films, Carla Simón has proven to be one of the most exciting voices in Spanish cinema today. Her deeply personal autobiographical debut, Summer 1993, showed extraordinary sensitivity, and her poignant Golden Bear winner, Alcarràs, follows a similar path by returning to the rural landscapes that shaped the filmmaker’s childhood, capturing them through a melancholic lens. The film, based on her own family and named after the tiny village in Catalonia where it’s set, focuses on the Solés, a clan of peach farmers facing their last harvest after decades of working the land. The territory will soon be taken from them, their beautiful peach orchards to be inexorably replaced by solar panels. Their lifestyle no longer has a place in a world of technology and mass production. These changing times are filmed with incisive precision and nostalgia. The characters in Alcarràs, even when they rebel, know there’s nothing they can do: it’s the end of an era. Their frustration and anger are portrayed with subdued resignation. Everything flows slowly as the summer inevitably ends, and Simón follows each member of the family’s journey with great narrative ambition. There are many characters, yet every subplot is finely balanced and adds depth to the main storyline.

Alcarràs is a labour of love – a moving, delicate piece of intense observational power. Simón’s committed ode to the land, with its naturalistic style and depiction of a rural lifestyle, is also a warning: moving forward doesn’t necessarily mean leaving tradition behind. [Fernando García]

Released 6 Jan by MUBI; certificate 15

Director: Todd Field Starring: Cate Blanchett rrrrr

Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett in typically imperious form), the complex protagonist of Todd Field’s riveting melodrama, is many things. She’s the first woman conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, she’s a rare EGOT winner, she’s impeccably tailored. But for all that talent and success, she’s also hampered by those oh-so-human foibles that have afflicted other great (read male) geniuses. She’s an egomaniac, she’s a bully, she likes to chase women half her age and she’s about to get her comeuppance. Parallels between Lydia’s inappropriate behaviour and the Hollywood #MeToo movement are clear, but Field’s choice of a queer woman as the film’s power-mad preditor makes what would be a predictable downfall narrative all the more spiky and compelling. The film’s elliptical structure, which puts Lydia’s chief impropriety off-screen, and its strict adherence to her point-of-view, add to the ambiguity as to how we’re meant to feel about our charismatic but often monstrous anti-hero. Enablers and sycophants abound in Lydia’s inner circle. The only character to have her measure seems to be the orchestra’s first violinist, Sharon (Nina Hoss), who’s also the maestro’s wife (more muddling of the personal and the professional). The pair are raising a daughter together, whom Lydia is fiercely protective of, and the film would have benefited from more of Hoss’s icy side-eye. This is Blanchett’s show, though. Like the character she’s playing, she sucks up all available oxygen. It’s a testament to her tour-de-force performance that you might even feel a few pangs of sympathy as Lydia’s myriad offences come home to roost. [Jamie Dunn]

Released 13 Jan by Universal; certificate 15

Alcarràs Enys Men Tár Holy Spider

Enys Men

Director: Mark Jenkin Starring: Mary Woodvine, Edward Rowe, Flo Crowe, John Woodvine rrrrr

Enys Men follows an unnamed woman on a remote island, whose activities are haunted by the setting’s tragic mythology. Her daily duties – recording flowers, dropping stones down an empty mineshaft – go unexplained, preluding a descent through vignettes of abstract horror. Primordial landscapes come alive with cinematography, and filming in 16mm makes Enys Men feel like an authentic early 70s artefact – washed out, achingly nostalgic, but still tactile, still operational. Red windbreakers and a red generator bleed through the mise-en-scene, highlighting objects necessary for survival. The protagonist covets blue things, like painted driftwood, tea for her blue tea set, or the attention of a young, blue-clad girl – possibly her offspring, possibly a ghost of her earlier self. More echoes of the past appear. Children sing for an ancient May Day rite. A druidic monolith stands beyond the gate. Scenes are told out of order. A stranger arrives on a boat we know to have sunk. A piece of its wreckage hangs over the fire as he drinks tea. He is one of the few characters with dialogue. Other phantoms, like miners, or a minister, watch from afar, sometimes solemn, sometimes grinning in delight. The plot is cryptic, and characterisation hides between the lines, but femininity, nature and isolation are depicted as spectral themes in a retro glaze that speaks to recent horror sagas such as Midsommar and The Lighthouse. The aesthetic of early 70s horror is resurrected in this modern director’s expedition into a timeless afterlife. [Lewis Robertson] Holy Spider

Director: Ali Abbasi Starring: Mehdi Bajestani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad rrrrr

Between 2000 and 2001, a man named Saeed Hanaei killed 16 sex workers, dumping their bodies along the river of Iran’s holiest city, Mashhad, where the shrine of Imam Reza resides. It is in this space between the sacred and profane, public morality and private horror, that Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider prowls. The Iranian-Danish director returns with his first Persian-language feature, a slasher procedural that vibrates with righteous anger at the daily violence of women’s lives under the Iranian state. Despite its clinical, Fincheresque aesthetic, Holy Spider is largely guided by this kind of desperate emotion, with all the depth – and messiness – that implies. The murders are shown in garish detail, while the contexts that led to a man’s religious crusade to cleanse the streets of his city – the hypocrisies of the Islamic regime, the legacies of the Iran-Iraq war, the systemic disempowerment of women – are thrust pell-mell into every scene. What Holy Spider depicts is chilling, but it also relies too much on the very violence it critiques, leading to a curious sense of desensitisation. Yet there is an unflinching quality to Abbasi’s filmmaking – Holy Spider was produced in Europe and filmed in Jordan, bypassing Iran’s censorship laws – that captures the visceral reality of women’s inescapable embodiment: sanitary towels stuffed in bags, a knife in a pocket, a black chador wrapped over everything. Following months of protests in Iran, Holy Spider feels like it hits harder now; although perhaps it shouldn’t. It is a decades-old story, in every possible way. [Anahit Behrooz]

Miss Major Speaks: The Life and Legacy of a Black Trans Revolutionary

By Miss Major and Toshio Meronek rrrrr

There is something to the argument that the best memoirs, unlike the best meals, should leave you wanting that little bit more. Miss Major Speaks: The Life and Legacy of a Black Trans Revolutionary cuts across the personal and the political to offer a slice of reflection derived from Major’s many years on the frontline of community organising and HIV/AIDS care work. But this is no rulebook: Chicago South Sideborn Major has certainly lived a life that has served many lessons – on the preconditions of survival, on the folly of corporate endorsements and establishment co-signs, and on the promise of the commons – but here on the page, she rebuffs symmetry and simple answers for something less resolute and altogether richer. This is not a memoir that holds its subject at a remove, however. The amusement parks of 1960s Chicago, the streets of 1970s New York City, the psychiatric wards of Bellevue Hospital and the solitary wing of Clinton Correctional Facility – the sites and scenes that raised Major, as well as the institutions that endeavoured to break her down – are all recollected vividly, albeit with some abbreviation. Ultimately, as has been the case throughout her life, Major’s pronouncements situate her as a relational figure. And when a figure such as Major speaks, you cannot help but eat each and every single word up. [Tara Okeke] The Book of Desire

