13 minute read
Gilla Band, fka Girl Band, on their experimental new album
Off the Wall
Gilla Band talk about their ‘experimental’ and ‘off the wall’ new album Most Normal, their first since changing their name from Girl Band
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Interview: Max Pilley
Within the first few seconds of Gilla Band’s third album, listeners are thrown into panic. Opening track The Gum begins with eardrum-scraping guitar feedback, followed quickly by the clattering, industrial churn of what sounds like a prototype of a primitive robot stirring into life. It is incendiary, and the perfect introduction back into the Dublin band’s world. For all 35 minutes of Most Normal, the intensity, the strangeness and the joyful absurdism of their music never relents once. “I totally wouldn’t describe it as particularly accessible,” quips the band’s producer and bassist Daniel Fox. “In fact, it’s nuts. There are some bits that are genuinely experimental and off the wall. But we listen to stuff that’s way more leftfield than what we do, and we still think, ‘oh, that’s a great tune’. It’s hard to tell where anybody’s barometer is.” The irony is that Most Normal might even be their most digestible record so far. The first release since the quartet changed their name from Girl Band in 2021, it does include tracks with identifiable hooks and familiar structures. Eight Fivers has a clear linear format, for example, with Dara Kiely’s vocals front and centre, singing about the list of places he goes hunting for ‘shit clothes’, while I Was Away is almost hummable, with a repeating guitar riff and a borderline-singalong chorus. What sets Most Normal apart from its predecessors is that this time around, the maverick touch that they have always applied to their songcraft is now extended to the recording and production process itself. “For this one, we wanted to refine it and make things very direct, as opposed to [2019’s] The Talkies, which is very indirect and is more of a washy head-trip,” says Fox. This newfound desire for sonic tampering, accentuated by the endless free time offered up by pandemic lockdowns, results in a final record that is both tighter in discipline and more focused in execution. That is not to underestimate the sheer otherworldliness of the music. What Fox describes as “those heavy-handed, fucking-the-whole-trackfor-a-couple-of-seconds, really hard left-hand turns” that are the Gilla Band trademark are writ large across every track on the album; Gilla Band
Dara Kiely, Gilla Band
dare you to relax while listening to their music. For inspiration in that regard, the band looked towards contemporary hip-hop as a guiding light. “Earl Sweatshirt is a good example,” says Fox. “The whole track gets mangled for a few seconds and it’s this head-trip. For our arrangements, we were into stuff like that. You don’t hear that kind of thing in rock bands too much. We were definitely pulling from some of that.” Elsewhere, the band dipped much further into history for ideas. The track Capgras, for example, which finds Kiely issue a stream of consciousness spoken word diatribe over scuzzy, processed white noise, was inspired by Kiely’s interest in the 1950s American country singer Ray Price’s penchant for metatextually narrating his own songs. Indeed, it often feels like Kiely is a step or two removed from his own lyrics, adding a further layer of arch, situationist absurdity to an already surreal mix. On Binliner Fashion, Kiely sings, ‘Full from swallowing a filling / Pritt Stick all my teeth back in / I’ll still be happy, but I might be gappy / Watching the pot boil and wearing tin foil’. It is typical of the self-deprecating, deadpan nature of Kiely’s writing, although to ask him about it is to ask for trouble. “There’s a hint of love songs in there somewhere, I think there is a bit of sincerity to it,” Kiely contends, barely suppressing a cheeky smirk. “It’s weird,” he continues, starting to make a bit more sense. “I just go on about mundane shit and then make it a bit weirder.” Having now been together for over a decade, Gilla Band can be considered one of the elder statesmen of the now booming Irish guitar music scene. Many of the newest emerging groups, including Naked Lungs and Silverbacks, now turn to Fox when looking for a producer. It is a highly fertile and interconnected network of young musicians, something that the band love to see. “Compared to when we were younger, people are more confident in themselves in terms of getting out of Ireland,” says Fox. “I think there’s always been the same amount of music, but I think people feel like it’s more accessible to tour and spread the word. Traditionally a lot of Irish bands would have to move to England, and not everyone wants to do that. But Dublin is a hard place to live in terms of the economy and trying to find housing, so I think people have plenty to shout about. And they do.” With groups like Gilla Band leading the way, the future of Irish music is in pleasingly daring and dangerous hands.
