Randolph’s Leap are an 8-piece from Glasgow who were previously part
of the legendary Fence Records roster. The band has been quite prolific in
recent years and they have compiled a mini album of their favourites. For a
band so little known, this could be the way for many to discover Scotland’s
finest exponents of indie-folk-pop since Belle & Sebastian. To help you on
your bonnie adventure of discovery, here is our track by track review of ‘Real
Anymore’.
1.
Conversation - This is the most stripped back track on
the album but is no worse off for it. It delivers an elegant slice of melancholy
with the line ‘I act surprised when conversation stops /
Though I’m lazy when we talk’ and again when singer, Adam Ross, says ‘I’m
slipping in and out / Of a crippling state of doubt / If only I could find the
words to hide it’. Whilst most of this album floats along blissfully, ‘Conversation’
will stop you dead in your tracks for two sublime minutes!
2.
Real Anymore – This will evoke memories of Belle &
Sebastian at their spritely best. Well, it’s hard for any Scottish indie-pop
band not to. Nevertheless, this is one of those songs which yearn to be loved.
It is a tale which pits nature versus technology and in which, technology is definitely
the enemy. This is not an argument about sustainable green energy, but a simple
insight that nature and life are there to be enjoyed and when he puts it in the
manner below, it’s hard not to laugh and agree:
‘I’ve been waiting for a video to buffer / This is a life I didn’t
want to suffer / We were watching the progress bar / We should have been
sleeping under the stars’.
As the brass comes in, memories of Stornoway’s fantastic single ‘Zorbing’
are brought into to play but the multiple backing vocals towards the end,
coupled with the handclaps, give this an identity all of its own: one of pure
class.
3.
Psychic - A story of becoming a telephone psychic
is not one you would think highlights the need for a living wage in the UK but
this track does just that. Ross, desperate to get by (but cannot do so on
minimum wage like many) takes the desperate step of answering an internet
advert to supplement his day job. In true Ross style, the story becomes highly
amusing, culminating in the line which Morrissey would have begged for, ‘I went
for a pakora with Derek Acorah’.
4.
Nature – This is another buoyant indie pop
number. This does not hit the heights of the other upbeat numbers and feels
like a lack lustre homage to King Creosote (former Fence
Records co-founder). However, the rhyming of ‘stature’ and ‘nature’ is
the greatest since the
Pistols’ ‘antichrist’ and ‘anarchist’ on ‘Anarchy In The UK’.
5.
Winceworthy – ‘Winceworthy’ witnesses a return to
their more subdued song writing. Sitting in between the livelier songs, this is
a welcome slower pace and it utilises the brass section to conjure up images of
classic Hovis adverts. What’s not to like?
6.
Technology – This is the standout track of the album
and cannot fail to make you have a little jig at their gigs. Ross’ ability to
write funny lyrics about a guy working in IT not willing to deal with stupid
requests is priceless. It opens with ‘please just listen to what I say / You’re
an idiot and you’re fool’ before delivering the sublime Microsoft related gag:
“windows seems somewhat prophetic / As it’s what you’re being thrown
through”
7.
Indie King – This contains a witty rebuttal to the
indie kids who have maligned our beloved Randolph’s Leap for being twee. During
the 2nd verse, the slagging match between the indie king and Ross becomes one
big lol fest. The indie kids are accused of wearing trendy woolly jumpers whilst
Ross, the folky, is labelled a herbal tea drinker. It is a sad to have such
musical division but, alas, it prevails; the Mumford kids one side and the
Arctic Monkeys the other. TT would urge those with negative attitudes towards
either that perhaps they should be celebrating all things independent.