By Meena Kandasamy rrrrr

The Book of Desire, Meena Kandasamy’s translation of the love poetry found in the seminal Tamil text the Tirukkuṟal, shares a surprising amount of DNA with Emily Wilson’s recent ground-breaking translation of The Odyssey. It is a strange comparison, perhaps; the two texts, after all, have little in common, although they have finally, after millennia, both been translated by women. But Kandasamy’s rendering, like Wilson’s before her, is striking in how it understands translation as an act of intervention, that demands a strident political and aesthetic positionality. Wilson gave us a Greek epic that spoke to the female silences in the original; Kandasamy’s frank, yearning prose contains a decolonial urgency that undoes the historic erasures of the Tamil language, tackling Hindu nationalism and British Empire and reclaiming the beauty and lust of language as an expression of vivacity. In rearticulating the longings of the lovers, both male and female, in the original, Kandasamy recovers the Tamil woman from centuries of the male canonical gaze, giving her both textual and paratextual authority. In Kandasamy’s hands, desire becomes a kind of illness, an overwhelming bodily surrender; and yet, Kandasamy draws out a force to the Tirukkuṟal’s ancient lovers – desire operating not as lack of agency, but as willing subsumption. There is an erotics, Kandasamy tells us, to that kind of eager capitulation, to the need to parse the headiness of such madness. [Anahit Behrooz] The End of Nightwork

By Aidan Cottrell-Boyce rrrrr

Pol – the protagonist of Aidan Cottrell-Boyce’s The End of Nightwork and sufferer of a hormonal disorder – ages erratically. Told to his son in second person, his story of life with his wife Caroline – “your” mother – would be a fairly recognisable one (for all the ambivalence that such a word implies) were it not for its esoteric poles. At one end, Pol’s condition; at the other, his obsession with the writings of English Civil War Puritan Bartholomew Playfere. Civil and cultural unrest preoccupies Pol, and manages to mirror a fixation no doubt familiar to most of us: our ever-changing relationships with our appearance. A body, like land, is left marked by trauma, by the unrelenting passage of time. Buried in Pol’s ultra-rare illness is a metaphor for the stru le to mature “appropriately”. At 13, Pol looks 23. What would it mean to “act his age?” And when he looks 70 by age 34, should he resent his wife’s lack of desire? Cottrell-Boyce’s debut is witty to the point of masking its own heft. Testament to the quality of the prose is how lines of seemingly little consequence can resonate unexpectedly. Take this one, an observation about humans and snakes’ shared hormones that is purely factual, yet dripping in subtext: “We shed our skin too. We just do it more slowly.” The End of Nightwork’s entire thesis is hidden in such axioms. [Louis Cammell] The Things We Do To Our Friends

By Heather Darwent rrrrr

Heather Darwent’s debut, The Things We Do To Our Friends, seems to have all the components of the next literary sensation: a hint of dark academia, a morally complex and unpredictable narrator, the promise of feminist themes and an atmospheric setting vivid enough to feel like another character – Edinburgh, no less. The premise is immediately compelling: Clare arrives at the University of Edinburgh with a secret and a desperate hope to find the right friends who will help her reinvent herself. Soon she meets The Shiver, a privileged and ambitious clique that promises everything she has ever wanted, no matter the cost. Darwent keeps a sense of suspense from the very first to the very last page through clever pacing, constantly dropping shocking revelations and raising new unanswered questions throughout the novel. Clare’s voice offers a deliciously dark perspective that is hard to resist. The book’s weakness, however, lies precisely on its pretence to have it all, and the lack of commitment to a theme and a unified story that results from it. Perhaps borrowing too much from popular media, some elements feel gratuitous past their marketing value: the academia scenery contributes very little to the narrative and the promised feminist politics are nowhere to be found. Despite this, however, The Things We Do To Our Friends is a thrilling debut, difficult to put down and wonderfully twisted. [Venezia Castro]

Dream Gig

BBC New Comedian of the Year Finalist and a regular of the Best in Class showcase, Hannah Platt lays down her perfect gig

Illustration: Monika Stachowiak

Ilove gigs. I love being on a crowded train for three hours to die on my hole in front of a crowd of toby jugs who assume I’m raising money for Samaritans. But they can’t all be winners. Some of them make me feel good about myself, which is NOT why I got into comedy. One such disaster was opening for Kiri Pritchard-McClean in Liverpool last year. Kiri’s tour support is, genuinely, always a dream gig, and I come away feeling the best version of myself. This specific date was special because it was in my hometown, and my mum was coming to watch for the first time. I’d really curated my mum’s experience – in the same way you put your most interesting books on display when you think you might pull. She’d had a drink (everything’s funnier), it was in Liverpool (she won’t travel further than the IKEA in Warrington), and I’d sent a frantic text saying “anything I say is just a joke!!”. I hoped even if she hated it, she’d see all Kiri’s fans, and think “Well, I don’t get it, but these women in sequins are laughing.” I was the first person in my family to go to uni and I’ve always worried my Mum thought pursuing comedy was a waste. But after that gig I felt like I was suddenly validated. I felt like Mum finally ‘got’ me. All it took was spouting my feelings to a theatre full of people (provided I couldn’t see her). My dream gig would be a gala, purely because the word makes me feel like one of the Real Housewives. We’d hold it at burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese’s house, which is exactly what you might expect from someone who luxuriates in a giant champagne glass for a living – feathered walls, stuffed leopards, ornate chaise lounges (there’s nowhere comfortable to sit, have a day off Dita, jeeze) – so if anyone gets bored there’s plenty to look at. The bill is long because I’ve decided to stick myself on, only so I don’t have the anxiety that everyone’s thinking “why is SHE here?” (a classic). MC for the night would be Bob the Drag Queen. I love drag, but what I love about Bob is that they’re just a great comedian and would still be my pick for MC, sans wig and lashes. I’d also have YouTuber Trisha Paytas – but not current Trisha, who’s transitioned to ‘mommy vlo er’ – I’d have crying on the kitchen floor, “I came out as a chicken nu et because that was my truth at the time”-era Trish. When I feel low I watch her unedited videos where she wonders if dogs have brains, exposes her fake relationship with a cardboard cutout, and silently tries for ten minutes to pierce a Capri-Sun with a straw, before giving up and sucking the juice out the bag. She’s done some questionable stuff but I’m obsessed. Plus I think a set from one of the original internet trolls would be… something. I find nothing funnier than a rock star who has utter contempt for their fans, only matched by documentaries about said rock stars believing they’re the second coming of Christ. So of course on my dream gig lineup I’d have Anton Newcombe, lead vocalist of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and subject of documentary Dig!, which tracks the rivalries of BJM and The Dandy Warhols, as one scores a Vodafone advert, and the other unravels from a bruised ego at their friend’s successes. Newcombe would likely hate the gig, hate the venue and hate me – I’d love it. It can’t be my dream gig if Dylan Moran, Fern Brady, Liam Williams and Richard Gadd aren’t on the bill. These are the comedians that made me want to do comedy, do better at comedy, and want to quit comedy (I haven’t quit comedy – please come to my show). I really admire comics who are completely and unapologetically themselves, with the kind of act that wouldn’t make sense from anyone else. I’d also bring Michael J. Dolan out of retirement. As someone who was a crotchety old man since they were nine, I love Dolan’s nihilism, and I need a mate there to make eye contact with when Trisha asks who invented gravity. Afterwards we can have a party in Dita’s kitchen – it’s pink.

Hannah Platt: Work in Progress, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 14 Jan, 6pm, £7

@hannahtheplatt on Twitter and Instagram

Listings

Looking for something to do? Well you’re in the right place! Find listings below for the month ahead across Music, Clubs, Theatre, Comedy and Art in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. To find out how to submit listings, head to theskinny.co.uk/listings

Glasgow Music

Tue 03 Jan

COWBOY HUNTERS (BLOW UP DOGS + LUCID HOUNDS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Punk rock from Edinburgh.

