If enthusiasm, swaggering confidence and being in possession of a clutch of top-notch indie anthems is a measure of success in the making, then Forfar’s The Trade are heading right to the top.
Lie in the Dark, The Trade’s long-awaited debut album, is finally released on Monday, with the CD being launched in style at a big party at their “hometown gig” The Doghouse in Dundee on Saturday.
Lead singer Ross Milne told Rocktalk, “It’s a huge week for us our album is going to be advertised on TV and the launch on Saturday is the big one.
“It really is our hometown gig, although it’s Dundee. The Doghouse is the one we’re all looking forward to. I think it’ll be busy nobody I’ve spoken to isn’t coming, so it should be a great night.
“It’s home ground for our sound man Mitch from Audiowave as well. He was on tour with us and the sound will be as good as it gets. It was our first experience on tour and Mitch was brilliant for us he was just spot-on.”
Having played relentlessly in Dundee and the surrounding area over the past few years, The Trade decided to up the pace this year, which has come to fruition less than six months later with the debut album.
“We made a decision in January that we were going to record a full album. We knew we were all going to have to make a financial commitment, as did Andy, our manager.
“He booked pretty much all the tour, and got the publicity company we’re with, plus he booked us into Chem 19 Studio in Glasgow to record the album with Jamie Savage. He’s great he gets exactly what we need, he’s got loads of enthusiasm and understood the dynamics of it all.
“Jamie wanted something he would be proud of as well as the band, and wanted to be part of it.”
In the true spirit of DIY, the band also helped fill the venues across the UK by enlisting previous contacts through Facebook and friends in places like Sheffield, London and Birmingham.
“The tour was fantastic. The gigs down south were good because we sent out the word to contacts all around so there were people we knew all over the place.
“But we’ve got all the Scottish gigs this week. They should be busier because we’ve told everybody we know up here about them.
“We’re having an after-show at Soul nightclub so it’ll be a great night all round and I’ll be able to have a few drinks after the set.”
The band are made up of Ross on vocals, Bobo Martin on drums, Liam Moir on rhythm guitar, Craig Murray on lead guitar and backing vocals and Drew McLaren on bass and backing vocals.
In contrast, touring mates The Foxes (pictured below) are relative veterans of the touring circuit over the past couple of years, but are making their Doghouse debut.
Having given up everything to get fully behind the band, they started their own label, Room 10 Records, and have been touring the UK, the US and Europe ever since.
As lead singer Nigel Thomas said, they’ve already done a couple of 30-date tours around their previous releases and they’ve built up a strong fanbase, particularly up north.
“We love playing live, especially in Scotland,” he said. “We’ve gone down better there than in some parts of England. “It’s just a different atmosphere. People are always so friendly, they’re always wanting to dance and have a good time.
“We love it. That’s why we always come back.”
The Foxes are doing five dates north of the border, including Saturday’s show.
“We’ve played in Dexters a few times. It was looking great when we were there in April with The Trade. We had a great time there and we’ve got a great relationship with them.
“Although we haven’t played at the Doghouse we’ve heard good things about it. There’ll be a big crowd for their album launch so we’re really looking forward to having a great night with them.
“We’ve done a few gigs together on the tour we played Leeds and we’re doing the Scottish gigs with them, and we got on well with the guys.”
Kalel and Dead Generals are also on the bill. Advance tickets are £5 and doors open around 8pm.