New Candys

With Floating Heads and The Miracle Seeds

Stereo, 10 June

Leaving the bright lights of Renfield Lane, it’s hard to imagine that the flight of stairs leading to the darkened basement of Stereo would lead to a powerhouse of psychedelic rock, spearhead by Italian masters New Candys ably supported by Scottish bands Floating Heads and The Miracle Seeds. A little more on each of the support acts below.

Founded by songwriter and singer-guitarist Fernando Nuti alongside bassist and synth player Dario Lucchesi, the lineup is completed by Emanuele Zanardo on lead guitar and backing vocals and Francesco Giacomin on drums and sampler.

Italian by name. Italian by nature. They simply exude cool class throughout their set, showcasing songs from the previous four albums, while leaning heavily on the most recent, The Uncanny Extravaganza.

There’s a touch of The Jesus and Mary Chain about them, more especially when the instrumental sections take pride of place. Like William Reid of the JAMC, Emanuele lets his guitar do the talking. Similarly, there is no virtuoso grandstanding, just a sharpness to all the notes played that mix well with the rhythm of his bandmates.

As may have been expected, most of the audience were all too well aware of the back catalogue of songs being played, swaying almost rhythmically themselves in time to the beats emanating from the speakers.

From the opening bars of recently released track Cagehead, the band set out their stall. Dark, heavy bass riffs with the rolling steady beat of the drums lead into dream pop vocals. It’s a classic opener for a set that never veers from pounding excellence.

Regicide from The Uncanny Extravaganza bookends the set before the band harks back in time with Mercenary and finally Overall.

The flight downstairs was well worth the trip. It won’t be long until we catch up with New Candys again as they would appear to be on almost semi permanent touring mode across the globe.

Support Acts

As previously indicated throughout the MyGigNight blog reviews, part of the enjoyment of attending gigs is as much to listen to the support acts as the main headliners themselves and on this night we were decidedly lucky to watch two Scottish bands who, with a bit of luck, have the style and substance to make a mark with their own take on psychedelic rock.

Floating Heads

First up from Aberdeen was Floating Heads. Formed in 2019 they’ve released a couple of EPS each a rich mix of fuzzed up guitar work and heavy beats.

They are a band not lacking in confidence given the hard work and touring over the past few years with fellow psych rockers Helicon and The Third Sound.

There are a number of strong influences when considering the roster of artists on the Fuzz Club label and, on the night’s brief showing, they have all the necessary elements to break into the consciousness of more fans of the genre in the years to come.

The Miracle Seeds

Sandwiched between the Floating Heads and New Candys was The Miracle Seeds and, if there is anything that makes them standout over any other bands we’ve seen in recent years, it was the introduction of a Didgeridoo, not an instrument you would normally associate with a rock based evening but well executed when called upon to give something different in the sound mix.

While Floating Heads played their music with raw energy, The Miracle Seeds appeared to be centred around a more harmonious outpouring of music. The two guitarists feeding off the energy and chords of each other while the drum and bass pounded out a background rhythm for them to shine. Vocally too, there was more clarity with the lyrics.

Sometimes you listen to musical acts and there’s not much to choose between them and the multitude of other bands ploughing their trade hoping for a break to get up one or two rungs on the ladder. In the case of The Miracle Seeds, they would appear to already be up a few steps with a new album soon to be released. If the recorded output displays as much vigour and harmony as the live showing then it’s definitely on the ‘want to have’ list.

Two great support acts. Different in some ways and yet ideal for showcasing the depth of musical talent that exists across Scotland.

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