Wed 04 Jan

PINK LIMIT (SAN JOSE + VIGILANTI + THETA)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Rock from Glasgow.

Thu 05 Jan

THE NOTIONS (FLAIR + VERCES + RAIN TOWN)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie rock from Scotland. FLORIST

MONO, 20:00–22:00 Indie folk from Brooklyn. RED VANILLA (SAINT SAPPHO + STUFFED ANIMALS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from Dundee.

Fri 06 Jan

NEW TOWN (RODEO CLUB + ONE NINE EIGHT + THE ACCOLADES)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie rock from the UK. THE UNDERSEA

BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Indie from the UK. ROISIN MCCARNEY (PHILOMENAH + JASMIN JET)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Glasgow.

Sat 07 Jan

PINC WAFER (BANDIT COUNTRY + ISABELLA STRANGE + WINE MOMS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie rock from Glasgow. BIKINI BODY (WATER MACHINE + JOCK FOX)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Punk from Edinburgh.

Sun 08 Jan

PRETTY PREACHERS CLUB (DIANE WALKER + SOPHIE WOOD)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Bedroom pop from Glasgow. BRITISH LION

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Hard rock from the UK. SAM SHACKLETON (ADAM THOM + THE WILLOWS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Folk from Scotland.

Mon 09 Jan

ADELINE UM (ALANNAH MOAR + WATTERS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from the UK.

Tue 10 Jan

WALLOWS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Indie from LA. UR.FRND (PIPPA BLUNDELL + ZAK YOUNGER BANKS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Indie from the UK.

Wed 11 Jan

HAPPYDAZE (WRTHLESS + ALPHA SIGNAL + GLORIOUS FAILURE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Pop punk from Edinburgh. ANIMALS AS LEADERS (ALLUVIAL + ALLT)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Prog metal from DC. EXTRA LIFE

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Experimental from Brooklyn.

Thu 12 Jan

TRIVIUM

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 17:30–22:00 Heavy metal from Florida. STARSKY-RAE (STOCK MANAGER + PHARMACY HOUSE + SISTER MADDS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from Scotland. MORNING MIDNIGHT

SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Indie folk from Glasgow.

GUS HARROWER

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Edinburgh. MAJESTY PALM (FRIGHT YEARS + HOLLY J)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Pop from Glasgow.

Fri 13 Jan

THE RAH’S (THE SANKARAS + CHERRY + BLETHER)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from Scotland. JOESEF

MONO, 20:00–22:00 Indie pop from Scotland. SHADOW OF INTENT

CATHOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Deathcore from the US. MEGAN BLACK

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Pop rock from Scotland.

Sat 14 Jan

STRAID (PANDAS + STATIC + SHEP)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from Glasgow. BIG JOANIE

MONO, 20:00–22:00 Punk from London. DUMB INSTRUMENT (JIM MCATEER + PAUL TASKER)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland. THE WIFE GUYS OF REDDIT (RACECAR + AVOCADO HEARTS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Glasgow.

Sun 15 Jan

FERESTER (URSULA JANE + SHAY + SARA RAE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie rock from the UK. POSABLE ACTION FIGURES (VANSLEEP + SOAPEATER)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Scotland.

Mon 16 Jan

THE RAEBURN BROTHERS (SO-SO DISCO + MAXWELL WEAVER AND THE FIG LEAVES)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Edinburgh.

Tue 17 Jan

KANE BROWN

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Country from the US. DROPKICK MURPHYS

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Celtic punk from the US. THE CRAZY RAY

THE RUM SHACK, 19:30–22:00 Jazz from the US. STEPHEN DURKAN AND THE ACID COMMUNE (EASY PEELERS + UNCLE KID)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Experimental from Glasgow.

Wed 18 Jan

MATTHEW HALL (NAOMI MUNN + BECKI RUTHERFORD + JAMIE RAFFERTY)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from the UK. DANCE GAVIN DANCE (CASKETS + EIDOLA)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rock from California. MADDERAM

BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. SLEEP TOKEN

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Rock from London. GIRLS JUST WANNA SHOWCASE

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup.

Thu 19 Jan

HER PICTURE (OWAN + OH ROMANCE + L-PLATE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from Scotland. JOE PUG

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Scotland. CELTIC CONNECTIONS 30TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Eclectic lineup. Part of Celtic Connections. FRANCIS DUNNERY

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Singer-songwriter from the UK. THE 1975

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Pop rock from the UK.

RACHAEL DADD

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Bristol. Part of Celtic Connections.

Fri 20 Jan

BAB L'BLUZ + SÍOMHA

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Folk from Morocco. Part of Celtic Connections. LLOYDS HOUSE (JUNK PUPS + MILANGE + DILLON SQUIRE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from Glasgow. TALISK

SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Neo-trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. TRIO DA KALI

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Mande and soul from Mali. Part of Celtic Connections. SIERRA HULL & JUSTIN MOSES WITH RACHEL BAIMAN

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00 Folk from Nashville. Part of Celtic Connections. VANIVES (KITTI)

ST LUKE’S, 19:00–22:00 Hip-hop from Glasgow. Part of Celtic Connections. LEWIS MCLAUGHLIN

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00 Indie from Edinburgh. Part of Celtic Connections. CLR THEORY

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Indie folk from Glasgow. Part of Celtic Connections. KATE BOLLINGER

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Virginia.

Sat 21 Jan

THE POOZIES + FRAS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Folk from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. JULIETTE LEMOINE + MATT CARMICHAEL + FERGUS MCCREADIE + CHARLIE STEWART

CITY HALLS, 17:00–22:00 Instrumental from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. ORCHESTRAL QAWWALI

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00 Orchestral from India. Part of Celtic Connections.

ROSIE H SULLIVAN (ANORAK + GRAYLING + SHORTHOUSE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from the Isle of Lewis. MARUJA

BROADCAST, 19:30–22:00 Indie from Manchester. VIAGRA BOYS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Rock from Sweden. GELATINE (MIDDLE CLASS GUILT + KILGOUR + LAS ACUARELAS)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Psych from Glasgow. TREACHEROUS ORCHESTRA

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:00 Trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. PEAT & DIESEL (MOONLIGHT BENJAMIN)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Stornoway. Part of Celtic Connections. THE LONESOME ACE STRINGBAND (THE MAGPIES)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00 Americana from Toronto. Part of Celtic Connections. NOTIFY (THE CANNY BAND)

ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Ireland. Part of Celtic Connections. NAKUL KRISHNAMURTHY

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Indian classical from Glasgow. Part of Celtic Connections. GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS (NEEV)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from the US. Part of Celtic Connections. FLO PERLIN + FERN MADDIE

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk from London. Part of Celtic Connections.

Sun 22 Jan

COLONEL MUSTARD & THE DIJON 5

ORAN MOR, 14:00–22:00 Indie from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections.

BRYAN GEAR + VIOLET TULLOCH

CITY HALLS, 17:00–22:00 Folk from Shetland. Part of Celtic Connections. ROBIN ASHCROFT (BROOKE GALLAGHER + KATIE NICOLL + EVE DAVIDSON)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Glasgow. HEILUNG

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Folk from Europe. PENGUIN CAFÉ (MISHRA)

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:00 Chamber jazz from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections. ROAMING ROOTS REVUE

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Eclectic lineup. Part of Celtic Connections. THE HACKLES

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00 Americana from the US. Part of Celtic Connections. JOSEF AKIN

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Jazz and afrobeat from Glasgow. Part of Celtic Connections.

