BABY STRANGE

Glasgow three piece Baby Strange got their name from a track title on T-Rex’s 1972 record ‘The Slider’. After spending a short while with their recorded material so far, it’s obvious that a name is all they’ve taken from Bolan and his band of merry men.

Instead, these angry Glaswegian have chosen to delve deep in to a darker side of rock from a decade later, mining a wealth of influence from fellow Scottish noise makers The Jesus And Mary Chain.

Clocking in at just over two minutes long, ‘Friend’, the latest single from the Glaswegian trio, is bitterly short, but a frantically, sweet and raucous burst of punk-y brilliance, with a dark, nihilistic twist. Breakneck guitars drive and drums rattle urgently along, as frontman Johnny Madden mourns/celebrates the loss of a “friend” in a chorus with one hell of a hook.

The resulting effect comes across like a much more tolerable version of The Vaccines, is entirely engaging and immediately memorable. Mint.

Words by George Shaw

Tipped by Jim Gellatly