Pictish Trail – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton – Sunday 29th March 2020
Adam Kidd
The Hope & Ruin
Presented by: Melting Vinyl.
TICKET LINK
Melting Vinyl Presents:
PICTISH TRAIL
Throughout his career Pictish Trail – aka Johnny Lynch – has resolutely furrowed his own path, steadily creating a unique catalogue of recordings and performances through his own labels (Lost Map / Fence Records) while eschewing the blueprint of the predictable singer-songwriter in favour of something untidily intriguing.
Born out of a compulsion to make infectious, melody driven music from a treasure trove of secret sounds, Pictish Trail's spectral songs are filtered through a sun-warped pop lens, where heart-pumping guitar shriek-outs collide with sampled gurgles and fractured lyrics figure-skate over sine- waves of glacial
synth.
Something of a sonic hermit, Pictish Trail spent a good few years tucked away in his caravan on the Hebridean Isle of Eigg, feverishly working on the follow up to Secret Soundz Vol. 1 & 2, his critically- acclaimed double album of DIY electronic folk-tinged croft pop, released in 2014.
A mesmerising psychedelic opus about death and the after-life, Future Echoes won the public vote for Scottish Album of the Year in 2017, and sent Pictish on an two-year tour cycle – including international tour dates supporting Belle and Sebastian, British Sea Power, Malcolm Middleton and KT Tunstall, as well as appearances at Glastonbury, Field Day, Green Man, Deer Shed, Skye Live, not to mention his own legendary Howlin' Fling! week-ender on Eigg.
Following the release of a deluxe edition of Future Echoes by esteemed London tastemakers, Fire Records, in 2018, Pictish is currently working on brand new material due for release in
+ support from SAVAGE MANSION
One of the most exciting new bands in Scotland, Glasgow indie-rock group Savage Mansion will be joining Lost Map label mate Pictish Trail as main support for the March/April tour. Formed in 2016 the band quickly drew attention for high energy live shows and Craig's melodic and eloquent slices of guitar rock. Since the release of their 2019 debut album 'Revision Ballads', Savage Mansion, the child of singer-songwriter and guitarist Craig Angus, have drawn comparisons from the Velvet Underground's no-fi swagger to Pavement's easy sing-speak vocals and R.E.M.'s shimmering guitar tones.
Joined by Andrew Macpherson and Jamie Dubber (Catholic Action), Lewis Orr (Martha Ffion, Space Rocket Garage Band) and Taylor Stewart (Romeo Taylor), their sophomore album 'Weird Country' is due for release on April 3rd 2020 with the first single 'Karaoke' receiving first play on the Vic Galloway show for BBC Radio Scotland.
'Weird Country' sees Savage Mansion in evolution, and whilst the band's early releases invited favourable comparisons to Parquet Courts and Courtney Barnett, the new material is fleshed out with shimmering vintage synths, drunken bar band piano and harmonies Teenage Fanclub would be proud of. Having completed their first headline UK tour and played their first European shows in 2019, Savage Mansion are just getting started. They may just be your new favourite band.
'Wonderfully jubilant' – Goldflakepaint
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