Mon 23 Jan

PVRIS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Pop rock from the US. CRYPTIC SHIFT (INHUMAN NATURE)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Metal from Leeds. LUCINDA WILLIAMS (L.A. EDWARDS)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Blues rock from the US. Part of Celtic Connections.

Tue 24 Jan

THE FILTHY TONGUES

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Folk rock from Edinburgh. Part of Celtic Connections. ROBYN STAPLETON + CLAIRE HASTINGS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. LEWIS CAPALDI

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:30–22:00 Pop from Scotland.

OLD SEA BRIGADE

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Indie folk from the US. Part of Celtic Connections.

Wed 25 Jan

MATTHEW AND THE ATLAS

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Folk rock from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections. EVERYTHING BRIGHTER (GIRLS. SPEAK.FRENCH + NETHANY NELSON + CHERRY RED)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from the UK. WSTRN

SWG3, 19:00–22:00 R’n’B from London. THE DELGADOS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Glasgow. MALCOLM MACWATT

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Americana from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. CHARM OF FINCHES (TWELFTH DAY)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00 Indie folk from Melbourne. Part of Celtic Connections. POLLY PAULUSMA (MICHAEL MCGOVERN + THE ORANGE TREES)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Cambridge. Part of Celtic Connections.

Thu 26 Jan

DEAN OWENS & THE SINNERS + KIRSTEN ADAMSON

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Folk and Americana from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections. SWISS PORTRAIT (YOUTH FOR SALE + PEDALO + KUBA)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie from Edinburgh. DIRTY HONEY

SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Hard rock from California. BLACK FLAG

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Punk rock from California. CELTIC ODYSSEE (FARA)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Trad from Europe. Part of Celtic Connections.

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00 Trad from Shetland. Part of Celtic Connections. SIOBHAN MILLER (GNOSS)

ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. THE COALTOWN DAISIES

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Americana from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. TOM BRIGHT

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections.

Fri 27 Jan

VALTOS + PROJECT SMOK + KAOLILA

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Neo-trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. KESHI

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 R’n’B from the US. BRONTES (BRETA KENNEDY + BOTTLE ROCKETS + TINA SANDWICH)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Indie rock from Glasgow. LS DUNES

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rock from the US. PARTY CANNON (GODEATER)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Metal from Scotland. THIS FEELING (DICTATOR + FRIGHT YEARS + USUAL AFFAIRS + THE WITS + PG CIARLETTA)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup. TOM MCGUIRE & THE BRASSHOLES

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Funk soul from Glasgow. Part of Celtic Connections. UNDEATH (CELESTIAL SANCTUARY + COFFIN MULCH + DEMONSTRATION OF POWER)

THE FLYING DUCK, 19:00–22:00 Death metal/hardcore from the US. ÍMAR (NDIAZ + FULLSET)

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup. Part of Celtic Connections. KRIS DREVER

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. DERVISH (BREABACH)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Ireland. Part of Celtic Connections. CATRIONA PRICE (HERT + CERYS HAFANA)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00 Folk from Orkney. Part of Celtic Connections. RISE KAGONA + DIWAN + CHIEF CHEB

ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:00 Rock and afrobeats. Part of Celtic Connections. CALLUM EASTER

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. THE DEEP BLUE

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Indie from Manchester. Part of Celtic Connections.

SAM KELLY & THE LOST BOYS + AINSLEY HAMILL BAND

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Folk from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections. DÀIMH (KARAN CASEY)

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00 Trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. MARK SHARP & THE BICYCLE THIEVES (PG CIARLETTA + BEN WALKER)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Rock from West Lothian. ANCHOR LANE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Rock from the UK. FROM THE JAM (BUZZCOCKS)

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Punk rock from the UK. LE VENT DU NORD

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:00 Folk from Canada. Part of Celtic Connections. CARA DILLON (VRI)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Trad from Wales. Part of Celtic Connections. CEÓL IS CRAIC: AN DANNSA DUB + FLEUVES

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00 Folk and trad from Scotland and Brittany. Part of Celtic Connections. ELAINE LENNON’S HOMEBIRD SESSIONS + CAROL LAULA

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Singer-songwriter from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. JASON WILSON’S ASHARA (THE LANGAN BAND)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00 Reggae from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections.

Sun 29 Jan

LEE FIELDS + JAMES HUNTER + JALEN N'GONDA

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00 Americana and blues from the US. Part of Celtic Connections. NICKEL CREEK (LAU NOAH)

CITY HALLS, 19:30–22:00 Neo-bluegrass from the US. Part of Celtic Connections. THE SUBWAYS (GAFFA TAPE SANDY + RUN INTO THE NIGHT)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–22:00 Pop rock from the UK. IMONOLITH (ONCE AWAKE + ASCEND THE HOLLOW)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Hard rock from Canada. EDITORS

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Birmingham. MALIN LEWIS

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:00–15:00 Trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. KATE RUSBY (BLUE ROSE CODE)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Folk from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections. ALASDAIR FRASER + NATALIE HAAS (SARAH-JANE SUMMERS + JUHANI SILVOLA)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00 Eclectic lineup. Part of Celtic Connections.

ST LUKE’S, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. AOIFE O’DONOVAN

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00 Americana from the US. Part of Celtic Connections. ROZI PLAIN

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00 Alt indie from London. Part of Celtic Connections. THE COUNTERFEIT CLUB

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Folk from Edinburgh. Part of Celtic Connections. KITTI (REBECCA VASMANT (DJ SET) + JOSH MAGUIRE + PAIGE)

ROOM 2, 19:00–22:00 Jazz from Scotland.

Mon 30 Jan

CIRCA WAVES

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00 Indie rock from Liverpool. NEW RULES

SWG3, 18:00–22:00 Pop from the UK and Ireland. FRANCIS OF DELIRIUM

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00 Alt indie from Luxembourg. ELIZA CARTHY & THE RESTITUTION

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Folk from the UK. Part of Celtic Connections. PHIL CUNNINGHAM: BEYOND THE FARTHER SHORE (SESSION A9)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Instrumental from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. AVALANCHE KAITO

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00 Post-punk from Brussels. Part of Celtic Connections. BLACK STONE CHERRY (THE DARKNESS)

THE OVO HYDRO, 18:00–22:00 Rock from the US.

Tue 31 Jan

METRIC

SWG3, 19:00–22:00 Synth pop from Toronto. JOSIE DUNCAN + OWEN SINCLAIR

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 13:30–22:00 Folk from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. CHERISH THE LADIES

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00 Trad from Ireland. Part of Celtic Connections. JOHN CARTY & MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK (RYAN YOUNG & SARAH MARKEY)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 20:00–22:00 Trad from Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections. BROKEN CHANTER

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00 Pop from Glasgow. Part of Celtic Connections. Edinburgh Music

Wed 11 Jan

HARRY MILESWATSON & THE UNION (RADING GLANCES + WORKING CLASS ARTISTS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Folk from Edinburgh.

BUTTERFLY BRAIN (RONA ROBERTS + DANNY MENZIES)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Punk from Edinburgh.

Fri 13 Jan

AMATEUR CULT (MIDI PAUL + ANDREW J BROOKES)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Post-punk from Edinburgh.

Sat 14 Jan

WUKASA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alternative from Edinburgh.

Sun 15 Jan

MEHMET ATLI

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Kurdish music lineup.

