“MY brain just went into autopilot,” says Gavin Will, frontman of Lush Purr, the Glasgow-based four-piece whose recent gigs have earned their clattering psyche-rock distinguished stripes.
He’s referring to the artwork for Cuckoo Waltz, his band’s debut album, out soon on vinyl via Edinburgh label Song, By Toad. A felt-pen rendering of a dinosaur navigating turd-like stalagmites and the sort of lurid swirl last seen in the Inspiral Carpets’ “psychedelic cow” logo, it’s almost a particularly fevered, Gordon Brown-starring dream by National cartoonist Greg Moodie. That spiral is an appropriate image for Horses On Morphine and current single (I’ll Admit It) I’m A Gardener – stand-out tracks that draw you deep into their fuzzy vortex. The latter careers around, a tussle between brother Rikki Will’s drums and a harum scarum of largely unintelligible lyrics. The accompanying video sees the four cavorting Monkees-stylee at Clydebank’s Jurassic Parrr Adventure Golf course, their ponchos billowing in the wind.
“It was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment thing really,” says Gavin. “The plan was to go up into the hills but the further we got we could see the snow. We happened to pass by Jurrasic Parrr and we couldn’t not go in. So we stopped off and had a game of golf.”
Written by Gavin after the demise of The Yawns, a more straight-up, Postcard Records-inspired pop band, Cuckoo Waltz originally came out on cassette via Fuzzkill Records in 2015. Now vinyl comes as the band head out for a few Scottish dates and some adventures south of the Border with Song, By Toad labelmates Meursault.
“I like touring,” says Lush Purr’s Emma Smith. “It’s good to play to people you don’t know and go a bit wild. But sometimes when you’ve had a bad night on someone’s floor you can wonder what you’re doing. We really enjoy it; we’re just not that young any more.”
Growing up in Catterline, the east coast village south of Stonehaven where artist Joan Eardley painted her dramatic seascapes, the Will brothers have been in bands since the early 2000s, and at one point supported Lightning Bolt in Aberdeen. The noise duo are an influence, as too are the equally thunderous Wolf Eyes and slacker titans Pavement and Sebadoh. A genre resurgent in the likes of LP Records’s American Clay and Lost Map new signees Savage Mansion – with whom Lush Purr play at the end of May – slacker’s DIY ethos and gentle middle finger to work-till-you-drop culture is timely. Its taste for jagged melodies is heard on the likes of Jamiroquai At The Karaoke and airy should-be single Mr Maybe. Occasionally, the spell is augmented by an electronic splurge or a flutter of bleeps – the work of keyboard player Andres Fazio who, Smith says, “can go a bit wild when we’re recording”.
That gonzo sense of playfulness belies the introspection of the lyrics. “There’s a lot there to do with anxiety,” says Gavin. “Not in too straight-up a way but often with a twist of humour. Sometimes laughing is the only way to deal with these things.”
May 3 (with Stock Manager and Shredd), Tolbooth, Stirling, 7.30pm, £5 adv, £7 on the door. Tickets: bit.ly/LPurrTolbooth
May 9 (with Yous), The Old Hairdresser’s, Glasgow, 7pm, £6. Tickets: bit.ly/LPurrHairdressers
May 18, Leith Depot, Edinburgh, time tbc, £5. Tickets: bit.ly/LPurrDepot
May 26 (with Savage Mansion and MUSH), The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 8pm, £5 adv, £6 on the door. Tickets: bit.ly/LPurrHugandPint
June 8 (with Spinning Coin and Sean Nicholas Savage), The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £7/£8. Tickets: bit.ly/LPurrGladCafe
Cuckoo Waltz is released on Song, By Toad on May 5 www.facebook.com/lushpurr
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here