Kitty The Lion are an exceptional band. I say this for various, well-founded, complimentary reasons, but the primary one is the fact that the band is product of a Glaswegian singer-songwriter. And in my experience, Glaswegian singer-songwriters have a tendency to be pretty shit, or even worse, painfully average. Not Kitty The Lion, though, oh no; I’d go so far as to say that this band are one of the most interesting products to come out of Glasgow’s music scene in a good few years.
Combining gorgeous folk-pop melodies with a unique aptitude for songwriting, Kitty The Lion set a new standard for singer-songwriters-turned-folk-bands everywhere. The music is good fun – from the intelligent and affable lyrics to the charming persona of the Scottish quintet. Think Emmy The Great with a Scottish accent and a slightly more optimistic outlook. If that doesn’t sound like your sort of thing, think of something that is your sort of thing, then listen to Kitty anyway.
Kitty The Lion release their latest single ‘Gutted / Split Ends’ via Dead Hip Records today. It’s a double A-side and available for the extremely affordable price of £1.58 for both tracks. Come on, that’s less than a pint. Hell, that’s less than a diet coke with lemon and ice. Click here to buy the single.
Additional track ‘Birdflu’ is available for free download by clicking here, or if you’re a smarty-pants, by using the SoundCloud player below.
‘Glaswegian singer-songwriters have a tendency to be pretty shit, or even worse, painfully average’. Written by someone who knows nothing about the Glasgow or Scottish music scene. The fact you are being paid to do the pr for Kitty The Lion smacks of double standards and renders your opinion irrelevent.
Hi Alan. Thanks for your comment.
As a reader of blogs, you’ll probably already be aware that everything we write is entirely our own opinion, rather than us attempting to fob ourselves off as gospel, but it would be quite tiresome to begin every post with “Here is my opinion on…”, don’t you think? This is my opinion and as a follower of the Scottish music scene and somebody who has spent a good lot of time in the area, booking shows in the area and working with musicians from the area, my opinion is completely valid and based on my own personal experience, just as yours is.
With regard to your comment about my opinion being irrelevant (good spelling there, by the way) because I look after digital press for Kitty, I don’t believe there’s any substance to this claim. I only represent artists who I think are amazing and who I want to personally endorse by spreading the word through blogs and music websites. The regular readers of this blog are well aware of what I do, and Tim who edits the blog is also a fan of Kitty The Lion. All that said, perhaps in future I’ll add a note in that explains whether I represent an artist or not. But then, that’s a bit tiresome too, isn’t it? Because really, the readers of this blog only want to know about good new music, don’t they?
Looking forward to reading your response…
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I know of a few Glaswegian artists who are in the main very good. I’d consider myself a fan not only of Kitty The Lion but also of Three Blind Wolves, Beerjacket, Tommy Reilly and The John Knox Sex Club. It’s been exciting to watch the careers of the likes of Admiral Fallow and Frightened Rabbit really take off in the last year or two as well.
However, I’d guess that Glasgow is much like any other “scene”. While every major city has their movers and shakers who will release a storming EP or album or tear the roof off places with an exciting live show, there are going to be countless hundreds of hopefuls with badly tuned guitars wailing on and on about lost loves or long forgotten political manifestos in backstreet bars.
That’s how music works. There’s a lot of chaff out there and not an awful lot of wheat worth working with. If people get excited about an act then they’re sure to write about them, tell their friends, post on blogs or whatever methods they have of spreading the word. To waste time justifying the existence of shit music is a disservice to the writers and readers of blogs such as this and quite frankly a drain of everyone’s precious time.
All I actually meant to say here was, sure, Glasgow has a lot of terrible singers and songwriters but so does every scene… But there’s no point starting an article about a Glaswegian band with a sweeping statement about dire bands from another town.
There is no doubt Glasgow produces plenty of really good bands and I have a lot of love for the city (I lived there for a few years), but I would say Edinburgh has the edge at the moment on producing the singer/songwriters at the moment.
I do get your point though – the statement was rather general and provocative
great post thanks