Thu 19 Jan

KULA SHAKER

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00 Psych rock from the UK.

Sat 21 Jan

THE SCARAMANGA SIX

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Rock from Huddersfield. SUNSTINGER ( T-A + THE CASTROS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Shoegaze from Scotland. THE JOY HOTEL

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Alt rock from Glasgow.

Tue 24 Jan

THE REAL MCKENZIES

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Celtic punk from Canada. SEQUENCE

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 Jazz from Scotland. MC BLANCE (JAMES KENNEDY)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Rap from Edinburgh.

Wed 25 Jan

THE REAL MCKENZIES

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Celtic punk from Canada. THE BUG CLUB

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Wales. HOLDING ABSENCE

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00 Post-hardcore from Wales.

Thu 26 Jan

GERRY JABLONSKI AND THE ELECTRIC BAND

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00 Blues from the UK. THE NEW ROUTINES

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Alternative from Aberdeen.

Fri 27 Jan

FROM THE JAM (BUZZCOCKS)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00 Punk rock from the UK.

Sat 28 Jan

IMONOLITH

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Hard rock from Canada. A NEW INTERNATIONAL

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00 New Romantic from Glasgow.

Sun 29 Jan

TIO RICO (THE GUILLOTINES)

BANNERMANS, 19:30–22:00 Punk from Manchester.

The Flying Duck

SUNDAYS

GOLDEN DAYS Weekly house and techno night for losing yourself in the beats.

The Rum Shack

SATURDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH)

MOJO WORKIN’ Soul party feat. 60s R&B, motown, northern soul and more! SATURDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)

LOOSEN UP Afro, disco and funtimes with three of the best record collections in Glasgow and beyond.

Sub Club

SATURDAYS

SUBCULTURE Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft' joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. FRIDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)

RETURN TO MONO SLAM’s monthly Subbie residency sees them joined by some of the biggest names in international techno.

Cathouse

WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best pop-punk, rock and Hip-hop. THURSDAYS

UNHOLY Cathouse's Thursday night rock, metal and punk mash-up. FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS Screamy, shouty, posthardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS Or Caturdays, if you will. Two levels of the loudest, maddest music the DJs can muster; metal, rock and alt on floor one, and punky screamo upstairs. SUNDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

HELLBENT From the fab fierce family that brought you Catty Pride comes Cathouse Rock Club’s new monthly alternative drag show. SUNDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)

FLASHBACK Pop party anthems and classic cheese from DJ Nicola Walker.

SUNDAYS (THIRD OF THE MONTH)

CHEERS FOR THIRD SUNDAY DJ Kelmosh takes you through Mid-Southwestern emo, rock, new metal, nostalgia and 90s and 00s tunes. SUNDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

SLIDE IT IN Classic rock through the ages from DJ Nicola Walker.

The Garage Glasgow

MONDAYS

BARE MONDAYS Lasers, bouncy castles and DJ Gav Somerville spinning out teasers and pleasers. Nice way to kick off the week, no? TUESDAYS

#TAG TUESDAYS Indoor hot tubs, inflatables as far as the eye can see and a Twitter feed dedicated to validating your drunk-eyed existence. WEDNESDAYS

GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night.

THURSDAYS

ELEMENT Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey. FRIDAYS

FRESH BEAT Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. SATURDAYS

I LOVE GARAGE Garage by name, but not by musical nature. DJ Darren Donnelly carousels through chart, dance and classics, the Desperados bar is filled with funk, G2 keeps things urban and the Attic gets all indie on you. SUNDAYS

SESH Twister, beer pong and DJ Ciar McKinley on the ones and twos, serving up chart and remixes through the night.

Tue 31 Jan

FRANCIS OF DELIRIUM + SLOW NOON

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Luxembourg.

Dundee Music

Sun 15 Jan

JOESEF

CHURCH, 19:00–22:00 Indie pop from Scotland.

Thu 26 Jan

THE BUG CLUB

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 19:00–22:00 Indie from Wales.

Glasgow Clubs

Fri 06 Jan

RUSH WITH ESMÉ

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Techno and acid.

Fri 13 Jan

CURATED WAX WITH KRN

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 Breakbeat and house.

Sat 14 Jan

VELOZ

SWG3, 22:30–03:00 Trance and techno.

Fri 20 Jan

TOMMY HOLOHAN (RARE COLLECTIVE)

SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Rave and house. LAST KODIAK PRESENTS (T/LAW B2B COWBOY + KOPI O + AKKØRD)

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00 House and techno. ALL NITE LONG (JUNGLEHUSSI + CURLACH)

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00 House and dance.

Fri 27 Jan

CHARLIE SPARKS B2B PARFAIT

SWG3, 21:00–03:00 Techno. SCHAK

SWG3, 23:00–03:00 House and dance. CELESTIAL

SWG3, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Edinburgh Clubs

Fri 06 Jan

PALIDRONE: J WAX, DANSA, PROVOST, RUDI

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno. METROPOLIS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Jungle, footwork and techno.

Sat 07 Jan

LUCKY DIP

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House and techno. DAVID BOWIES BIRTHDAY PARTY

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop and disco. SAMEDIA SHEBEEN

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Latin and Arabic beats. DILF

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 House.

Thu 12 Jan

MANGO LOUNGE & GEORGE IV PRESENT:

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 UK Garage.

Fri 13 Jan

NOOK

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Sat 14 Jan

REDSTONE PRESS & FRIENDS: LEWIS LOWE ALL NIGHT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno. KEEP IT STEEL : VALHALLA VIKING METAL PARTY

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Metal. CLUB NACHT

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno. PARABELLVM

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Electronica.

Wed 18 Jan

NIGHT TUBE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Club and dance.

Thu 19 Jan

SIGNAL

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House.

Fri 20 Jan

MINISET W/ FARRELL, SKILLIS & FEENA

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Techno. MILE HIGH CLUB V SHELFLIFE

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Underground. MIGHTY OAK

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Dub.

Sat 21 Jan

CLUB MEDITERRANEO

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Disco. DECADE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop and punk. OVERGROUND

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Rave. 4TH DIMENSION DANCE

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Trance.

Mon 23 Jan

STAND B-SIDE: DANCE SYSTEM

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House from London.

Wed 25 Jan

ANDROMEDA SOUNDS

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Club and dance.

Thu 26 Jan

EDINBURGH DISCO LOVERS’ ITALO SPACE ODYSSEY IV WITH ANNA FLEUR + WRISK

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 Disco. BOLLYNIGHTS

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Bollywood. CATALOGUE ZERO

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Fri 27 Jan

DISCOBOX

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00 Disco and house. SAINT B*TCH

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00 House. CALL ME MAYBE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 Pop. CLUB UPRISING

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Electronica. NITESHIFT

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno.

Sat 28 Jan

CAROUSE X TAIS TOI: DJ HEARTSTRING + FRANCK

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00 Dance and house. IS THIS IT?

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00 Indie pop and rock. TEEN SPIRIT

LA BELLE ANGELE, 23:00–03:00 90s rock.

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Techno. THE BIG GREEN

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00 Electronica.

Sun 29 Jan

WOSP FINALE

LA BELLE ANGELE, 14:00–02:00 Polish party. Glasgow Comedy

The Glee Club

JIMBO

12 JAN-23 JAN, 7:30PM – 9:00PM The Queen, The Clown, The Joan Rivers, The icon is bringing their brand new full packed solo show to the UK.

