BOY KILL BOY
Sun Oct 15, 7pm, ABC, Glasgow, GBP12.50, 0870 169 0100
This strikingly named modernday beat combo - who delicately weigh down their more joyous keyboard-infused pop songs with melancholic melodies reminiscent of Morrisey and Joy Division - gained their moniker after their lead singer misheard the name of the band Boy Called Roy.
With such hearing-related mishaps taking place, you can only imagine the sort of unbridled chaos that might erupt around the London-based Britpop-revivalist rockers at any moment in time.
"Pass the sauce, " drummer Shaz Mahmood might innocently request of Chris Peck at lunchtime, before the snarling vocalist retorts: "What do you mean, gas the boss?" and throws an entire North African couscous paella at his hapless bandmate.
Having so far avoided any fatal communication breakdowns, Boy Kill Boy are in a rather cosy position at the moment. Their fanbase has rapidly grown since they released the achingly catchy break-out single, Suzie, earlier this year, which handily broke into the top 20 in time for them to capitalise on the festival season. No doubt many of the new-found followers who plan to drag themselves along to the ABC will have first experienced the band at T In The Park, or one of the other open-air debauchery-fests that plague the summer. Such shameless exposure helped debut album Civilian reach number 16 in the album charts.
Sunday's show will give the band a chance to show that they can shake off the constricting shackles of the current indie scene.
ALSO RECOMMENDED
INSTAL 06 Fri 13-Sun 15, Fri 6pm; Sat-Sun 4pm, Arches, 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow, GBP12-GBP35 (one-day to three-day passes available), 0870 240 7528
Described as the alternative to the alternative, Instal is a three-day event showcasing acts from around the world so truly distinctive that even if you don't like them, you'll be too busy gawping to turn away. Highlights include US free improviser Steve Baczkowski and UK noise scene lynchpins Blood Stereo. There's also a special Scottish stage which will play home to Red Kites and the wonderfully named Kylie Minoise, who excels in the sort of gonzo noise-saturated freak-outs that put your average clappedout washing machine to shame.
SANDI THOM
Sat 14, 7.30pm, Moshulu, Windmill Brae, Aberdeen, GBP10, 0870 169 0100
Yes, I know some people like to quibble about the fact that punk rockers never really had flowers in their hair, as Ms Thom, pictured, sings (unless they'd fallen over in an allotment), but let's ignore the naysayers. Whether it really is down to clever PR campaigning or the type of ever-so-quirky indie pop Ms Thom evidently excels in (the type conservative enough to ensure she's mainstream friendly), it's nice for another Scottish artist to make her mark in the charts. And no doubt she'll receive a rave reception tonight from what is pretty much a hometown crowd - Sandy hails from Macduff in Aberdeenshire.
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