Since when did Scotland become the indie rock capital of Europe? I mean seriously, some of the talent that has come out of there in the past couple years is really, really impressive. From the likes of The Twilight Sad to Frightened Rabbit to to Glasvegas to Camera Obscura (and many more) this is not your older brother’s Scottish rock n roll (all apologies to The Proclaimers).
And now yet another impressive outfit is making noise overseas and plans to hit US shores with their music, and they go by the name of We Were Promised Jetpacks. As if the name along does not beg for a listen or two, the music itself is nothing short of brilliant. Hailing from Glasgow, We Were Promised Jetpacks are able to maneuver between some of the more delicate sounds you would hear from Frightened Rabbit and some of the blistering wall of sound moments you get from The Twilight Sad.
The boys made a nice splash here in the US during SXSW and are poised to release their debut album on a very Scot-friendly label, Fat Cat Records later this summer. (July 7th)
Below is an mp3 for their excellent tune, “It’s Thunder & It’s Lightning” along with a video for another great song, “Quiet Little Voices.”
May 6, 2009Of course I’ve heard of those bands, and minus The View (sorry) they are all great. It just seems to be a very strong wave right now, no?
May 6, 2009Sorry, didn’t mean to be patronising, but the healthy state of Scottish indie has been a given in the UK for almost three decades, ever since the inception of Postcard Records.
Since then (Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Restricted Code etc) there’s been a pretty relentless torrent of great music. I don’t really think it’s in any better shape now than in, say, the mid 90s when you had Bis, Yummy Fur, Adventures in Stereo, Urusei Yatsura etc as well as the Fannies, and the late Nineties when the Creeping Bent label was pumping out terrific music.
There must be something in the water. Or the whisky.
May 6, 2009So the real question is, what do you think of WWPJ? 
May 6, 2009I quite like them although they lack that distinguishing, defining characteristic that marks out the good from the great.
Mar 3, 2010I’m a huge Aztec Camera fan. What about Mike Scott, the brains behind the Waterboys? And who can forget the footprint Del Amitri left in the 90’s?
1:52 pm
“Since when did Scotland become the indie rock capital of Europe?”
Er, since forever.
Have you not heard of Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Bis, Franz Ferdinand, Arab Strap, The Delgados, The View, Beta Band, Fire Engines etc, etc, etc. Scotland has ALWAYS been fertile ground for great indie rock. And I’m a Londoner.