The Stand Glasgow

AN EVENING WITH VIC DIBITETTO

5 JAN, 8:00PM –10:00PM He prowls the stage like a Tiger. He holds no hostages. He says what you are thinking but are afraid to say out loud and he's beyond hysterical!

THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY: BURN’S NIGHT SPECIAL

25 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM The Stand’s flagship contemporary Scottish comedy show returns for Burn’s Night. OMID DJALILI: THE GOOD TIMES TOUR

29 JAN, 7:30PM –9:00PM Intelligent, always provocative and entertaining, Omid's legendary stand-up performances is a comedy masterclass.

Edinburgh Comedy

Monkey Barrel Comedy

ROAST BATTLE

17 JAN, 8:00PM –9:30PM The show that turns smack talk into an art form. FREYA PARKER: IT AIN’T EASY BEING CHEEKY (WIP)

7 JAN, 8:00PM – 9:00PM As seen in the sketch show Lazy Susan and The Mash Report, Freya Parker brings a work in progress of her debut hour.

14 JAN, 6:00PM –7:00PM BBC New Comedy Awards Finalist Hannah Platt stages her work in progress show. SAM LAKE: CAKE (LIVE RECORDING)

15 JAN, 5:00PM –6:00PM Join Sam Lake for the live special recording of his acclaimed debut show. DANNY BHOY: TOUR PREVIEW

24 JAN, 8:00PM –9:00PM Globally-renowned Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy previews his new show. ROBIN MORGAN: SNIP SNIP, BITCH

28 JAN, 8:00PM –9:00PM Fast-rising comedy star takes on the personal.

The Stand Edinburgh

FRANKIE BOYLE: WORK IN PROGRESS

30 JAN-31 JAN, 5:00PM – 6:30PM An in-progress show from the always reliable Frankie Boyle. STU & GARRY’S IMPROV SHOW

10 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM The Stand’s very own Stu & Garry’s long-running improv show: taking audience suggestions and making comedy gold.

Regular Edinburgh club nights

Cabaret Voltaire

FRIDAYS

FLY CLUB Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. SATURDAYS

PLEASURE Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests.

Sneaky Pete’s

MONDAYS

MORRISON STREET/STAND B-SIDE/CHAOS IN THE COSMOS/ TAIS-TOI House and techno dunts from some of Edinburgh's best young teams. TUESDAYS

POPULAR MUSIC DJs playing music by bands to make you dance: Grace Jones to Neu!, Parquet Courts to Brian Eno, The Clash to Janelle Monáe. WEDNESDAYS

HEATERS Heaters presents weekly local crew showdowns, purveying the multifarious mischief that characterises Sneaks' midweek party haven. THURSDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

VOLENS CHORUS Resident DJs with an eclectic, global outlook

FRIDAYS (SECOND OF THE MONTH)

HOT MESS A night for queer people and their friends. SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

SOUL JAM Monthly no-holdsbarred, down-anddirty disco. SUNDAYS

POSTAL Weekly Sunday session showcasing the very best of heavy-hitting local talent with some extra special guests.

The Liquid Room

SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

REWIND Monthly party night celebrating the best in soul, disco, rock and pop with music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and current bangers.

The Hive

MONDAYS

MIXED UP MONDAY Monday-brightening mix of Hip-hop, R'n'B and chart classics, with requests in the back room. TUESDAYS

TRASH TUESDAY Alternative Tuesday anthems cherry picked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

WEDNESDAYS

COOKIE WEDNESDAY 90s and 00s cheesy pop and modern chart anthems. THURSDAYS

HI-SOCIETY THURSDAY Student anthems and bangerz. FRIDAYS

FLIP FRIDAY Yer all-new Friday at Hive. Cheap entry, inevitably danceable, and novelty-stuffed. Perrrfect. SATURDAYS

BUBBLEGUM Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. SUNDAYS

SECRET SUNDAY Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/handle on a Sunday.

Subway Cowgate

MONDAYS

TRACKS Blow the cobwebs off the week with a weekly Monday night party with some of Scotland’s biggest and best drag queens. TUESDAYS

TAMAGOTCHI Throwback Tuesdays with non-stop 80s, 90s, 00s tunes. WEDNESDAYS

XO Hip-hop and R'n'B grooves from regulars DJ Beef and DJ Cherry.

THURSDAYS

SLIC More classic Hip-hop and R'n'B dance tunes for the almost end of the week. FRIDAYS

FIT FRIDAYS Chart-topping tunes perfect for an irresistible sing and dance-along. SATURDAYS

SLICE SATURDAY The drinks are easy and the pop is heavy. SUNDAYS Sunday Service Atone for the week before and the week ahead with non-stop dancing.

The Mash House

SATURDAYS (FIRST OF THE MONTH)

SAMEDIA SHEBEEN Joyous global club sounds: think Afrobeat, Latin and Arabic dancehall on repeat. SATURDAYS (LAST OF THE MONTH)

PULSE The best techno DJs sit alongside The Mash House resident Darrell Pulse.

26 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM A Fringe Festival sell-out smash from one of the warmest, wildest, nicest guys in comedy. SUSAN MORRISON IS HISTORICALLY FUNNY

14 JAN, 2:00PM –4:00PM Comedy meets history, and it doesn’t always go well. AN EVENING WITH VIC DIBITETTO

7 JAN, 5:00PM – 7:00PM He prowls the stage like a Tiger. He holds no hostages. He says what you are thinking but are afraid to say out loud, and he's beyond hysterical! THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY: BURN’S NIGHT SPECIAL

25 JAN, 8:30PM –10:30PM The Stand’s flagship contemporary Scottish comedy show returns for Burn’s Night. Glasgow Theatre

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER

6 JAN-8 JAN, TIMES VARY A multi-artform exploration of the world of Lewis Carroll's Alice books. LEAR/OTHELLO

24 JAN-27 JAN, TIMES VARY A tragic double-bill. L'ÉTOILE

28 JAN-3 FEB, 7:15PM – 9:45PM The Scottish premiere of the opera classic.

The King’s Theatre

THE BODYGUARD

28 JAN-4 FEB, 7:30PM – 10:00PM A sexy, musical adaptation of the Whitney Houston classic.

Theatre Royal

THE LAVENDER HILL MOB

30 JAN-4 FEB, 7:30PM – 10:00PM A British classic brought to life by Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards.

Tron Theatre

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ

4 JAN-8 JAN, TIMES VARY A witty, modern take on the transformatory classic.

Edinburgh Theatre

Festival Theatre

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

31 JAN-4 FEB, 7:30PM –10:00PM Stephen Daldry's multiaward-winning National Theatre production of JB Priestley's classic thriller. THE PANTO: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

3 JAN-22 JAN, TIMES VARY A lavish panto classic.

The Edinburgh Playhouse

JERSEY BOYS

24 JAN-4 FEB, 7:30PM –10:00PM A whirlwind look at the lives behind Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. SHEN YUN

11 JAN-12 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM An epic performance of classical Chinese dance accompanied by a live orchestra. MY FAIR LADY

2 JAN-7 JAN, TIMES VARY Time for a loverly production of the classic Pygmalion musical. BURNS

20 JAN-21 JAN, TIMES VARY A musical extravaganza telling the history of Scotland’s poet Robert Burns.

The Studio

THE GIFT

3 JAN-4 JAN, TIMES VARY Family friendly fun about the unexpected joys of giving and receiving.

Traverse Theatre

TAM O'SHANTER, TALES & WHISKY

25 JAN-25 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM A comic celebration of the Gothic poems of Robert Burns.

