Miss The Occupier

t's been a while since I've heard anything new from Miss The Occupier, so a month or two ago when we were promised a new EP I got terribly over excited. Happily upon getting my grubby paws on the release the excitement was worthwhile.

There's no gentle starts, no easing the listener in, instead opening track Glue Me To Thee goes off like a rocket. High velocity would be an understatement. I'm trying to write this review at 2.30am, and Glue Me To Thee was more effective at removing any chance of imminent sleep than half a dozen Red Bulls, and roughly 80 times more enjoyable. Two minutes of buzzsaw guitar, driving bass and drums and singer Roz's snarling vocals will do that to you.

After the incendiary start title track The Heart Is Deceitful (Above All Things) almost feels like a welcome respite, but it's hardly a slow paced, low key affair either. Roz Davies retains a bit of her snarl, but mixes it with sweet, seductive vocals. The song picks up pace as it goes, the band augmented by a bit of cello from Caroline Gardiner that manages to be both unobtrusive and essential sounding, before kicking up a gear to reach a frenzied, before finally, beautifully slowing and fading to nothing.

The final two EP tracks Punchdrunk and Shamefaced and You Know It's Vulgar don't deviate much from the scuzzy guitar, cracking melody formula, but when your formula is a winning one you wouldn't expect them to, or in my case want them to.

All in, all four tracks on the EP are fantastic, thrilling, high paced and just plain fun to listen to. Maybe avoid it if you were planning on sleeping right after it though...
- Aye Tunes

‘We are Miss the Occupier, but most of you already know that,’ says the enchanting Roz Davies, the band’s pink haired front-woman, and unfortunately, this is probably true. It’s a sparse crowd indeed, but the music certainly isn’t lacking from this Glasgow trio. ‘All Night’ is a fluid jamboree of guitar wizardry and succulently saccharine vocals, whilst ‘The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things’ is a bonafide stand-out, with snaking bass and a spinningly orchestral sounding instrumental section.

As their short set peeters out, the machine-like energy of the drumming usurps all and marches to the forefront, showing that despite perhaps not knowing it in this tumbleweeded venue, each member seemingly plays a pivotal part in making this subtly stylish band tick.

When the last crash cymbal is hit and the final note is played, the glass wall separating these three musicians from the crowd has been cracked. Hands come together in applause and heads bob in considered appreciation, showing that tonight, Miss The Occupier’s performance to a small crowd may not quite have been in vain. - The List

Miss The Occupier are fantastic. It’s as simple as that. Even the somewhat lacklustre sound (which almost makes us suspect maybe Scragfight weren’t so shaky) can’t detract from that.

With the smashing debut album Recovery Position finally under their belt, we get yet another set of effortless edgy pop. Punk. Rock. Pop. It’s hard to pinpoint them. This is half the joy of the band. The other being you don’t really want to. Sop thinking about it and just go with the flow.

Guitarist Magnus Hughson is on crackling form. He’s definitely shaping up to be one of the most interesting and original musicians in Glasgow. Managing to be both angular and soaring at almost the same time. Great stuff.

All that and a particularly spirited version of Girlfriend Go Crazy (a personal favourite), what more do ou need? Someone should give them tons of money, so we can all start bitching about them. - is this music?