There’s a great double bill of contrasting musical genres at The Greenside in Leslie, Fife, tonight.
Scottish melodic pop rockers St Deluxe are joined by Fife’s own Little Buddha whose sound embraces jazz, trip-hop and film soundtracks.
St Deluxe’s eponymously titled debut album managed to slip under the mainstream radar last year but, unbowed, they soldiered on, touring Europe and Scandinavia, appearing at major festivals and continuing to produce beautifully textured and layered melodic pop with an abrasive edge.
Ridiculously prolific, they have released singles on various European labels and enjoyed a particularly successful stint at this year’s SXSW, albeit marred by the death of Alex Chilton, with whom they were due to perform on the closing night at a Big Star reformation show.
In time-honoured rock tradition, the show went ahead as a tribute to Chilton with the remaining Big Star members plus a veritable who’s who of US rock royalty (including REM’s Peter Buck) joining them on stage as a fitting tribute to the sad passing of one of America’s legendary rock icons.
St Deluxe are writing their follow-up album and have so far confirmed indie whiz Don Fleming (Sonic Youth, Teenage Fanclub) and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithewaite as two of several guest producers on the project.
Little Buddha, aka Kat McDonald and Grant Tyrie, hail from the darkest hinterlands of Fife, and have been doggedly ploughing their own specific musical furrow for nigh on five years.
Grant and Kat name Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky and Jazz legends such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius as influences.
Following a hugely successful six-week tour of both US coasts last autumn, including some live radio and ABC Network TV appearances, Little Buddha are preparing their second album and playing UK dates.St Deluxe and Little Buddha can be seen tonight at The Greenside, while Little Buddha also play PJ Molloys in Dunfermline, with support from Lord Bishop, on Saturday.