Glasgow Art

Glasgow School of Art

CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE

6 JAN-21 JAN, 10:00AM – 4:30PM Exhibition documenting two experimental drawing workshops led by Robert McCormack and Council Baby that were staged on the iconic Glasgow SPT subway in 2022.

Glasgow Women’s Library

GATHERING STITCH

2 JAN-4 FEB, TIMES VARY A collaborative textile piece created by survivors of sexual violence, placed in conversation with textile work from the library archive. VANESSA BAIRD: I GET ALONG WITHOUT YOU VERY WELL

2 JAN-25 FEB, TIMES VARY A new series of quotidian paintings by one of Norway’s leading contemporary artists.

Drygate Brewing Co.

FIRST AND THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH

DRYGATE COMEDY LAB, 7PM A new material comedy night hosted by Chris Thorburn.

The Stand Glasgow

FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH

MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV, 20:30 Host Billy Kirkwood and guests act entirely on your suggestions.

TUESDAYS

RED RAW, 20:30 Legendary new material night with up to eight acts. FRIDAYS

THE FRIDAY SHOW, 20:30 The big weekend show with four comedians. SATURDAYS

THE SATURDAY SHOW, 20:30 The big weekend show with four comedians.

The Glee Club

FRIDAYS

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY, 19:00 The perfect way to end the working week, with four superb stand-up comedians. SATURDAYS

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY, 19:00 An evening of awardwinning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Regular Edinburgh comedy nights

The Stand Edinburgh

Mondays

RED RAW, 20:30 Legendary new material night with up to 8 acts. Fridays

THE FRIDAY SHOW, 21:00 The big weekend show with four comedians. Saturdays

THE SATURDAY SHOW (THE EARLY SHOW), 17:00 A slightly earlier performance of the big weekend show with four comedians. Saturdays

THE SATURDAY SHOW, 20:30 The big weekend show with four comedians.

Monkey Barrel

Second and third Tuesday of every month

THE EDINBURGH REVUE, 19:00 The University of Edinburgh's Comedy Society, who put on sketch and stand-up comedy shows every two weeks. Wednesdays

TOP BANANA, 19:00 Catch the stars of tomorrow today in Monkey Barrel's new act night every Wednesday. Thursdays

SNEAK PEAK, 19:00 + 21:00 Four acts every Thursday take to the stage to try out new material. Fridays

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY'S BIG FRIDAY SHOW, 19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel's flagship night of premier stand-up comedy. Fridays

DATING CRAPP, 22:00 Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Farmers Only...Come and laugh as some of Scotland's best improvisers join forces to perform based off two audience members dating profiles. Saturdays

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY'S BIG SATURDAY SHOW, 17:00/19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel's flagship night of premier stand-up comedy. Sundays

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY'S BIG SUNDAY SHOW, 19:00/21:00 Monkey Barrel's flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

GoMA

CLARA URSITTI: AMIK

1 JAN-29 JAN, 11:00AM – 4:00PM Sculpture, film and scent installation consider ideas of trade and histories of human, animal and botanic migration. ELIZABETH PRICE: SLOW DANS

27 JAN-14 MAY, 11:00AM – 4:00PM A moving image work exploring the temporality of industry and labour, and the ongoing legacy of political spaces.

SWG3

CREATIVE RESILIENCE: SCENE BUT NOT HEARD

1 JAN-5 JAN 23, 12:00PM – 6:00PM Bringing together 26 artists of marginalised genders, this exhibition is a celebration of the creative and political possibilities of street and urban art.

Street Level Photoworks

FUTUREPROOF 2022

1 JAN-29 JAN, TIMES VARY Annual exhibition platforming some of the most groundbreaking photography to emerge from art schools, universities and colleges in the past year.

The Briggait

KAYLEIGH SARAH MCGUINNESS: NEIGHEANAN NAN (THE DAUGHTERS OF)

1 JAN-3 JAN, TIMES VARY A new body of work examining processes of being situated in time and space through the materiality of the Scottish landscape.

The Common Guild

ANYWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE

28 JAN-15 JUL, TIMES VARY A multi-artist exhibition taking place in locations throughout Glasgow, examining the library as a site of civic and political potential.

The Modern Institute

TONY SWAIN: SIGHT DESERTED

2 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES VARY Phantasmagoric, collagelike paintings that refigure landscape painting to explore ideas of abandonment and decay.

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane

LUKE FOWLER: BEING IN A PLACE

2 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES VARY A subversive documentarian approach to the life and work of author Margaret Tait.

JESSE WINE: BOTH

2 JAN-1 FEB, TIMES VARY Fragmented sculptural forms explore the relationship between the physical and psychological within the domestic space.

Tramway

NORMAN GILBERT

1 JAN-5 FEB, TIMES VARY A major exhibition of vibrant paintings by seminal Glasgow Southside artist. IZA TARASEWICZ

1 JAN-29 JAN, TIMES VARY Working from her farm in Poland, material artist Iza Tarasewicz co-opts rural systems of production to craft installations that entangle cellular, social, agricultural, and celestial interactions. Edinburgh Art

Arusha Gallery

KIRSTY WHITEN: SHOOKETH

1 JAN-6 JAN, TIMES VARY Visceral, vulnerable paintings walking the line between the hyperreal and mythic, exploring ideas of healing and emergence.

GLEAN: EARLY 20TH CENTURY WOMEN FILMMAKERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS IN SCOTLAND

1 JAN-12 MAR, TIMES VARY Presenting work by 14 pioneering early 20th-century photographers and filmmakers and their relationship with the environments of Scotland. RON O’DONNELL: EDINBURGH: A LOST WORLD

1 JAN-5 MAR, TIMES VARY Previously unseen photographs from the 60s and 70s by Ron O’Donnell paint an intimate, urban portrait of Edinburgh. PAUL DUKE: NO RUINED STONE

1 JAN-19 FEB, TIMES VARY A photographic series exploring the built environment and its residents at a time of significant urban regeneration and social flux. AULD REEKIE RETOLD

1 JAN-19 JAN, TIMES VARY The results of one of Edinburgh’s most comprehensive archival projects, this exhibition brings together long-hidden objects from the city’s museum collections.

Collective Gallery

KATIE SCHWAB: THE SEEING HANDS

1 JAN-5 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM An interactive exhibition considering ways of exploring and expressing tactility. KATHERINE KA YI LIU: NEITHER THE WEST NOR THE EAST CAN BE A DETERMINATE LOCATION

1 JAN-26 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM A multisensory installation featuring text, handmade paper, found objects, scent, ceramic sculptures and silver casts exploring the Western, Eurocentric frameworks that have been imposed on Hong Kong.

Dovecot Studios

KNITWEAR: CHANEL TO WESTWOOD

2 JAN-11 MAR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM Bringing together some of the most influential knitwear pieces of the 20th century in a groundbreaking and cosy exhibition.

Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop

ALICE DUDGEON + OISÍN GALLAGHER: LINE DRAWINGS

2 JAN-7 JAN, 11:00AM – 5:00PM Sculptural wooden forms informed by the surroundings of the gallery and developed from a series of ink drawings.

Fruitmarket

HAYLEY TOMPKINS: FAR

1 JAN-29 JAN, 10:00AM – 7:00PM A vivid exhibition of new and existing work exploring the sensuous materiality of paint and colour.

1 JAN-8 JAN, 10:00AM – 7:00PM A series of increasingly unwearable prostheses created from the artist’s arm that examine current discourses around disability. The exhibition is accompanied by regular live drawing performances.

