Catch them at Edinburgh's The Bowery (14 February), Glasgow's Captain's Rest (15 February) or London's Betsey Trotwood (17 February). We've also invited them to come and play their favourite records at Born To Be Wide on 5 February.
Another Edinburgh band who are no strangers to this column, and supplied our track of the month in August 2008, are
Broken Records, who ended the year inking a deal with the legendary label 4AD. Currently recording in Wales, they plan to nip home for several live commitments including Glasgow's Oran Mor (11 February) and Edinburgh's The Caves (12 February). Broken Records will also display their DJ skills on 13 February at Edinburgh's Sneaky Pete's.
This is part of
This Is Music night (
www.myspace.com/thisismusicedinburgh), which will also feature performances from
Meursault and Glasgow ten-piece
How to Swim.
The Fence Collective's
Homegame has been a favourite fixture for several years, with music lovers flocking to Anstruther for a weekend of music across the town's pubs. Organised by
Johnny Lynch (The Pictish Trail) and
Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) it usually sells out in minutes. This year the event runs for an extra day, beginning on Friday 17 April and ending on Sunday 19 April. Tickets go on sale on Sunday 1 February via
www.fencerecords.com. As usual, the line-up won't be announced until closer to the event, but expect a couple of well-known acts.
The annual
Glasgow Film Festival (
www.glasgowfilmfestival.org.uk/music) does more than it says on the tin, with a host of music activities and movies forming a key part of an excellent event running from 12-22 February. In addition to several live acts from abroad, we're looking forward to an audiovisual extravaganza in the Arches with
Union Of Knives (
www.myspace.com/unionofknives) and fellow electromeisters
Galchen (
www.myspace.com/galchen).
And staying on the subject of film, we hear that the incredible story of two Dundee college mates who hoodwinked the London music industry into believing they were Californian gangsta rappers could make it onto the big screen. Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, aka
Silibil 'n' Brains, landed a £150,000 record deal with Sony and were lavished with VIP treatment, attending parties with the likes of Madonna and touring with Eminem's band, D12.
Bain's book, California Schemin', was the subject of a bidding war last year, and rumour has it the film version will see Ewan McGregor make his directorial debut, with a script by Irvine Welsh.
Yet another link between music and another art form comes from
The Phantom Band (
www.myspace.com/thephantombandpage). The groovetastic Glaswegians saw the release of their debut album Checkmate Savage on Chemikal Underground Records on Monday, and the forthcoming single, The Howling, will have a cover illustrated by Frank Quitely who has drawn for Batman, New X Men and All Star Superman, among others.
Just over six years after Edinburgh lost the excellent La Belle Angele venue to fire, another of the city's key venues suffered damage after the Indian restaurant on the floor above burst into flames. The damage to the Liquid Rooms could take up to a year to repair. In the meantime, many of its shows are being moved to the Picture House.
There is better news for Inverness, where the excellent
Hootenanny's/Mad Hatters venue has seen its gigs calendar revitalised by local booker Steve Robertson and local musician Iain McLaughlin. February's highlights include:
Exerts,
Shutter and
Copy Haho (4 February);
Super Adventure Club,
Paranoid Monkey,
Lad Lazurus and
Gregaldur (20 February) and
The Phantom Band,
Call To Mind and
Little Boots (27 February).
• The next Born To Be Wide is at Edinburgh's Voodoo Rooms on 5 February. A seminar, How To Get On The Radio, is followed by DJ sets from Eagleowl, The Phantom Band and Leith FM's John Paul McGroarty.
• Under the Radar blog:
www.scotsman.com/undertheradar