Anton & The Colts

The Music Brewery can exclusively reveal that Glasgow blues rockers Anton & The Colts have just finalised the recording of their début EP 6:45 & 450 Down.

Recorded at La Chunky Studios in Glasgow the band and engineer Andrew Graham sunk 30 hours into the 5 tracks (I’m making that 6 hours a track) and it really shows in the outcome.

The opening track ‘My Sister Cocaine’ is raw, rugged and full of Anton O’Donnell’s gruff vocals. Like a sweet bourbon it goes down smooth and is dripping with Americana.

Sounding like a late ’90s/early ’00s vintage of Ryan Adams‘ Whiskeytown the whole instrumentation on ‘Better The One You Know’ is on point. The guitars from O’Donnell and Roscoe Wilson really drive the track forward and Dillon Haldane on the drums really comes into his own at the end with a lot of cymbal action and tasty fills. The guest appearance of Blair Rockss on keys really adds something different to the track also.

Like the opening of a long sequence in a country-western movie ‘Rattle All Yer Bones’ has a foot stomping beat and definitely has the ability to be a track for people to dance to. The bass on this track from Michael McGill is particularly impressive, really added a great layer of sound to the overall piece. Probably my favourite track of this riff-laden EP due to the electric guitar work of the boys.

‘Who You Gonna Blame’ sees the pace of the record slow down slightly but the riffs and rasping vocals from O’Donnell and Wilson just don’t stop. O’Donnell really tests his vocal range on this track which is admirable and pulls it off right at the end with some euphoric wails.

The last track on the album is a special treat for fans. A bonus of ‘My Black Dog & Me’ performed live is a lovely sombre end to a magnificent EP from Anton & The Colts. Listen to it below now:

The boys are clearly excited about releasing the new record and front-man Anton O’Donnell had this to say:

“One thing I love about Anton & The Colts is playing live and the sound we achieve, but hearing that sound down on disc is a whole different kick altogether.”

The record is set to be released on Monday the 26th of January before the guys play Nice N Sleazy’s on the 30th. - The Music Brewery

It’s getting to that time of year when going out anywhere has little appeal but, with only stoic determination and a powerful thirst, a man could persuade himself that a trek to the sticky floors of King Tuts was justified. After all, Haight-Ashbury, Old Bohemia and Anton & The Colts were already there.

Two up and not going down without a fight were Old Bohemia and, with more than a touch of theatricality helping them along, this acoustic duo demonstrated that an acoustic guitar and a precisely presented voice were all you need to draw the velvet curtains of cabaret aside and let the sun shine in.

Being three quarters country and one quarter rock gave Anton & The Colts something to sing about for, with an honesty no doubt gained be paying their dues gigging in unforgiving pubs, they proved to be a band that had found their tempo in life. No surprise therefore that they steered a straight course through their set.

Metronomic consistency also came to the aid of Haight-Ashbury and neatly counterpointed their ever appealing female harmonies and, whilst they might sound like the grandchildren, or even great grandchildren, of the free love generation, lyrically they were far sharper, to the point of being downright laconic, than any product of herbal grooviness could ever be. Even a casual cover of “Christmas Wrapping” could not disguise the feeling that Haight-Ashbury were using sugar coating to disguise their darker motivations.

Outside a leaflet for something called “Club Noir” is forced into my hand. On inspection, said “Club Noir” turns out to be a place altogether more innocent than a gentleman’s club. Now neatly folded, the flyer is duly placed in the bin. Looks like it is going to be a cold night after all. - Blusebunny

PARTICULARLY happy with the gloss finish on their 6:45 & 450 Down EP, Anton O’Donnell of Anton & The Colts, greeted me with a smile at the door of Glasgow’s Nice ‘N’ Sleazy. He frenetically buzzes around, playing the host, as the pillared basement venue begins to fill up with happy gig-goers collecting free EPs as they walk in.



They were about to experience a long winter’s night of blues rock where the headliners shone.

Opening the show were The Rising Souls. On the back of their European tour, where they played seven shows in two weeks to baying crowds in Amsterdam, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hamburg, the Edinburgh trio returned to the stage in Scotland. The trip proved fruitful for The Souls, giving them plenty opportunity to gig, test new songs and eh, sample the local culture. As bassist Roy Laing notes “the temperatures were in the minus degrees so we weren’t going outside much”. I’ll leave it to you to imagine what they got up to indoors instead.

On the night, The Rising Souls sizzled. Laing plucked away at the bass all night laying it thickly on top of layers and layers of smooth soul cream exuding from every pore of frontman Dave Archibald. Experiencing Archibald’s vocals live is truly breath-taking. Cathartic, he explodes at times with a wail and at others he controls, composes and growls smokily. He had the small crowd that had gathered at the time, firmly in his grasp. Channelling the spirit of Free lead singer Paul Rodgers and Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty, Archibald and The Souls came across very rocky with their new material, almost swamp rock in fact.

Playing tunes from their self-titled debut album like the now anthemic ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’ and the uplifting ‘The Boxer’, The Rising Souls’ percussion expert Tom Reed impressed. Like a possessed orangutan he slapped at the cymbals and smacked his drum box with real venom. Innovatively wearing his tambourine as a shin guard was fantastic and he really makes The Rising Souls one of the best acoustic acts in Scotland at the moment. I know why he wears those thick black rings now.

The Souls mixed a cover of Rival Sons’ ‘Pressure And Time’ into their set to good effect and with more new material on the way in the coming months, 2015 is shaping up nicely for the East-coast trio.