Open Eye Gallery

PHILIP ARCHER OBE: SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS

13 JAN-4 FEB, TIMES VARY Inspired by the landscapes of Le Langhe, Piedmont, this new exhibition explores shifting patterns of light and shade.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA

RSA BARNS-GRAHAM TRAVEL AWARD

14 JAN-1 MAR, TIMES VARY A body of work by two of the most recent recipients of the RSA Barns-Graham Travel Award, exhibiting work developed in Marseilles and on the Isle of Eigg.

Scottish National Gallery

IN THE FRAME: CONSERVING SCOTLAND’S ART

1 JAN-16 APR, TIMES VARY An exhibition showcasing the ambitious conservation work taking place at the National Galleries. TURNER IN JANUARY

1 JAN-31 JAN, TIMES VARY The annual display of the National Galleries’ Turner impressive collection.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

ARTISTS AT WORK 2

1 JAN-12 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM An exhibition of painting, sculpture, photography and jewellery created by staff at the National Galleries of Scotland.

Stills

FUTUREPROOF 2022

3 JAN-28 JAN, 12:00PM – 5:00PM Platforming emerging photographic talent from across Scotland’s art schools, universities, and colleges.

Summerhall

WONDERLUST

1 JAN-28 FEB, 12:00PM – 5:30PM Blown-up, nostalgia-tinged polaroids are given an eerie, haunted feel in this photographic series. JOHN KINDNESS: THE ODYSSEY

1 JAN-28 FEB, 12:00PM – 5:30PM A retelling of the Homeric classic told through the Modernist lens of James Joyce, scattered throughout Summerhall’s rooms. BOSNIAN WAR POSTERS

1 JAN-15 JAN, 12:00PM – 5:30PM A curation of posters and political graphic design produced by individual artists protesting the Bosnian War.

2 JAN-18 FEB, TIMES VARY Large-scale paintings and topographies exploring developing geopolitical landscapes. NIRA PEREG

2 JAN-18 FEB, TIMES VARY Video installations that explore ideas of ceremony, ritual, and contested political spaces across Israel and Palestine. LARA FAVARETTO

2 JAN-18 FEB, TIMES VARY Large-scale sculptures and installations that investigate the space between destruction and reconstruction, collapse and recovery.

The Scottish Gallery

TEN YEARS OF MODERN MASTERS

7 JAN-28 JAN, TIMES VARY The latest in The Scottish Gallery’s modern art series, opening up new conversations on the greatest artists in 20th-century Scottish art. ALISON DUNLOP: BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

7 JAN-28 JAN, TIMES VARY Vivid, striking interpretations of the landscape draw out its innate musicality. KATE BLEE: UNPREDICTABLE LIFE

7 JAN-28 JAN, TIMES VARY New series of textile works by internationally renowned artist. JACQUELINE MINA + MICHAEL CARBERRY: FORGING AHEAD

7 JAN-28 JAN, TIMES VARY Bold, fluid jewellery by two jewellery makers. ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?

3 JAN-11 FEB, TIMES VARY A series of works on paper celebrating the power of storytelling through art.

Torrance Gallery

WINTER EXHIBITION

3 JAN-14 JAN, 11:00AM – 5:30PM A bumper winter exhibition showcasing many of the gallery’s regular artists. Dundee Art

DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts

MATTHEW ARTHUR WILLIAMS: SOON COME

1 JAN-26 MAR, TIMES VARY Newly commissioned film and sound installations reform traditional portraiture by defying erasure and re considering what it means to document the Black queer experience.

HIDDEN HISTORIES: EXPLORING EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN DUNDEE’S ART COLLECTION

3 JAN-30 DEC, 10:00AM – 5:00PM Exploring the McManus 20th-century collection through different positionalities, to examine the responsibility of the museum as institution in responding to history. CASTS AND COPIES

3 JAN-30 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM Examining the artistic and historic significance of copies, fakes, and forgeries.

V&A Dundee

SINCERELY, VALENTINES: FROM POSTCARDS TO GREETINGS CARDS

1 JAN-8 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM Exhibiting an archive by J. Valentine & Sons, Scotland’s pioneering commercial photographers who popularised the holiday postcard on a global scale. PLASTIC: REMAKING OUR WORLD

1 JAN-5 FEB, 10:00AM – 5:00PM A dynamic exhibition thinking through the materiality and technological capacities and difficulties of plastic.

The Skinny On... Joesef

With his debut album, Permanent Damage, out this month, Glasgow’s Joesef takes on our January Q&A

What’s your favourite place to visit? I love the Spar at my maw’s bit on a Friday night, the atmosphere is electric and everyone’s buzzing buying their cans and fags.

What’s your favourite food? Is it basic to say bolognese? Only when I make it though; I really will die on the hill of no one’s bolognese being as good as mine.

What’s your favourite colour? I like the colour the sky goes when it’s really cold and it’s about 4.30pm during winter in Scotland on a clear day. It feels like a heavy blue settling into a burnt orange kinda colour – so beautiful.

Who was your hero growing up? I didn’t really have many heroes but I was kinda obsessed with the Spice Girls. Even as a wee guy I could feel their power, and as I get older the command they had of the music industry at that time has even more weight to it.

Whose work inspires you now? I’m really inspired by Douglas Stuart, his novels Shu ie Bain and Young Mungo really resonated with me. I think every queer working class Glaswegian should know his work, it’s such a specific experience that he captures in a really nuanced way.

What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking? George Michael, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Michaela Coel; probably bolognese tbh.

What’s your all time favourite album? That’s a bit of an impossible question, but right now, since it’s cold and dark, Carole King’s Tapestry. I feel like this album is the definition of a classic. It’s an album I’ve lived with since I was a wee guy and it continues to mean different things to me as I get older. The writing and Carole’s voice just moves me in a way I think is quite rare. I’ll love it forever.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? Probably House of Wax, it’s a horror and Paris Hilton’s in it, it’s terrible but I feel like it’s high camp – it’s so bad it’s fucking class.

What book would you take to a desert island? Ocean Vuong – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. I read it last year and I still think about it a lot.

Who’s the worst? I’ve never really liked E.T., feel like he caused a lot of trouble then fucked off back to space pretty quickly. When did you last cry? I cried reading a book called The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit. She talks a lot about mortality and her relationship with her mother before and after she started to succumb to Alzheimer’s, among other things. Just got me thinking about the inevitability of life, and my own family and stuff.

What are you most scared of? Dying suddenly and not getting to say goodbye to anyone.

When did you last vomit? I was off my face and went a bit too ham hock on the cocktails and I was being sick the day after.

Tell us a secret? No.

Which celebrity could you take in a fight? I feel like I could probably take somebody like Eddie Redmayne? He’s so nice and gentlemanly, I could probs deck him. But I’m defo a lover not a fighter. If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be? Probably a blue whale, I feel like they have such a complex existence I’d like to know what they are thinking about. I like the idea of being so big that no one really bothers you.

Beyond your debut album coming out in January, what else are you most looking forward to in 2023? Travelling loads and being happy, hopefully. I’d love to see Japan before the year’s out, play a gig there, and go back to America.

Which other Scottish musicians do you think should be on everyone’s radar in 2023? Theo Bleak, she’s an amazing artist from Dundee, such an amazing writer and she’s such a lovely person too; her new EP’s just out, it’s gorgeous.

Permanent Damage is released on 13 Jan via AWAL