Staff Reviews

The Pictish Trail - The Summer is Empty of Idiots

Review by Andrew Kennedy

There is an omnipotent gleam to the proceedings which really brings out the best in the songs.»

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“Last year, I relocated from my flat in Cellardyke, in the East Neuk O’ Fife, to the remote Hebridean isle of Eigg, and spent most of my days writing songs up in a caravan. It’s very tranquil, up here. In January, I invited my pal Sweet Baboo – Welsh singer-songwriter, and all-round musical guru – to come across to the island and help produce some new PictishTrail recordings. It went very very well, thank you for asking – and the resulting album Secret Soundz Vol.2, will be released on Fence Records later in the year. H’aye, h’aye.

To kick things off, though, i’ve got an E.P. ready. It’s called The Summer Is Empty Of Idiots EP, and it’s got four songs on it. Oh, and a remix too.

Lead track, and current single,‘Michael Rocket’, is quite an odd wee one. It’s a floaty bubble of a song, swimming in chorus effects, reverb and weird delays. Listen closely, and you might spot a wee cameo by my pal King Creosote. The accompanying video – directed by comic illustrator Christian Ward (Infinite Vacation, Olympus) and Forest of Black – captures the day-glo colours of the song through ultra-violet light. Dreamy. The song was recorded with Sweet Baboo at the controls, and will also feature on the album. Baboo has done a “redux” version of the song with his pal Voluntary Butler Scheme, which also features on the vinyl under the name Super Brass Brothers.

The other tracks on the EP are recordings i did myself, up in the caravan. You can almost hear the sea. Or is that just the kettle? One of them is a recorded version of a live favourite, another is a glam-rock stomp, and the last one is just 30 seconds long.

The E.P. is the first release in the new 3-part series from Fence Records,entitled BUFF TRACKS. If you subscribe to the entire series, you receive all three EP’s by different Fence artists over the next 6 months, as well as access to some special offers on upcoming gigs, and other releases. Oooh. ”