Most Normal is released on 7 Oct via Rough Trade; Gilla Band play SWG3, Glasgow, 19 Oct
Auld Spookie
Explore Edinburgh’s spooky, haunted and mysterious past, and check out some unique opportunities to delve into its darker stories
Words by: The Skinny
A performer at Samhuinn
Haunted Hotels and Attractions
Surgeons’ Hall Museums in Newington houses one of the UK’s biggest pathology collections – it’s a huge archive of artworks, artefacts and anatomical specimens. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it is a museum with a genuine surprise around each corner and a key part of the stories of anatomy lecturer, Robert Knox and notorious 19th century murderers, Burke & Hare.
Down the road at the National Museum of Scotland, the ten metre-tall Millennium Clock Tower is dedicated to some of the darker events of the 20th century, but with some hopeful touches and lighter elements. Its bells toll every hour, on the hour. Another monument to past horrors can be found at Edinburgh Castle esplanade – the Witches Well is dedicated to the Edinburgh women accused of witchcraft between the 15th and 18th centuries.
But to really dig into the city’s past, you need to head underground. The Real Mary King’s Close offers hour-long guided tours of the 17th century street beneath the modern-day Royal Mile. You’ll investigate the buildings, learn about the residents, and get a glimpse into life in one of the city’s most notorious streets. At the other side of the Mile, Mercat Tours explore Edinburgh’s underground history via the South Bridge Vaults. Their History Walks delve into day-to-day life, while Ghost Tours lean into the darker and spookier aspects of life in the 1700s.
For the full experience, you’ll want to check into a hotel with a spooky past. City centre options include the luxurious Scotsman Hotel on North Bridge (spectres from its former life as a newspaper office make occasional appearances) or the decadent glamour of The Witchery (said to be haunted by those accused of witchcraft). Alternatively, head out of the city to Dalhousie Castle – it’s a modern luxury hotel in a 13th century castle, with frequent reports of ghostly sightings around the building and grounds.
Out and About
Princes Street Gardens – a lovely oasis of green in the heart of the city, right? Well, not always. The park was once the Nor Loch, a fetid manmade loch that served as a rubbish dump and execution site. The city’s many historic graveyards, from the Old Calton Cemetery to Greyfriars Kirkyard also hold endless stories from the past. Edinburgh is full of history, but leave the classically spooky spots of the Old Town and there are more obscure moments from the city’s history to seek out.
One grizzly reminder of the city’s past can be found, of all places, in leafy and residential Morningside. The Hanging Stanes, near the corner of Comiston Terrace and Braid Road, mark the spot where Henry O’R Neil and Thomas Kelly – the final highwaymen to be publicly hanged in Scotland – were executed. More recent Edinburgh history can be explored on Cramond Island. The outcrop in the Firth of Forth is filled with military fortifications, after the island was taken over by the military during World War II. The result is an unnerving mixture of wild landscape and brutalist concrete bunkers – check the tide times before setting off.
If you’re looking for something more ominous than outright spooky, a trip along the Water of Leith pathway will introduce you to six bronze figures by artist Anthony Gormley. The standing figures pop up at locations between Stockbridge and Leith, making for a relaxing autumn walk with the occasional eerie moment.
From a few slightly unexpected figures to hundreds of them, and the Samhuinn Fire Festival organised by the Beltane Fire Society. Taking place in Holyrood Park on Halloween night, it’s a mixture of drumming, acrobatics and immersive storytelling, sharing the pagan tale of the mythic battle between the Winter and Summer kings.
Spooky pubs and historic bars
In a city as storied as Edinburgh, it’s no surprise that the city is home to a raft of ‘haunted’ pubs and bars. The White Hart Inn on Grassmarket, thought to be Auld Reekie’s oldest pub, is reportedly haunted by a shadowy figure who moves beer barrels around the basement and slams doors behind them. An apparition, or a grumpy barman? Who can say.
From one door to another, The Beehive Inn just down the street hosts a particularly dark memento from Edinburgh’s past. The door from the ‘Death Cell’ at the city’s infamous Calton Jail can be found on the second floor, with a brief inscription above. Complete your trio of spooky Grassmarket pubs with a trip to The Last Drop, an atmospheric and homely pub at the sight of the last public hanging in the city in 1864.
On the Lawnmarket, Deacon Brodies tells the story of the real-life inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde in economical fashion – their sign features Brodie’s upstanding daytime persona on one side, and his terrible nighttime mode on the other. Inside it’s a traditional pub with a surprisingly interesting ceiling.
