5 June 2026, The Strathaven Hotel
And the end of our musical week saw us head to Strathaven for another of the splendid Frets Concerts.
Headlining this time around was an expanded Bathers quintet with regular band members Chris Thomson, Hazel Morrison, Callum McNair and Nico Bruce being joined on stage by sax and clarinet player Raymond McDonald.
The set list was built around their 1999 album Pandemonia which was recently re-released along with others from their back catalogue on vinyl. On vinyl, CD and even streaming the songs are tinged with the arrangements that are the hallmark of the band throughout their career.
The first time I saw The Bathers was at the Tramway Theatre as part of a Marina Records showcase in the early 1990s. Along with fellow label artists that night Cowboy Mouth and Sugartown, they became woven into the listening fabric in the years that have followed.
Listening to the albums of all three acts today, it’s a genuine surprise that mainstream breakthroughs alluded them.
The Bathers have went on to record and release several albums that have fitted comfortably within the genre Chamber pop and thirty plus years on from that initial introduction each song still seems as fresh and engaging as the first day it was released. The main difference though remains the extra vitality a live performance can offer selective tracks, and the band made full use of the time and space allowed to add that extra ingredient.
New music has started to flow too over the past couple of years which has been a real bonus to everyone in the audience this night. An audience who would seem to have followed the band since these early days as well. Mature. Discerning. Expectant.
And the band did not disappoint. With the exception of Raymond all were seated. With the dulcet tones of Chris taking the lead, he was more than ably backed up by the soprano flourishes of Hazel much to the delight of those listening. There seems to be a sparkle in her eyes as she accepts the warm applause and cheering each time she lightens up the tracks.
A listen to the album will give some sense of the pleasure the band were able to exude throughout the show. It should be said that that the addition of Raymond onto the stage added an extra dimension that exceeded the expectations of the most ardent fan. His sax flourishes in particular, were one of the key highlights of the show.
The album played through from start to finish, the band returned for an encore of both Paul Simon’s America and a few tracks from their back catalogue, Garlands, Locomotion Is Wasy, If Love Could Last Forever and 2 Cats On The Piano. In truth, any selection of songs from earlier albums would have delighted the audience, such is the talent across the band to deliver an exceptional musical experience.
Until the next time as they say.
Support Constant Follower
I’ve seen Constant Follower several times over the past few years and they strike me as a bit of a musical enigma. All the band members are accomplished musicians, both in their own right and collectively. Stephen McAll is a fine wordsmith and vocalist.
When you delve into a description of their work, words like experimental folk and slowcore are offered up. There’s definitely no manic flourishes across their music. There are few highs and equally few lows. However, I struggled to differentiate the songs played during the set and hope that may change as undoubtedly he and the band have made a name for themselves and likely to be part of a show in the future.
