Long Live the Royal We!

Glasgow's The Royal We were another in the long line of brilliant Scottish pop groups (Hmm ... top 5: Orange Juice, the Pastels, Belle & Sebastian, the Vaselines, Wet Wet Wet.). In their short existence, they didn't do much really. Played some shows, made a couple videos, released a short album. Oh, wait … that should read one hilarious video (for All the Rage) and an amazingly good record. Their self-titled eight-song album doesn't do anything innovative or groundbreaking, but it does feature some thrillingly energetic performances, instantly memorable songs and the perfect indie pop vocals of transplanted American Jihae Simmons. Check these two songs and see if they get your blood pumping:


"I Hate Rock & Roll"
"Three’s a Crowd"

Sadly, the band split up the same day the album was released. Simmons moved back home to Los Angeles and hasn’t been heard from since musically, but the rest of the band has carried on in a raft of excellent new projects.

The Sexy Kids
https://www.myspace.com/sexierkids
Closest to the rambunctious sound of the Royal We, they feature sassy female vocals and some quite hooky songcraft. Indeed, “Sisters are Forever” is the kind of track you’ll find yourself humming at odd hours.

Bricolage
https://www.myspace.com/bricolagetheband
Very Glasgow sounding band with an advanced degree in Juice-ology, they released a single on Memphis Industries last year and hopefully will follow it up with an album soon. Check their page for some super-cool live footage of them backing legendary hero of Scot Pop, Vic Godard.

Correcto
https://www.myspace.com/correcto
The most traditionally indie band of the bunch, Correcto feature a Ferdinand and have an album coming soon on Domino. They sound surprisingly much like the Wedding Present at times. Maybe that’s not a very hip band to namecheck these days but for some people, it means a lot! Here’s video proof: