Despite the bands original members all meeting in Glasgow’s West End hippy den / tea-shop Tchai Ovna, Unkle Bob singer and songwriter Rick Webster claims little allegiance to the Byres Road set that has spawned Belle and Sebastian and many others. “When i was a student”, he says “I did tend to live in a bubble around that area, but none of us are students anymore and i’m growing fond of the rest of Glasgow”.
Taking inspiration chiefly from Island Records of the early 1970s (Nick Drake, James Taylor, Carole King etc), Unkle Bob are certainly a welcome edition to any city’s scene. Using banjo, mandolin and piano, they invest a sweet melancholy to the indie-folk sound. Proof of the five piece’s ability is released later this month, with the appearence of the Hit Parade EP.
While Webster realises that many Scots bands incorporate this element at the moment, he also asserts they each have their own style. “If Aberfeldy are the happy folk”, he laughs, “and Sons and Daughters are the crazy folk, that must make us the miserable folk. But each great Scottish band at the moment sounds totally unique, no-one is jumping on any bandwagon – it just makes for such a healthy scene”.
Dave Pollock