The Edinburgh invasion continued as four-piece The Cracklin’ Void took to the stage. Wielding beautiful semi-acoustic guitars I expected some more mellow blues rock to continue to warm the crowd up. What they were presented with though was completely different. Blending many genres and sounds the instrumentation from all four was on point, however I couldn’t help but feel they had a muddled identity and were often playing difficult and impressive riffs for the sake of it. Frontman Daniel Barr is undoubtedly a talented guitarist as is his right hand man Greg Williamson however the vocals from Williamson often sounded much stronger.

Throughout the set they had fuzzy reverb on the bass and many effects and pedals working on expertly executed riffs but it was all just too much. ‘Working For Long’ blended plodding bass and bending riffs to create some nice throwback hippie stoner rock and ‘Give Me The Sugar’ featured some nice cowbell at the start and raw, intense vocals and acoustic guitar from Williamson. If they could reign in the overzealousness and focus on a more specific sound they have all the musical talent in the world to go very far.

After O’Donnell had shaked everyone in the room’s hand he finally took to the stage to cap a marvellous night of music in the city centre. Mainly playing numbers from the EP, Anton & The Colts – Anton O’Donnell, Roscoe Wilson, Michael McGill and Dillon Haldane – sounded polished, tight and looked like they were really enjoying themselves on the small fluorescent lit stage. Playing their first headline show, nerves were non-existent for the best part of the hour they were on stage and besides a few technical difficulties it went smoothly.

Crowd favourites from 6:45 and 450 Down ‘My Sister Cocaine’ and ‘Rattle All Yer Bones’ got a great reception as everyone flooded to the front. ‘Rattle All Yer Bones’ is slowly becoming a banker for ATC as the lairy punters jigged to its country trot. O’Donnell is a astute lyricist and new track ‘Weekend Millionaire’ really captured the imaginations of the audience.

Perhaps not the best sounding venue, it didn’t really matter to ATC as they confidently paraded through their set with gusto, plenty harmonicas and rasping vocals from O’Donnell. Bluesy harmonies from Wilson were key throughout and the instrumentation from all was tight.

The gig was over and O’Donnell could go back to shaking everyone’s hand again and stroking his treasured glossy EPs, a good night’s labour from one of Glasgow’s hardest working new bands. - The Music Brewery

On any given day this week you may well have greeted the morning with a post Freshers ‘oh my god is this really the first day of the rest of my life’ thought. You will probably have thought that it’s possible that you could die from the hangover making the plates of your skull grind at the mere flicker of an eyelid, but then just as you think you may survive it then the second blow of total recall from the night before will kick in. Your next thought will be ‘if this hangover doesn’t kill me then the shame most certainly will’.

Well we are here to tell you to put your big boy/girl pants on and get out of bed because your future is unwritten and this morning is the fresh page that you make your mark on. You don’t believe me? Well let’s consider the plus sides.

One is that you are not alone in thinking these things, and that a fair number of your newly found peers will also be spending the rest of the day eating painkillers, googling hangover cures, and resolutely refusing to make eye contact with anyone that may have been witness to the moment when you likely disgraced yourself beyond redemption.

Another thing to focus on is that you live in a time when the New Hellfire Club exists, and we are here to assist you in this new voyage that you have embarked on. It’s all good. Even with that soul crushing and confidence destroying hangover it’s all good. And of course you are now asking how we at the NHC will be looking to assist you.

Well just think of us as the people who have your back, because when you are on a high and loving life we can help soundtrack that. Even when the storm clouds gather we can be there for you too. We can provide the songs that will serve to smoothe away the tension from that stressed out brow. We are your ethically run, not for profit, one stop shop for all your artistic needs.Music, movies, books and artwork. All covered.

And with that over long advert – and wise words of advice offered – out of the way let us now provide you with the second recommendation from the artists who work with us. Drum roll please because here we have Anton & The Colts.

If you haven’t already heard of them then please do lend them your ears. This is the band that is currently tearing up the live scene and can most definitely be considered part of the cream that is floating to the top. It was from humble beginnings of the acoustic folk scene they were birthed, but they then hit the ground running off the back of their all killer and no filler ‘6.45 and 450 Down’ EP and they haven’t looked back since then.

Within the frame work of a live set they can take it down slow and have the audience swoon with a gentle Gram Parsons country vibe being explored, or have them ecstatically stomping their feet as they tackle The Doors doing the blues, but those explorations into their influences are very often overshadowed by their original material.

Material that within a modern context has ticked pretty much every single box needed to impress those who lean towards a rootsy style of music, but at the same time resolutely maintains keeping the door open to those whose natural inclination is not to claim to be a fan of those genres.

When the phrase something for everyone is touted Anton & The Colts effortlessly spring to our minds. And with that being said we wouldn’t like to leave it as just a recommendation as you can check them out for yourself by searching for them on either Facebook or Bandcamp, or by seeking out their live YouTube video, shot in our own shop. - Alex Mainy (NHC Glasgow) The Student Advertiser

Anton O’Donnell of Anton & The Colts kicked off proceedings with a warm and inviting set that featured tracks from the band’s debut EP 6:45 & 450 Down like ‘Better The One You Know’, old favourites like ‘Gypsy Heart’ and some new material Anton has been working on lately. O’Donnell was the perfect opener: engaging, raw, and very complimentary to the sound of The Souls. Expect to hear more from him and The Colts this year. - Calum Woodger, The Music Brewery

Anton & The Colts - 6:45 & 450 Down
https://www.facebook.com/antonandthecolts/
If the idea of Gram Parsons being exiled from Main street and jamming with Morrison in a gin joint at some fucked up crossroads between somewhere and nowhere tickles your fancy then here’s a debut that you need to be introduced to. - Miff Morris, New Hellfire Club Glasgow