Even some of Edinburgh’s more alternative pubs have spooky tales to tell. The Banshee Labyrinth on Niddry Street lays claim to the title of ‘Scotland’s Most Haunted Pub’, but it’s also a fun, atmospheric bar in its own right. It’s a warren of booths and nooks, with regular live music and film screenings. Hidden away in the New Town, the Star Bar is another unique pub with cool decor, a beer garden, a jukebox… and a human skull apparently not to be moved, on pain of something terrible happening to the person who moves it. Yikes.
Discover Edinburgh's haunted past today edinburgh.org/storyneverends/dark-edinburgh/
Greyfriars Grave detail skull and faces
Digi Cult
Scotland Loves Anime, the UK’s longest running film festival dedicated to Japanese animation, is back with another sparkling lineup featuring trips into the future, a bombastic rock opera, a few coming-of-age numbers and a deep dive into digital realms
Words: Ross McIndoe
Inu-Oh The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
The term ‘Isekai’ refers to a type of anime in which the protagonist is suddenly transported out of our regular world and into a fantastical new one. Step through the doors of the Edinburgh Filmhouse or the Glasgow Film Theatre in time for this month’s Scotland Loves Anime festival, and you’ll get to know exactly what that feels like. You’ll be able to take a trip into the future with Break of Dawn (23 Oct, GFT; 29 Oct, Filmhouse) and its tale of one boy and his robot. Or tumble back into the past for Inu-Oh (21 Oct, GFT) a psychedelic rock opera set in 14th-century Japan. Or explore how past and future connect with The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes (22 Oct, GFT; 29 Oct, Filmhouse) as a grieving student comes across a magical tunnel that can grant him his heart’s deepest desire but only if he’s willing to give up several years of his own life in return. Of course, sometimes the real adventure is the friends we make along the way, and this year’s festival has plenty of more grounded dramas as well. Goodbye, Don Glees! (23 Oct, GFT; 30 Oct, Filmhouse) sees a group of misfit boys heading into the woods for a Stand By Me-style coming-ofage adventure. While they lose each other among the trees, the girls of Hula Fulla Dance (28 Oct, Filmhouse) get more and more in step over the course of a life-changing hula dance campaign. In Blue Thermal (22 Oct, GFT; 30 Oct, Filmhouse), Tamaki explores the feminine urge to deal with a romantic disaster by developing an all-consuming passion for gliding while the rebellious youngsters of Seven Days War (30 Oct, Filmhouse) escape the grinding pressure of parental supervision by camping out in an abandoned factory. For better or worse, the place that most of us disappear into is usually the strange world of the internet. Thanks to this year’s Digital Realms strand – put together by the festival’s inaugural guest curator and all-round animation aficionado Kambole Campbell – we’ll be taking a trip back to the early days of the net through a series of classic films including Perfect Blue (24 Oct, Filmhouse) from the legendary Satoshi Kon. The strand will also feature the first three episodes of the late 90s cyberpunk series Serial Experiments Lain (25 Oct, Filmhouse) in which emails from the other side turn a young girl’s life upside down. If you were lucky enough to see Belle in Goodbye, Don Glees! all its whale-singing glory earlier this year then you know what it’s like to be hardwired into Mamoru Hosoda’s exhilarating imagination, and the Digital Realms strand will also give you a chance to check out one of his most celebrated trips into the weird, wide world of the web with Summer Wars (26 Oct, Filmhouse). Finally, Patlabor: The Movie (27 Oct, Filmhouse) paints an all-too-real picture of the future as the world is ravaged by environmental disasters, forcing them to resort to drastic, giant robot-based measures to survive. And if giant robots are your thing then, naturally, you’re in the right place. Mobile Suit Gundam: Cucuruz Doan’s Island (21 Oct, GFT; 29 Oct, Filmhouse) is here to provide all the bot-on-bot action you could ask for, though if you prefer your mechanical showdowns with a side-order of existential despair then there’s Evangelion 3.0 + 1.01 (23 Oct, GFT; 28 Oct, Filmhouse), which brings the iconic series to a spectacular, soul-shattering close. And finally, this year’s mystery film has been revealed as the newest work from the brilliant Naoko Yamada, The Garden of Remembrance (29 Oct, Filmhouse). The film itself still seems pretty mysterious but with the director of A Silent Voice at the helm, the chance to catch this ahead of its full release next year is not to be missed. Whatever you turn up for though, you’ll find that the 2022 edition of Scotland Loves Anime is ready and waiting to whisk you off to somewhere you’ve never seen before and that you’ll never quite forget.
Scotland Loves Anime: 21-23 Oct, GFT; 24-30 Oct, Filmhouse
For full screening details and tickets, head to www.lovesanimation.com
